The Cowboys (13-0, 5-0 Big 12) tallied wins in nine of 10 matches, getting bonus points from Kaid Brock at 133, Nolan Boyd at 184 and Preston Weigel at 197.
"It was a good match," head coach John Smith said. "I liked the turns, but didn't like the scoreless first periods. You know, I think we had three of them in a little bit of the tougher matches. In the end, I had mixed feelings. The scoreboard looks good but there are some things that we need to continue to improve on. And a lot of it is just wrestling in positions, trying to wrestle in all positions. We kind of chose at some of those weight classes to wrestle only in a few positions, so that's where we need to go."
Nick Piccininni started things off for the Pokes at 125 pounds, defeating Wyoming's Doyle Trout, 8-2. The redshirt freshman led throughout the match as he racked up three takedowns on his way to the decision, but couldn't convert the final score to push him into bonus points. The win moved Piccininni to 17-6 on the season and 10-3 in dual appearances.
Brock asserted his will over Wyoming's Gunnar Woodburn at 133 pounds. The Cowboy redshirt freshman led, 4-1, after one, and added a pair of takedowns in the second to lead, 8-3, after two. Starting the final frame on bottom, Brock scored a reversal, and after releasing Woodburn and being awarded a point off the stall warning, the Cowboy finished off the match with a final takedown for the 14-5 major decision.
In the marquee bout of the night, defending 141-pound NCAA Champion Dean Heil grappled with eighth-ranked Bryce Meredith in a rematch of the 2016 national title match. Following a scoreless first period, the pair traded blows in the second. After Meredith got on the board with an escape from starting in the down position, Heil struck first with a takedown that was followed by a reversal from Meredith. Heil escaped to tie the match at three after two periods, and added another three points out of the gate in the third with an escape and takedown. Meredith scored a reversal, but it would be too late as Heil escaped with the 7-5 decision.
"He's wrestled me differently every time we've wrestled, which is kind of hard because I like to feel out my wrestler before I start scoring points," Heil said. "It was scoreless after the first, which I don't really like, but I got the takedown in the second and third, which helped open up the scores. I'll take it. I'm scoring offensively which I like."
Senior Anthony Collica handled Wyoming's Cole Mendenhall in a 7-2 decision. With the win, Collica moved to 16-1 on the season and 11-1 in dual matches.
Wyoming got its lone win of the night at 157 pounds as 19th-ranked Archie Colgan edged OSU's Davey Dolan, 3-1, in sudden victory. Tied at one at the end of regulation, Dolan made his attack and nearly pinned Colgan with 15 seconds left in the overtime period. Colgan however, came out of the scramble with a takedown in the final second of the match.
The Cowboys wrapped up the dual with wins in the final five matches to close out Wyoming, including a pair of technical falls from Nolan Boyd and Preston Weigel.
Redshirt sophomore Chandler Rogers picked up his fifth ranked win of the season with a 10-6 decision over 16th-ranked Branson Ashworth. Rogers did most of his scoring in the first half of the match, leading 10-1 before Ashworth scored a reversal in the second period. Ashworth scored a quick three points to open the third period, but that would be it, as Rogers finished off his 16th win of the season.
Senior Kyle Crutchmer won his fourth straight, defeating Wyoming's Kyle Pope, 12-5. Crutchmer scored five takedowns on the way to his 14th win of the season, falling just short of a major decision.
Boyd tallied the first of two tech falls for the Cowboys, using three takedowns, three nearfalls and a reversal to drop Lucas Lovvorn, 19-4 in 4:15. The Cowboy senior has won seven straight, with four technical falls during that stretch.
Weigel made an impressive return after sitting out the Pokes' last three duals. The redshirt sophomore tallied a quick, first-period technical fall in just under a minute and a half as he dropped Wyoming's Luke Paine for a takedown and followed with four nearfalls to lock up the 16-0 tech.
"Yeah, coming back from a week off, we have to keep training hard and keep everything up," Weigel said. "I kept working out hard. I didn't slack and didn't let my body get dull. You have to keep training."
Heavyweight Tanner Allen won his second-straight match, handling Brandon Tribble, 5-4. Allen scored a pair of takedowns in the win to move to 2-1 in his dual career.
The Cowboys return to Gallagher-Iba Arena Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. to host No. 17 Oklahoma.
Results:
125: No. 11 Nick Piccininni (OSU) dec. Doyle Trout (WYO) 8-2
133: No. 3 Kaid Brock (OSU) MD Gunnar Woodburn (WYO) 14-5
141: No. 1 Dean Heil (OSU) dec. No. 8 Bryce Meredith (WYO) 7-5
149: No. 3 Anthony Collica (OSU) dec. Cole Mendenhall (WYO) 7-2
157: Davey Dolan (OSU) dec. No. 19 Archie Colgan (WYO) 3-1, SV1
165: No. 8 Chandler Rogers (OSU) dec. No. 16 Branson Ashworth (WYO) 10-6
174: No. 9 Kyle Crutchmer (OSU) dec. Kyle Pope (WYO) 12-5
184: No. 6 Nolan Boyd (OSU) TF Lucas Lovvorn (WYO) 19-4
197: No. 8 Preston Weigel (OSU) TF Luke Paine (WYO) 16-0
HWT: Tanner Allen (OSU) dec. Brandon Tribble (WYO) 5-4
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