The Cowboys earned five bonus-point victories in the win, including technical falls from redshirt freshman Nick Piccininni, senior Anthony Collica and senior Nolan Boyd, who tallied the 100th win of his career. Senior Austin Schafer ended the match with an exclamation point, pinning Jackrabbit Alex Macki in the first period.
"(South Dakota State wrestles) hard and they wrestle tough," head coach John Smith said. "We got tested in a few different matches…There were a lot of things from this match that were good, but also several that we've got to correct."
Once again, following up a 20-2 tech fall in Friday's win over West Virginia, Piccininni set the tone for the match at 125 pounds. Piccininni wasted no time banking a 15-0 tech over Ben Gillette to put the Cowboys up, 5-0, on the Jackrabbits early. The redshirt freshman opened with a takedown and a pair of nearfalls in the first period to lead 8-0. It took only 47 seconds into the second frame to end the match, as Piccininni, who elected to start the period on bottom, escaped and tallied another takedown and four-point nearfall to lock up the win.
Redshirt freshman Kaid Brock was upset at 133 pounds, as seventh-ranked Seth Gross came away with a 6-4 decision to give Brock his first loss of the season and only the second of his career.
Reigning NCAA Champion at 141 pounds Dean Heil tallied his second major decision of the weekend to seize momentum back in the Cowboys' favor. Heil scored a takedown on South Dakota State's Isaac Andrade with under 20 seconds to go in the opening period to lead, 2-0, after one. The Cowboy junior opened the second on top and rode out the whole frame, adding a pair of back points, after Andrade elected down. Heil finished off the major in the third, escaping and dropping Andrade for another score on the way to a 9-0 win.
Anthony Collica also picked up his second bonus-point victory of the weekend, working hard for a 23-8 tech fall over 20th-ranked Alex Kocer at 149 pounds. Collica used five takedowns in the opening period to hold a 10-4 lead after three minutes. Five more takedowns in the final two periods and a couple of minutes of riding time allowed the senior to ride off with his first tech of the season.
At 157, Joe Smith came just short of tallying bonus points for OSU against South Dakota State's Logan Peterson. Leading, 9-2, in the third after a four-point nearfall with over a minute of riding time in the bank, Peterson escaped to cut Smith's lead to six. Smith got a couple of good looks, but couldn't convert on one final takedown, finishing with a 10-3 decision.
Redshirt sophomore Chandler Rogers won his eighth-straight match, handling Luke Zilverberg in an 8-3 decision at 165 pounds. Leading, 4-3, heading to the second and starting in the defensive position, Rogers staved off Zilverberg with a takedown with just outside of a minute to go in the match, riding out the clock for the win.
After opening his match in a 6-0 hole early at 174 pounds, Cowboy senior Kyle Crutchmer couldn't dig himself out, giving up a 7-2 decision to No. 20 David Kocer.
Nolan Boyd's 100th win came with bonus points attached, as the senior picked up his second technical fall of the weekend in an 18-2 win over Martin Mueller at 184 pounds. Boyd used a 13-point first period to help propel him to the win, wrapping the match in 5:25. Boyd, the 40th Cowboy in program history to reach to century mark, has now tallied bonus points in four of his last five dual starts for the Pokes.
"It felt great," Boyd said of getting his 100th win. "(I felt) a little bit of pressure. There's always a negative thought you have to fight off, and I think that's what it is was; just fighting off the negative thought, being positive and taking these matches as opportunities."
Facing a tough test against eighth-ranked Nate Rotert, redshirt sophomore Preston Weigel dropped a 3-1 match in sudden victory Sunday. Trailing, 1-0, after two periods after being dinged for his second stalling warning in the second period, Weigel elected to start down and quickly escaped to open the final frame to tie the match. Neither wrestler could score in the final minutes of regulation, sending the match to sudden victory where Rotert would convert the decisive takedown.
Heavyweight Austin Schafer recorded the second fall of his senior season, following up a 16-0 tech fall in his match on Friday with a first-period pin of South Dakota State's Alex Macki. With the triumph, Schafer pushed his record on the season to 16-1 overall with nine of those wins coming with bonus points.
"He looks strong and he looks very confident on the mat right now," head coach John Smith said. "Of course, he's had a couple of guys that really can't test him, but it's just good to see him go out and compete hard. We did a better job today on nearfall points and turning people. He's definitely one that can do that and it's been exciting for me to see him have that success from the standpoint that we didn't know what to expect, or if we were going to be able to win half of our matches of at heavyweight this season. Now we've got a guy that looks like King Kong out there. It's a real bonus for us and the credit goes to him. He works hard."
The Cowboys now head back on the road for a couple of weeks, beginning with a couple of familiar foes this weekend. OSU will match up with No. 8 Missouri Friday night at 7 p.m. in Columbia, Mo., before traveling north to Ames, Iowa, for a Big 12 showdown with Iowa State on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Results:
125: No. 11 Nick Piccininni (OSU) TF Ben Gillette (SDSU) 15-0 (3:47)
133: No. 7 Seth Gross (SDSU) dec. No. 2 Kaid Brock (OSU) 6-4
141: No. 1 Dean Heil (OSU) MD Isaac Andrade (SDSU) 9-0
149: No. 2 Anthony Collica (OSU) TF No. 20 Alex Kocer (SDSU) 23-8
157: No. 6 Joe Smith (OSU) dec. Logan Peterson (SDSU) 10-3
165: No. 6 Chandler Rogers (OSU) dec. Luke Zilverberg (SDSU) 8-3
174: No. 20 David Kocer (SDSU) dec. No. 5 Kyle Crutchmer (OSU) 7-2
184: No. 6 Nolan Boyd (OSU) TF Martin Mueller (SDSU) 18-2
197: No. 8 Nate Rotert (SDSU) dec. No. 4 Preston Weigel (OSU) 3-1, SV
HWT: No. 7 Austin Schafer (OSU) fall Alex Macki (SDSU) 2:46
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