No. 11 Oklahoma State wrestling dominates No. 18 Oklahoma 28-9 in Bedlam

RIDE-OUTS: Doucet is out quickly, but he nearly put himself in danger scrambling out. Time to see what Heindselman can do. He has ten seconds to get out. We're scrambling! Five seconds. Heindselman nearly had the reversal. Oklahoma throws the brick. Let's go to the refs. No takedown. Doucet takes the win 2-1, and the Cowboys earn the team win 28-9.

HWT l Fitting finish to end this one.

Konner Doucet gets the escape and then rides No. 10 Josh Heindselman out for the 2-1 decision! l

— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling)

OVERTIME: One minute to go. Scoreless. Stalemate. Another stalemate. Ten seconds. Let's go to rideouts.

THIRD PERIOD: Doucet begins the third period in the down position, and he needs to get out in less than 31 seconds to take the lead. The Cowboys nearly rolls out of the hold, but Heindselman holds on to his ankle. Heindselman is warned for stalling. Doucet escapes, though his riding time has dipped down to 57 seconds, meaning it's no longer a factor as these wrestlers will now battle on their feet. One minute to go. Thirty seconds. Fifteen seconds. Ten seconds. OVERTIME.

SECOND PERIOD: Heindselman starts the second period on the bottom, and Doucet rides tough through the first minute of the second period. The Sooner ultimately escapes, but not after giving up 1:31 of riding time. Heindselman will hold the 1-0 lead going into the third period.

FIRST PERIOD: Oklahoma State may have already secured the dual win, but pride is on the line here for these ranked heavyweights here in this final match of the afternoon. Scoreless after three minutes.

SECOND PERIOD: Haas begins the second period on the bottom, and Buchanan continues his work on top, now looking for back points again. This time, Buchanan is successful, picking up four back point to earn a 10-1 lead. Haas is warned for stalling. Buchanan isn't done. He's got Haas in a cradle, and BOOM. A pin for the Sooners! Oklahoma needed that, even just for team confidence and energy.

Buchanan's pin gets the crowd back in it!

ESPN+

— Oklahoma Wrestling (@OU_Wrestling)

Oklahoma State still leads 25-9.

FIRST PERIOD: Oklahoma's Buchanan infuses some energy back into this Oklahoma crowd as he picks up an early first-period takedown against Oklahoma State backup Kyle Haas to take a quick 3-0 lead. Haas escapes, narrowing the score 3-1, but Buchanan is back on the attack for another takedown. That's a 6-1 lead for the Sooner with 45 seconds to go in the period. Buchanan is working for a turn, and Haas nearly uses the opportunity to slide out from under Buchanan's control, but Buchanan holds on. Twenty seconds to go. Buchanan ends the period on top with a 6-1 lead.

THIRD PERIOD: Thompson begins the third period on top, holding his 4-0 lead and things are getting funky. Thompson picks up four near fall points on a wild move as Picklo tries to escape from the bottom. One minute to go. Picklo is warned for stalling, as Thompson pushes riding time up over a minute. Time expires. That's a dominant 9-0 shutout win for Thompson!

174 l Brayden Thompson picks up his first career ranked victory with a dominant 9-0 major decision over No. 17 Tate Picklo! l

— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling)

Oklahoma takes the 20-3 lead after seven bouts.

SECOND PERIOD: Picklo starts the period on top, but Thompson gets out quickly to build his lead to 4-0. Good action here from both athletes, but neither Picklo nor Thompson have been able to score here in the second period. Picklo looks for a scramble at the end of the period, but Thompson stops him.

FIRST PERIOD: WOAH. Brayden Thompson comes out big against Picklo with a huge takedown in the final minute of the first period, and now he'll look for something on top too. No back points, but Thompson will ride out Picklo for the remainder of the period and hold a 3-0 lead heading into the second.

THIRD PERIOD: Olejnik starts the third period from the bottom position, and he escapes quickly to extend his lead 4-2. Takedown Olejnik! Carlson's headgear comes off again, and the refs will pause the action. Carlson goes back down with his headgear snapped back on. Escape Carlson. Olejnik leads 7-3, but he also holds 1:38 of riding time. He'll need something more for the major, and he's looking for that third takedown. Stall warning Carlson. Twenty seconds to go. Ten seconds. Olejnik looks for the shorttime takedown, but he comes up just short, setting for the 8-3 decision win.

