"I felt like we got better this weekend from one match to the next," head coach John Smith said. "There's only a day in between but it's amazing when you focus on the right things. And the right thing is competing and scoring points."
Eight of the Cowboys' nine wins on Sunday came with bonus points, including five coming by way of either pin or technical fall. Of those five bouts, four were wrapped up before the conclusion of the first period.
A relentless Nick Piccininni made quick work of Kent State's Jake Ferri in the first period of the 125-pound match, racking up a pair of takedowns and three nearfalls for a 16-1 tech fall in 2:41 to give the Cowboys an early 5-0 lead. Overwhelming Ferri from the opening whistle, it was the redshirt sophomore's fifth tech fall of the season.
Kaid Brock followed up Piccininni's bonus points with some of his own as he turned in a 13-5 major decision over Anthony Tutolo. Brock started strong with three takedowns in the opening period to take a 6-2 lead into the second. Opening the second frame with a reversal and adding a takedown in the third to go along with a couple of stalling points on Tutolo, Brock pulled away for his 11th bonus point win of the season.
Dean Heil notched his fifth fall of the year against Tim Rooney, decking the Golden Flash 2:44 into the first period. Heil opened aggressively, scoring a takedown out of a scramble before turning Rooney for a four-point nearfall. Heil was able to turn Rooney again shortly after, this time sticking him to his back for the pin. With the win, Heil surpassed his career single-season high in falls.
"I definitely needed to give more of an effort today compared to Friday," Heil said. I wrestled a decent match, up until the last 15 seconds. I got taken down and just kind of sat there. That's not how you want to end a match. It kind of a left a little salty taste in my mouth."
Boo Lewallen ran up the score on Kent State's Chance Driscoll at 149 pounds, putting together a 23-8 technical fall in 6:30 to stretch the Cowboy advantage to 20. Lewallen strung together four takedowns in both of the first two periods, including a two-point nearfall to end the first, on his way to a 19-6 lead heading to the final frame. Lewallen had little trouble finding two more scores in the third to finish off the tech fall and pick up his second win of the weekend.
Jonce Blaylock got in on the bonus point flurry as well at 157, scoring an 11-2 major decision over Casey Sparkman. Blaylock opened with a takedown to lead 2-0 after one. Choosing down to open the second, Blaylock quickly escaped and converted on a takedown, bringing Sparkman to his back briefly for a two-point nearfall. Sparkman was able to open the third with a takedown, but Blaylock bounced right back with a score of his own to secure his second major of the weekend.
After Dalton Moran came up short for the Pokes at 165 pounds, Jacobe Smith got the Cowboys back on track with a first-period pin of Dylan Barreiro. Smith opened the match with a quick takedown, and after a release threw Barreiro back down to his back for the pin in 1:24. Collecting the fourth fall of his junior season, Smith just missed the quickest pin of his career by 11 seconds.
"I just told him to bring your level up, because things can get dangerous when somebody's coming at you that hard," John Smith said. "Wake up. This guy's coming. He woke up, got a pin. He's got a lot of power and he needs to balance that with some of his speed as well. He's got really good speed. I think he's just trying to feel comfortable right now as a starter. It's good to see him excited, it shows how strong he was after the match."
"We all got together as a team when we get together once a week and we talk about it" Jacobe Smith said. "We recognize the performance (Friday) and how we felt before, during and after and recognized what we need to do to make it better each week. We are really focusing on the national championship, but it's good to reflect on how we felt and what went down during those matches."
At 184 pounds, Keegan Moore defeated Colin McCracken, 8-5, to give the Cowboys a 33-3 lead. Moore was able to score a pair of takedowns in the first and another in the third, but couldn't stretch the score on a defensive McCracken for bonus points. With the win, the redshirt freshman picked up his sixth dual win of the year.
Preston Weigel wasted no time with a 16-0 shutout technical fall over Kyle Conel in 2:57. Weigel countered off a Conel shot, throwing the Golden Flash to his back on the edge of the mat and nearly picked up the pin, instead settling for the first of four nearfalls. Weigel remained undefeated on the year, moving to 6-0 overall. The redshirt junior has built quite the resume, with four of his six wins coming over ranked opponents, and the other two coming by way of tech fall.
"That was vicious out there" Smith said. "That head lock or lateral drop -- that was vicious. I've never seen him do that. When you start seeing things you've never seen from someone, that's exciting. I've never even seen him practice it in the room. "
Derek White capped off the Cowboy win with a 10-1 major decision over Devin Nye. White scored takedowns in each of the first two periods, before stretching the score in the third with another couple of takedowns and the riding time point. With the victory, White added to his team-leading total of majors, which now amounts to seven.
The Cowboys continue their extended homestand on Saturday at 7 p.m. as they host No. 3 Missouri at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Results:
125: No. 7 Nick Piccininni (OSU) TF Jake Ferri (KSU) 16-1
133: No. 3 Kaid Brock (OSU) MD Anthony Tutolo (KSU) 13-5
141: No. 5 Dean Heil (OSU) fall Tim Rooney (KSU) 2:44
149: No. 15 Boo Lewallen (OSU) TF Chance Driscoll (KSU) 23-8
157: Jonce Blaylock (OSU) MD Casey Sparkman (KSU) 11-2
165: Isaac Bast (KSU) dec. Dalton Moran (OSU) 7-1
174: No. 14 Jacobe Smith (OSU) fall Dylan Barreiro (KSU) 1:24
184: Keegan Moore (OSU) dec. Colin McCracken (KSU) 8-5
197: No. 3 Preston Weigel (OSU) TF Kyle Conel (KSU) 16-0
HWT: No. 10 Derek White (OSU) MD Devin Nye (KSU) 10-1
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