Through four duals, Oklahoma State has imposed its will on each of its opponents, taking all four by 30 points or more. Sunday's 38-point triumph was the highest point differential in a win for OSU since last season's 41-0 drubbing of Stanford in Stillwater on Feb. 14.
"We performed well in the first period throughout (the match)," head coach John Smith said. "You look down this row right here and you'll see a lot of points. Kaid Brock went out and scored two takedowns and then got a nearfall, but then you see that in the second and third he scores one point. It's not perfect, but you've just got to keep scoring. That's the scenario that you look at, and we saw the opposite with Nick Piccininni where he didn't score in the first, got one point in the second and then he routs the guy for 10 points from the top."
Redshirt freshman Nick Piccininni got things started for the Cowboys at 125 pounds with a 12-0 major decision over Pittsburgh's LJ Bentley. Holding a 1-0 lead after two periods and starting the final period on top, Piccininni caught fire in the final minutes of the match. The East Seatauket, N.Y., product opened with a two-point nearfall before scoring twice more with a pair of four-point nearfalls to close the match. Piccininni has recorded bonus-point victories in each of his four starts with a pair of technical falls and two major decisions.
Kaid Brock had a strong showing as well Sunday, dropping eighth-ranked Dom Forys in a 10-3 decision at 133 pounds. Brock would lead, 8-2, after the first period and was in control throughout as he allowed Forys just three points all on escapes in the match. The win moved the Stillwater native to 8-0 overall this season and 4-1 against ranked opponents in his career.
"I liked those first two matches," Smith said. "They were wrestling some competitive kids and both of those guys wrestled well. I didn't know that Kaid could beat this type of kid right now. You saw the power in him and he's an older, strong redshirt junior."
Junior Dean Heil and senior Anthony Collica continued the Cowboy dominance with a pair of major decisions.
Heil was consistent throughout his win over Pittsburgh's Robert Lee, recording four total takedowns and over three minutes of riding time for an 11-3 major decision that moved him to 8-0 on the season.
Collica was impressive as well, bouncing back from an early takedown by Pittsburgh's Mike Racciato with an escape and takedown of his own to lead 3-2 after one frame. The Solon, Ohio native separated himself over the final two periods for the 12-3 decision, moving to 3-0 for his senior campaign and recording his first bonus point victory of the season.
Coming off a win over No. 13 DaWaylon Barnes in the Cowboys' win over Oklahoma Friday night, 157-pounder Jonce Blaylock had another solid showing on Sunday in a 12-10 win over Taleb Rahmani. Blaylock and Rahmani traded leads throughout the match, as Rahmani led 6-5 after one period before the pair were tied at nine after two. Blaylock pulled away in the final frame, dropping Rahmani for a takedown and earning the riding time point. Rahmani nearly converted on a reversal at the buzzer that would tie the match at 12, but after a review, Blaylock was awarded his team-leading 12th overall victory of the season.
Chandler Rogers bounced back from an early scare at 165 pounds where he found himself in a 6-2 hole after No. 13 Te'Shan Campbell notched a reversal and a four-point nearfall, nearly pinning Rodgers in the first period. Rogers got a reversal of his own late in the first to survive and cut Campbell's lead to 6-4 after the first three minutes. The Stillwater product tallied a takedown in the third that would give him the lead for good, and didn't let Campbell score again, pulling away for a 10-6 decision.
"That was a hard bridge," Smith said. "There's certain positions that you might have to bridge for 45 seconds to a minute. From some positions, you can bridge out instantly, but what he was in ... I was worried because that was not the position you want to be in. He did a good bridging off of his back and then making a match out of it against a good, solid kid that was as good as who he wrestled down at OU. It was good to see him find a way to win. You can always find ways to lose from your back, but it was good to see him pull it out."
Four-straight bonus point wins wrapped up the victory for the Pokes, the first coming from senior Kyle Crutchmer at 174 pounds, who dominated Pittsburgh's Austin Bell in an 18-5 major decision. Coming off a 21-6 technical fall in the Cowboys' Bedlam win, Crutchmer was relentless. The Tulsa, Okla., native tallied six takedowns and a four-point nearfall to overwhelm Bell and improve to 4-0 on the season.
"I think it's good for us," Crutchmer said. "Nolan (Boyd) and I, we're older guys. We're seniors so we're just trying to get our team rolling. A lot of people are talking about Penn State bonus points and all these other teams scoring bonus points, so if we're going to contend in March we're going to have to start putting up bonus points. That's what we're trying to set a trend for."
Senior Nolan Boyd added a major decision of his own, defeating Christian Dietrich, 15-3, for his seventh win of the season in as many matches. The win was never in doubt, as Boyd came out with a takedown right out of the gate and didn't let up. Overall, Boyd recorded four takedowns, a reversal and a four-point nearfall to easily pick up the victory.
A hot start from 197-pounder Preston Weigel gave the redshirt sophomore a technical fall over Zach Bruce to boost the Cowboy lead to 34. After a takedown and four nearfalls, Weigel lead 14-0 after one period. Weigel's riding time put him over the top for the tech fall win.
Heavyweight Austin Schafer finished off the first shutout of the season for the Pokes in a 21-6 technical fall of Pittsburgh's John Rizzo. Schafer bounced back from a 6-0 hole, where Rizzo posted a takedown and four-point nearfall before Schafer responded with a reversal and pair of nearfalls to take an 8-6 lead into the second period. It was all Schafer from that point on as he posted a takedown and three nearfalls in the final two periods to earn the tech fall.
The Cowboys will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 16, when they host No. 8 Cornell in a top-10 matchup at Gallagher-Iba Arena at 7 p.m.
Results:
125: No. 10 Nick Piccininni (OSU) MD LJ Bentley (PITT), 12-0
133: No. 6 Kaid Brock (OSU) dec. No. 8 Dom Forys (PITT), 10-3
141: No. 1 Dean Heil (OSU) MD Robert Lee (PITT), 11-3
149: No. 3 Anthony Collica (OSU) MD Mikey Racciato (PITT), 12-3
157: Jonce Blaylock (OSU) dec. Taleb Rahmani (PITT), 12-10
165: No. 4 Chandler Rogers (OSU) dec. No. 13 TeShaun Campbell (PITT), 10-6
174: No. 4 Kyle Crutchmer (OSU) MD Austin Bell (PITT), 18-5
184: No. 5 Nolan Boyd (OSU) MD Christian Dietrich (PITT), 15-3
197: No. 5 Preston Weigel (OSU) TF Zach Bruce (PITT), 15-0
HWT: No. 12 Austin Schafer (OSU) TF John Rizzo (PITT), 21-6
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