Cowboy Wrestling Crushes Northern Colorado 47-0 as Pokes Grab Bonus Points in Every Match

The Cowboys were without a few starters, but still managed to comfortably take care of Northern Colorado on Sunday in Greeley.

Boo Lewallen has been out since the dual with South Dakota State, and Preston Weigel did not make this road trip due to an undisclosed injury. Kaden Gfeller was tasked with continuing to hold down 149, and sophomore transfer Dakota Geer was bumped to 197 to take over for Weigel. With Geer moving up, Bear Hughes was inserted at 184.

All three performed well. Gfeller kicked off the dual with a quick tech fall and OSU continued to roll through their next few matches without running into much resistance as Andrew Shomers (157) and Chandler Rogers (165) both picked up techs and Jacobe Smith (174) got a fall early in the second period.

Bear Hughes made the Junior Greco World Team this summer, and it clearly has proven beneficial in his collegiate wrestling development. Greco is all upper body, so an experience on a team like that can naturally help with throws. That’s what happened here.

Most of Hughes’ scoring came from throws as he launched two in the first to go up 4-1. He gave up a full period ride in the second, but got a quick reverse in the third, then threw a headlock and nearly picked up a fall over Dalton Robertson. He wasn’t able to finish it off, but it set him up for a 12-2 major decision.

Geer is going to be a major asset for the future of Oklahoma State wrestling. He made the jump to 197, wrestled arguably Northern Colorado’s best wrestler, and handled him comfortably. I don’t know the status on Weigel and whether or not his injury is long term, but it does look Geer can handle the weight if needed.

When Geer transferred I spoke with him and he did say bumping to 197 was a possibility. Unfortunately Weigel has really struggled with injuries throughout his career. Ideally he’s back and healthy this season, but could he be done? Requesting a sixth year? Just being kept out as a precaution? I really don’t know. He did not make the trip, and I would say the weight bump for Geer does seem to indicate a possible lineup shift due to the injury.

If Geer’s back down at 184 for Reno I would say that is a positive sign regarding Weigel’s health, and that he simply bumped up for this dual. If Geer’s not, I think it could indicate they’re planning a weight change for him and lineup shift going forward. The loss of Weigel would be a major blow.

Going in I put 125 as one of the matches to watch here. Nick Piccinnini didn’t let it get interesting and controlled the match from start to finish. He went up 6-0 early and never really looked back as he finished it off with an 11-2 major decision. At 125-133 OSU may have the best combination in the country with Piccinnini and Fix.

OSU picked up bonus points in every single match.

• 149: Kaden Gfeller (OKST) over Mason Hulse (NOCO) (TF 20-2 4:03)
• 157: Andrew Shomers (OKST) over Jordan Robison (NOCO) (TF 17-2 6:25)
• 165: Chandler Rogers (OKST) over Macoy Flanagan (NOCO) (TF 18-3 7:00)
• 174: Jacobe Smith (OKST) over Seth Bogulski (NOCO) (Fall 3:33)
• 184: Barret `Bear` Hughes (OKST) over Dalton Robertson (NOCO) (MD 12-2)
• 197: Dakota Geer (OKST) over Jacob Seely (NOCO) (MD 13-2)
• 285: Derek White (OKST) over Robert Winters (NOCO) (TF 17-2 4:00)
• 125: Nicholas Piccininni (OKST) over Rico Montoya (NOCO) (MD 11-2)
• 133: Daton Fix (OKST) over Sean Cannon (NOCO) (TF 16-1 2:54)
• 141: Kaid Brock (OKST) over Owen Lamb (NOCO) (MD 10-2)