165 l Izzak Olejnik takes down No. 16 Cael Carlson, 8-3, in the first match out of the break! l

— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling)

The Cowboys take the 16-3 lead in the team score.

SECOND PERIOD: Carlson chooses to start on bottom, and while Olejnik is so strong on top, he does have that stall warning to be cautious of moving forward. Carlson escapes again, narrowing Olejnik's lead 3-2, but Olejnik's length and strength makes him dangerous on his feet too as these athletes compete from neutral. No points for either wrestler following Carlson's escape. Olejnik maintains his 3-2 lead.

FIRST PERIOD: Fresh off winning the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational at 165 pounds, Oklahoma State's Izzak Olejnik is now back looking for another ranked win. Carlson isn't back down from his All-American foe though, as he's moving his feet and staying steady in the middle of the mat. Olejnik is just too tough though, and he picks up a fast takedown within the second minute of the period. Quick break to let Carlson get his headgear back on. Olejnik resets on top, and he's moving. The refs hit Olejnik for stalling, despite Olejnik's good movement on top. Escape Carlson. Fifteen seconds to go. Olejnik will enter the second period with a 3-1 lead.

THIRD PERIOD: Williams' extends his lead 4-2 after a quick escape in the third period. A takedown, though, in the new scoring system, will give the Sooner the lead. McDougald is working for that too, and he's got Williams' leg in the air — that's a takedown! McDougald leads 5-4, and he's in a great spot to hold on, as he goes to work on top with 37 seconds remaining. Thirty seconds. Williams needs an escape, but McDougald throws him back down to the mat. This crowd is EXCITED. Williams is warned for stalling. Eight seconds left. An escape would tie it, but McDougald holds him down, and Sooners are on the board with a 5-4 decision win.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐃 ‼️

McDougald earns an escape and takedown in the final period to complete the comeback. A 5-4 Decision gets the Sooners on the board at McCasland.

Oklahoma 3, Oklahoma State 9

— Oklahoma Wrestling (@OU_Wrestling)

SECOND PERIOD: McDougald picks up an escape to start the second period, and Williams is back in on the attack. He's got McDougald's left leg in the air, but McDougald gets out of that situation, and they're back on their feet, both of them. Less than a minute go, and Williams' still holds his 3-2 lead.

But that’s NEARLY a takedown for McDougald there at the end on the edge. The refs will go to the review booth. The refs rule that time expired before the takedown was complete. Williams' 3-2 lead stands heading into the third period.

FIRST PERIOD: Oklahoma State is rolling, as Jordan Williams picks up a quick takedown within the first minute of the match. That's a 3-0 lead for the Cowboys! Ninety seconds to go. There's a confidence to Williams' wrestling this afternoon, as he looks in control against his Sooner foe.
That's a shot from McDougald though! Williams wrestles out of it, and we're back to the center. The first period will end 3-1 in favor of Williams after his takedown and McDougald's escape.

THIRD PERIOD: Jamison starts the third period on top — smart move. He wants to run down that riding time quickly and avoid giving up any back points under the aggressive Smith. Nice mat return from Jamison to establish some dominance. The Cowboy still holds the 6-2 lead, and riding time (for Smith) is no longer a factor. Another mat return from Jamison! One minute to go.

Jamison is hit with stalling again, giving Smith another point. He leads 6-3 with 45 seconds to go. Smith works to escape, but Jamison is showing off his top game, holding down the Sooner. Jamison's takedowns in the first period were the only offensive points in this match as Jamison rides out the third period to take the 6-3 decision.

The Cowboys now lead 9-0 heading into 149 pounds.

141 l Keep it rolling.

Tagen Jamison rides out Kaden Smith in the third period and grinds his way to a 6-3 decision! l

— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling)

SECOND PERIOD: Jamison start the second period down, and Smith immediately turns him to his back. And Jamison is now on the mat, looking injured. Jamison, after receiving medical attention, takes the mat again, but Smith will get choice position after the injury time. Smith chooses top, and he'll go back to work, looking for that turn again. One minute go. Smith is wrestling tough and is racking up riding time. Jamison is warned for stalling, but Oklahoma fans want another stall call. Stall call against Jamison, so Smith is trailing just 6-2 after that second stall warning. Smith rides out Jamison to accumulate 1:10 of riding time.

