‘I Just Always Wanted to Be a Cowboy’: Witcraft Discusses OSU Career, Ongoing Battle at 133

STILLWATER — With two duals left before the Cowboys head to Tulsa for the Big 12 tournament, there is still one spot in David Taylor’s lineup to figure out: 133 pounds.

It’s a weight redshirt senior Reece Witcraft and redshirt freshman Cael Hughes have battled for all season, and going into OSU’s dual against Little Rock at 3 p.m. Saturday, that battle continues. Taylor met with the media on Wednesday and said “you guys will know when I know” about the weight.

“We’ve gotta score points at the national tournament,” Taylor said. “Our goal is to score points. We’ve gotta figure out, it’s our job as coaches, we gotta put our best guys out there and there’s different things that go into that. Sometimes it’s straight forward. Sometimes it’s a little more murky. But they’re doing a great job. They’re both doing a great job. It’ll continue to figure itself out.”

It’s a good problem to have that there are two wrestlers at one weight capable at representing OSU in the postseason. Witcraft is 10-3 on the year. He’s 4-2 against ranked opponents and has six bonus-point victories. Hughes is 8-1 with a 1-0 record against ranked foes and five bonus-point victories. Hughes probably has the most impressive win between the two, pinning No. 7 Kai Orine, but Witcraft’s high-octane style means he’s always just seconds away from throwing someone to their back and scoring a lot of points.

Wearing a pair of slacks and a blazer, Witcraft also met with reporters Wednesday. He said he just finished up at a job interview. Hughes met with reporters a few weeks ago and was super complimentary of the ongoing battle with Witcraft. Witcraft shared a similar sentiment Wednesday.

“Battling with Cael, Cael is tough,” Witcraft said. “When you have two really good guys at a weight, you have to throw the best guy out there, and you gotta trust in your coaches. If he doesn’t throw me out there, I gotta trust David and think maybe it was the best decision to throw Cael out there instead. I think just having trust in the coaches and believing what they say.”

Whichever Cowboy gets the call Saturday, they’ll have some stiff competition. Little Rock 133-pounder Nasir Bailey is at No. 8 in Intermat’s rankings for the weight.

Witcraft’s career has had some stops and starts to it. He’s a two-time NCAA qualifier, first making the tournament at 133 as a freshman in 2020 while filling in for Daton Fix, who was taking an Olympic redshirt. He began the next year at 125 pounds before Fix suffered an injury, and Witcraft bumped back up to fill in until Fix got healthy again. Then during the 2022-23 season, Fix jumped back down to 125 late in the season and went from being unseeded in the Big 12 tournament because of the late weight switch to finishing third and making NCAAs again.

Witcraft was a two-time state champ at Broken Arrow. Given his talent and experience, there would’ve been plenty of opportunities for Witcraft to go get a more stable spot in a lineup via the transfer portal, but the Oklahoma kid is living his dream.

“I just always wanted to be a Cowboy,” Witcraft said. “I always dreamed of winning a national title here, being an All-American here. I never really wanted to change my goals because of the circumstances. …

“Being here has given me so many opportunities — everything. This job offer. I just got engaged two days ago. I wouldn’t have did that if I wasn’t here. I have a baby on the way, a baby girl on the way. That wouldn’t have happened if I wouldn’t have stayed here. A lot of things to be thankful for for coming here and sticking it out.”