OSU Wrestling: Cowboys Best Northern Iowa 22-12

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STILLWATER — The Panthers won Friday night’s featured battle, but the Cowboys won the war.

Oklahoma State beat Northern Iowa 22-12 in Gallagher-Iba Arena, earning bonus-point wins in a trio of matches. However, the most hyped matchup of the night went the way of UNI, as at 184 pounds No. 1 Parker Keckeisen beat No. 2 Dustin Plott 12-6.

The match was closer than the score suggests, as with a takedown in the third period, Plott took a 5-4 lead, but it was only momentarily, as the reigning national runner-up escaped and took Plott down twice from there before also taking a riding-time point. It seemed like every time Plott got something going, Keckeisen had an answer.

“I thought Plott had some opportunities in the match, and just seemed to be just unsure a little bit,” OSU coach John Smith said. “I think that guy, his scores are really good. So is Plott’s, but tonight I think he kinda picked him apart and scored when he knew he needed to score, when the match got tight. When it got tight, he was the guy who was scoring.”

Although it wasn’t as hyped up as the 184-pound match, the match before at 174 pounds might’ve been the most entertaining contest of the night. No. 25 Brayden Thompson beat No. 30 Jared Simma 6-2 in a back-and-forth affair.

After a scoreless opening period, Simma escaped to start the second before Thompson scored the match’s only takedown. Thompson led 3-1 going into the third and scored on a reversal to start the final frame. The match had hectic scrambles galore that the true freshman Thompson more often than not came out better for.

The No. 3 pound-for-pound wrestler in his recruiting class, Thompson was 152-11 as a high schooler, but he lost his first three matches at the college level. Since, Thompson has ripped off seven wins in his past eight matches with four of those wins coming against ranked foes.

“I think he’s come a long way,” Smith said. “… Seems a lot more alert. Seems to be excited about feeling like he’s getting better. That’s a real key. That’s an exciting time. You need to run with that. You need to continue to believe in that because he is getting better, and by him getting better there’s a chance for him to have a lot of success.”

The Cowboys scored bonus points at 133, 149 and 165.

At 133, Daton Fix wrestled like he was Daton Fix, beating No. 23 Julian Farber via an 18-4 major decision. Fix took Farber down five times in the match.

Izzak Olejnik beat RJ Weston with a 12-2 major decision at 165. Olejnik was particularly impressive on top. After a first-period takedown, Olejnik started the second period with 2:03 in riding time. He also scored takedowns in the second and third and ended the bout with 3:13 in riding time.

Rounding out the bonus points, Jordan Williams gave John Smith even more to think about at 149 pounds. Williams and Sammy Alvarez have split time for OSU at the weight as of late, but Williams got the call Friday and beat Adam Allard with a 21-5 technical fall. Allard did enter the match 4-6 on the season, but Williams was relentless. He took Allard down six times and scored on a reversal.

Smith said Williams won a ranking match this week, but that his performance Friday doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll wrestle Saturday.

“[Williams] did some things that we wanted to see last week,” Smith said. “Brought a level of energy, I thought, to everyone. Those are the things you wanna see. Fighting for the opportunity to get back out there. Thought he deserved it this week.”

The Cowboys don’t have long to celebrate, as they host No. 4 Iowa State at 6 p.m. Saturday in what ought to be another highly competitive dual.

“If we wrestle like that tomorrow, we’re not winning,” Smith said. “We’ll have to have way better matches than that.”

Results

John Smith’s Post-Dual News Conference

Up Next

Opponent: Iowa State
Time: 6 p.m. Saturday
Location: Gallagher-Iba Arena
Stream: ESPN+