FIRST PERIOD: Oklahoma was no doubt hoping to avoid this situation. Trailing 6-0, the Sooners send out Kaden Smith in place of No. 10 Mosha Schwartz to take on No. 9 Tagen Jamison, but, to Smith’s credit, he’s wrestling fearlessly here in the early minutes. He could be a hero, but, to do so, he’ll have a beat a top-ten athlete in Jamison. Smith goes for an early move, looking for a cradle, but Jamison fends him off, draws a stalemate and then goes in for a takedown of his own and scores. Jamison takes the 3-0 lead. Oklahoma State's Jamison cuts Smith, looking for another takedown, and, once again, he scores. Such a strategic first period for Jamison as he leads 6-1 heading into the second period after the most action-packed period we've seen so far.

THIRD PERIOD: Hendricksen chooses down to start the third period. He needs to get out and get out immediately before going to work on his feet. He's out. That escape narrows Spratley's lead 4-1, so a takedown will tie this one up. Ninety seconds to go. Spratley with a shot, and he looked to be in good position, but Hendricksen holds on for the stalemate to force a reset. Another shot from Spratley! We're scrambling as Hendricksen looks draw the statemate again, and he gets it. After the reset, Spratley takes another shot, and he won't finish the takedown in time, but he'll notch the win to give the Cowboys an early 3-0 lead in Bedlam.

125 l On the board first.

Troy Spratley gives us the early lead, beating No. 32 Conrad Hendriksen with a 4-1 decision! l

— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling)

SECOND PERIOD: Spratley, holding the 3-0 lead, chooses down to start the second period and escapes quickly to extend his lead 4-0. Less than a minute to go, and Spratley maintains his lead. Hendrickson went in for a shot attempt, just missing Spratley's ankle. Ten seconds. Spratley will hold on with the four-point advantage heading into the third after a calm second period.

FIRST PERIOD: Given that the three-time NCAA finalist Daton Fix is now officially announced to be sitting out from the dual due to injury, Oklahoma State's Troy Spratley is taking the mat knowing he needs points here and needs points fast. So much of the momentum of this dual rides on this match.

Oklahoma's Conrad Hendricksen is pushing the pace early, but we're scoreless through the first 90 seconds. One minute to go in the first period, and these two wrestlers are competing line they know what's on the line here. They're aggressive, but not overly so. Neither athlete has been reckless in any way.

Spratley goes in for the first shot on the period with about 30 seconds to go, but Hendricksen defends tough, but Spratley finishes in short time to take the 3-0 lead.

Built for Bedlam. l

— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling)

Sunday's Probables

125 pounds: No. 21 Troy Spratley vs. No. 32 Conrad Hendriksen

The 125-pound weight class sets the tone. If the dual starts here, as most duals do, Oklahoma State's Troy Spratley and Oklahoma's Conrad Hendriksen will be responsible for giving their team an early edge. Spratley comes into the dual 9-2 with losses to Tanner Jordan and Caleb Smith while Hendrickson is 7-2, after dropping earlier this season to Noah Surtin by major and Kaden Chinavare. In Friday's Oklahoma State dual against Lehigh, Spratley picked up a solid 4-2 win over Luke Stanich, but with this year's Bedlam dual so close, the Cowboys will want to see him put even more points up on the board against the scrappy Hendrickson. This match, however, obviously isn't out of reach for the Sooners, and flipping one bout might be all it takes for Oklahoma to pull off the upset in the dual, given that the Sooners are favored in four other weights.

133 pounds: No. 3 Daton Fix or Reece Witcraft or Zach Blankenship vs. No. 27 Jace Koelzer or Gabe Vidlak

This is the weight where, if Daton Fix was healthy, the Cowboys could count on their veteran All-American to set up, secure bonus and re-energize the Cowboys, regardless of how the 125-pound bout went. The problem for Oklahoma State is that Fix has was not healthy enough to wrestle in either the Cliff Keen Invitational or Friday night's dual against Lehigh. In Fix's place, Oklahoma State sent out Reece Witcraft to take on the Mountain Hawks, where he was subsequently majored by No. 1 Ryan Crookham.

