Oklahoma State finishes strong to beat Oklahoma, 26-11, in Bedlam II in Stillwater
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By Roger Moore, Special to TheMat.com | Feb. 05, 2016, 11:16 p.m. (ET)
Action photo from Bedlam II Dual in Stillwater, Okla. courtesy of Oklahoma State Athletics.
STILLWATER, Okla. – Seventh-ranked Oklahoma raced to an 8-0 lead, but No. 4 Oklahoma State won seven of the final eight bouts in a 26-11 Bedlam win on Friday night in front of 6,935 at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
A 3-2 win by Matt Reed over All-American Kyle Crutchmer at 174 pounds brought the guests to 16-11, but Nolan Boyd, Preston Weigel, and Austin Marsden closed out the dual with three straight victories for the hosts.
“You like the outcome of the score, but there were several matches throughout the night that you do not want to see this time of the year,” said OSU head coach John Smith, who was honored before the dual for his 25 years of coaching in Stillwater. “I give OU credit, they are a competitive team that wrestles hard and well. There were four or five guys who really grinded through their matches, and because of them, we got bonus points. Those really made the difference in the lopsided score and those are things you like to see.”
Ryan Milhof (13-6) used one third-period offensive attack, a long-range duck-under, for a takedown with :07 left to beat Eddie Klimara, 5-3, in the opening bout. Milhof also rode out the second period.
A bout later, 2015 national champion Cody Brewer (15-2), who suffered a stunning loss to freshman Kaid Brock in the first edition of Bedlam this season, mauled Gary Wayne Harding, 20-3, in less than four minutes and OU led 8-0. OSU won in Norman, 37-3, in December.
“Much better than last time, the effort was much better,” OU head coach Mark Cody said afterwards. “I hate losing, these guys hate losing, but I was proud of the way we fought in all of the matches. We have some guys that just continue to get better. Ryan (Milhof) has some nice wins this season over ranked opponents and Matt Reed, we keep telling him he can go with anybody at the weight.
“We are disappointed in the outcome, but not in our effort tonight.”
Any chance of OU’s first win in Stillwater since 1995 was put to rest over the next hour and a half, however.
Top-ranked Dean Heil remained unbeaten in 20 matches with a dominating 16-1 technical fall over Sooner backup Noah Teaney at 141 pounds. Anthony Collica (18-6) put the hosts in front for good with a wild 16-6 major decision of rookie Davion Jeffries at 149 pounds. Joe Smith’s Bedlam debut resulted in a solid 11-4 decision of Shayne Tucker at 157 pounds, putting OSU (9-2) up 12-8.
“I don’t think we’ve had a crowd like this in a long time and I was really anxious to get out here and wrestle,” said Joe Smith, now 27-2. “It shell-shocked me when I got out there a little bit and felt it in my arms and legs a bit. I’m still getting used to the one-hour weigh-in, but I think come nationals we’ll all come around.”
Alex Dieringer’s 69th straight win came in the form of another bonus-point win, a 16-3 major decision of Clark Glass at 165 pounds and the Cowboys led 16-8.
Crutchmer and Reed were locked in a 1-1 match deep into the third period when the Cowboy junior injured his foot. In frustration, Crutchmer expressed that frustration with an expletive and gave up an unsportsmanlike conduct point; Reed (14-7) had his choice of positions, escaped for 3-1 and was docked a stalling point for the 3-2 outcome. Crutchmer’s status for a Sunday bout with Brian Realbuto of Cornell is certainly in jeopardy.
Boyd (20-6) had little trouble in a 15-2 major decision of Andrew Dixon to give the hosts a 20-11 advantage and Weigel (12-8) used a tough third-period ride-out to win 4-3 and clinch the dual for the Cowboys, who beat OU for the 10th time in 11 meetings and 137th time in 174 all-time Bedlam duals dating back to 1920.
Austin Marsden (19-2) closed out the dual by beating Ross Larson, 2-1, a riding time point the difference in the two’s sixth all-time meeting.
OSU entered the dual on a four-dual stretch that saw them outscore four opponents, 135-15, and win 35 of 40 individual bouts contested. They wrestle at No. 15 Cornell on Sunday.
“We’re down to the final stretch of duals,” Heil said. “You’ve just got to take it one at a time and we can’t overlook anybody. Cornell may be on a hot streak, but so was Missouri, and so is everybody else. If we step up and wrestle and wrestle when things are hard, I have no doubt in my mind we’ll come out with a victory.”
The OSU head coach was not necessarily satisfied with his team’s performance on Friday.
“Between the first and last match we should have had everyone leave the gym and go
get a coke because between those matches we didn’t do anything. I’m not saying that they didn’t wrestle good or bad, but I know what my guys are capable of and I would like to see more energy in that type of environment. That is the type of environment that you live and die for.”
The Sooners host Oregon State next weekend.
No. 4 Oklahoma State 26, No. 7 Oklahoma 11
125-Ryan Milhof (O) dec Eddie Klimara, 5-3
133-Cody Brewer (O) tech fall Gary Wayne Harding, 20-3 (3:55)
141-Dean Heil (OS) tech fall Noah Teaney, 16-1 (7:00)
149-Anthony Collica (OS) maj dec Davion Jeffries, 16-6
157-Joe Smith (OS) dec Shayne Tucker, 11-4
165-Alex Dieringer (OS) maj dec Clark Glass, 16-3
174-Matt Reed (O) dec Kyle Crutchmer, 3-2
184-Nolan Boyd (OS) maj dec Andrew Dixon, 15-2
197-Preston Wiegel (OS) dec Brad Johnson, 4-3
285-Austin Marsden (OS) dec Ross Larson, 2-1
