Five Thoughts on OSU Wrestling vs. Lehigh, Bucknell

The Cowboys made a road trip to Pennsylvania, winning duals at Lehigh and Bucknell on Saturday. Lehigh has a tough group and Bucknell is good in spots as well, so overall a pretty solid start to the season for the Cowboys. Here, I thought I’d dive in and give five thoughts on all of the action this weekend.

1. What’s the plan at 157?

OSU wrestled two guys at 157 this weekend. In the dual vs. Lehigh it was Kaden Gfeller. In the dual vs. Bucknell it was Luke Mechler. Both lost. It seems a bit unclear what OSU is going to do here as they switched things up in the first two duals. It’s something to follow moving forward.

2. Doucet gave you exactly what you wanted

Two matches and two wins for OSU’s newest heavyweight. A ranked win over Lehigh after a tough third-period ride and a late takedown to win over Bucknell. This is exactly what you want to see with Konner Doucet at heavyweight for the Cowboys. He’s young and new to the starting role. It’s unlikely that he’s going to pin everyone or beat the elites at his weight, but tough, gritty wins like he got here are exactly what you want to see.

3. What a comeback for Victor Voinovich

Victor Voinovich made his highly anticipated debut at 149 vs. Lehigh’s Manzona Bryant. Bryant got up big early, and Voinovich had to scrap back from an 8-0 deficit. He did exactly that and came all the way back to win in OT. In a perfect world, you don’t get into that kind of hole, but it’s nice to see the fight to come back and win here.

4. I liked the energy

I wasn’t physically in attendance, but as I watched, I liked the fight and energy OSU seemed to get out of most of their guys. Doucet got a late takedown that gave him a win over Bucknell, and a third-period ride that won him a big match vs. Lehigh. Voinovich didn’t give up after getting thrown early and fought back to win his match in OT. Gfeller and Surber both lost vs. Lehigh but were scoring late, and in Gfeller’s case, nearly pulled off the upset. Not every match had this sort of thing but you want to see that type of fight by OSU guys, and it hasn’t always been there the last few years.

5. Maybe 184 is going to work out for Travis Wittlake?

It’s probably too early to definitively tell whether or not this was the right move but early signs are positive. Last year while hobbled with injuries, Travis Wittlake was unable to qualify for the NCAA tournament at 165. This year at 184, he’s got two solid wins under his belt, including one over No. 13 Tate Samuelson. Still a lot of wrestling left but a good start for him at his new weight class.

No. 11 Oklahoma State 25 , No. 14 Lehigh 6
197: No. 8 Michael Beard (LEH) dec. No. 28 Luke Surber (OSU), 10-7
HWT: No. 33 Konner Doucet (OSU) dec. No, 26 Nathan Taylor (LEH), 2-1
125: No. 7 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (OSU) dec. Carter Bailey (LEH), 4-2 SV-1
133: No. 2 Daton Fix (OSU) MD No. 30 Connor McGonagle (LEH), 15-5
141: No. 10 Carter Young (OSU) dec. No. 24 Malyke Hines (LEH), 10-6
149: No. 19 Victor Voinovich (OSU) dec. No. 20 Manzona Bryant IV (LEH), 15-13 SV-1
157: No. 9 Josh Humphreys (LEH) dec. Kaden Gfeller (OSU), 7-6
165: Wyatt Sheets (OSU) dec. No. 28 Brian Meyer (LEH), 5-0
174: No. 4 Dustin Plott (OSU) dec. No. 29 Jake Logan (LEH), 5-4
184: No. 15 Travis Wittlake (OSU) dec. No. 13 Tate Samuelson (LEH), 4-2

No. 11 Oklahoma State 30 , Bucknell 6
125: No. 7 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (OSU) fall Grayson McLellan (BUCK), 1:17
133: No. 2 Daton Fix (OSU) dec. Kurt Phipps (BUCK), 4-1
141: No. 28 Darren Miller (BUCK) dec. No. 10 Carter Young (OSU), 4-2
149: No. 19 Victor Voinovich (OSU) dec. Kolby DePron (BUCK), 5-3
157: No. 33 Nick Delp (BUCK) dec. Luke Mechler (OSU), 9-3
165: Wyatt Sheets (OSU) dec. Chase Barlow (BUCK), 6-0
174: No. 4 Dustin Plott (OSU) TF Sam Barnes (BUCK), 24-9, 7:00
184: No. 15 Travis Wittlake (OSU) dec. Logan Deacetis (BUCK), 11-9
197: No. 28 Luke Surber (OSU) MD Mason McCready (BUCK), 13-5
HWT: No. 33 Konner Doucet (OSU) dec. Luke Niemeyer (BUCK), 3-1