ATHLETES TO KNOW: These are the most notable 25 athletes in college wrestling right now

Witcraft and Fix are listed as probables for the Cowboys on Sunday, and if Witcraft gets the nod again, he could be competitive against Oklahoma's No. 27 Jace Koelzer, as he would be ranked in the Top 33 if he was the starter. However, Fix is someone the Cowboys would like back, obviously, and if he goes, expect bonus. If not, look for this match, like 125-pounds, to be close as Witcraft, or even Oklahoma State's third-string 133-pounder Zach Blankenship takes on Koelzer or Gabe Vidlak for the Sooners.

141 pounds: No. 9 Tagen Jamison vs. No. 10 Mosha Schwartz or Carter Schmidt

Oklahoma State's injuries have been a big storyline this season, but Oklahoma isn't without injury concerns themselves. The Sooners have No. 10 Mosha Schwartz listed as a probable starter at 141 pounds for Bedlam alongside Carter Schmidt, and Schwartz, while dangerously competitive at the weight, injury defaulted out of his last dual against West Virginia on December 3 after the first minute. If he's able to compete, he could challenge Oklahoma State's rising star Tagen Jamison, but, if not, Jamison will look to put up bonus points against Oklahoma backup Carter Schmidt just like Jamison did against Lehigh's Ethan Smith on Friday night.

149 pounds: No. 24 Jordan Williams vs. No. 22 Willie McDougald

In the 2023 Cy-Hawk dual just a few weeks ago, the entire team score came down to a match between a No. 22-ranked athlete and a No. 24-ranked athlete. The higher-ranked competitor, Zach Glazier of Iowa, earned the win for himself and his team, and, in this weekend's scenario, Oklahoma will be counting on No. 22 Willie McDougald to hold down his rank, fend off No. 24 Jordan Williams and keep the Sooners in this fight. McDougald is 4-4 on the year with his best win coming against No. 23 Ty Watters of West Virginia, and he did also battle tough into overtime against No. 20 Logan Gioffre. Williams' best wins came against his teammates, as he beat two-time NCAA qualifier Carter Young 15-2 and stopped sophomore standout Teague Travis 7-6.

Duals to Watch → Week 6

— NCAA Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling)

Travis has since bumped up to 157 pounds and will wrestle John Wiley or Jared Hill of Oklahoma, but in another coin-flip match where none of the projected starters are ranked, but whoever wins 149 pounds will, at least, have an edge in momentum.

157 pounds: Teague Travis vs. John Wiley or Jared Hill

Speaking of Teague Travis, the Stillwater native is set to compete on Sunday against Wiley or Hill, and while, as previously mentioned, none of these athletes are ranked, Travis is the only one of the three probable starters with a winning record. Travis is 7-1 on the year with his most recent win coming against Lehigh national qualifier Max Brignola 5-1, and the win suggests that, if he remains the starter for the duration of the season, he could earn his ranking spot quickly.

COWBOY HISTORY: Relive all of Oklahoma State's 34 wrestling national championships

Travis' potential Sooner foes Wiley and Hill hold 3-5 and 3-3 season records, respectively, though Hill did qualify for the NCAA tournament in 2023 and notched a win at the event over Nathan Lukez of Army. Wiley, however, was the one who took the mat for the Sooners against West Virginia, suggesting that he has the starting position, at least for now after redshirting last season down at 149 pounds. On paper, this could be seen as a coin-flip given the lack of Top 33 rankings for all of the projected starters, but, based on their season results so far, the advantage here belongs to Oklahoma State.

165 pounds: No. 2 Izzak Olejnik vs. No. 16 Cael Carlson

The biggest problem for the Sooners comes here, at 165 pounds.

𝗠𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 👀

Before tonight's dual, read about Izzak Olejnik and his journey to stardom in Stillwater.

📰: l

— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling)

NIU All-American transfer Izzak Olejnik has been unstoppable for the Cowboys so far this season, compiling a 12-0 record thus far with official top-five wins over Julian Ramirez and Cam Amine as well as an exhibition win over 2023 Big Ten champion Dean Hamiti. He's slated to take on Oklahoma's Cael Carlson in his first Bedlam battle, and while Carlson is tough and currently has a solid 7-3 record, he enters this dual after losing back-to-back matches by fall. His goal against Olejnik will need to be to avoid giving up bonus points.

174 pounds: Brayden Thompson or AJ Heeg vs. No. 17 Tate Picklo or Gerrit Nijenhuis

Oklahoma's No. 17 Tate Picklo came into college as one of the biggest recruits in his class, and he's had a solid career so far for the Crimson and Cream, but this dual, the moment, this rivalry, will be his opportunity to be a breakout star, if he gets the start. Picklo comes into this bout against Oklahoma's Brayden Thompson or AJ Heeg as a heavy favorite. A 2023 national qualifier, Picklo has career wins over Cliff Keen Las Vegas winner Cade DeVos, Round of 16 finisher Lance Runyon and All-American Demetrius Romero, suggesting that he has the potential to score and score big against the Cowboys.

If he takes on Brayden Thompson, another blue-chip recruit coming out of high school, he'll be battling a freshman with a 1-3 record who just notched a win against Lehigh's Thayne Lawrence 8-2. If he wrestles AJ Heeg, Picklo will see another rookie with a 12-1 record who has thrived in his early college opens.

The question will be: does Picklo compete? After he was tech-falled against Missouri, head coach Roger Kish started Purdue transfer Gerrit Nijenhuis in the West Virginia dual, but the former Boilermaker took a 5-1 loss.

Regardless, of who starts though, this will be a big moment for Oklahoma and a chance to stop the Cowboy momentum that is likely to come at 165 pounds and pick back up again at 184 pounds.

184 pounds: No. 3 Dustin Plott or Jersey Robb vs. No. 32 Giuseppe Hoose

In addition to 165 pounds, the 184-pound bout is Oklahoma State's biggest opportunity for bonus, and head coach John Smith will be looking for Plott to come up big in this bout, as this is the last weight the Cowboys will be favored in for the rest of the dual. His expected opponent, Giuseppe Hoose, is a veteran, a senior transfer from Hofstra who qualified for the national tournament last year and went 1-2 with a win against Jacob Ferreira. Hoose has never wrestled Plott, but he's 5-4 on the year with his best win coming against Matt Zuber of Northern Illinois. Plott, on the other hand, is 12-1 with his best win coming by fall against No. 17 Virginia Tech's Sam Fisher. Plott did take split matches with Nebraska's Lenny Pinto at Cliff Keen, but he's also someone who performs well on big stages, and there are very few bigger stages for the Cowboys in the regular season than Bedlam.

Jersey Robb, the other option for Oklahoma State at this weight, is 8-0 in his redshirt season, but he has not faced any DI opponents yet this year. Being thrust into Bedlam would be a new experience for the Oklahoma native, but if that does happen, it says one of two things: 1.) Plott is hurt (unlikely since he wrestled well against Lehigh) or 2.) John Smith has such enormous confidence in his freshman that he wants to start him over a proven All-American in one of the biggest duals of the year for the Cowboys. If Option 2 is employed, Robb will be a factor moving forward, but it's tough to see a situation in which Plott isn't the guy.

197 pounds: No. 12 Luke Surber or Kyle Haas vs. No. 2 Stephen Buchanan

Oklahoma All-American Stephen Buchanan is the Sooners' not-so-secret weapon in this dual. The No. 2-ranked athlete in the country, Buchanan will have the match of the night if he takes on No. 12 Luke Surber of Oklahoma State, but Surber sat out against Lehigh, leading Smith to send out Kyle Haas instead. Haas was teched by Lehigh's Michael Beard and could face a similar fate against Buchanan. If Oklahoma needs team points, Buchanan is the man for the job.

HWT: pounds No. 11 Konner Doucet vs. No. 10 Josh Heindselman

Oklahoma State will not want this dual to come down to heavyweight. This isn't because the Cowboys don't trust their closer — Konner Doucet is a top-15 wrestler after all — but because Oklahoma State is favored in five of ten weights with the edge in a sixth, and if this dual comes down to heavyweight, something went wrong for the Cowboys earlier in the dual. If the dual does come down to heavyweight though, Doucet will need to stay focused and put his Friday night upset loss to No. 16 Nathan Taylor from Lehigh out of his mind before he takes the mat against No. 10 Josh Heindselman.

Doucet and Heindselman have wrestled twice, and they've split those bouts, but both were settled in tie-breakers. Talk about intense. Heindselman is currently 8-1 on the year with his lone loss coming to Missouri All-American Zach Elam 2-1. Doucet, meanwhile is 7-2 with an injury default loss to Grady Griess of Navy and Friday night's loss to Taylor. Heindselman's record this year looks better on paper, but Doucet clearly knows how to wrestle him. This is a must-watch meeting, regardless of the team score heading into this bout.