The Oklahoma State Cowboys have only continued to impress since winning the 2024 Cliff Keen Invitational. The team's dominant 34-9 win over No. 7 Virginia Tech is further proof that the Cowboys are here to contend for team trophies and individual titles in head coach David Taylor's first season in Stillwater.
These are the three biggest takeaways from Oklahoma State's victory against the Hokies and what these results could mean come March.
The Cowboys' depth and sharpness showed across the lightweights
In three potentially competitive matches at 125, 133 and 141 pounds, the Cowboys made a statement, earning bonus points in each weight and demonstrating the All-American potential of their first three starters.
Sophomore Troy Spratley started the scoring for Oklahoma State, outperforming All-American Eddie Ventresca at 125 pounds 10-1 to swing the momentum to the Cowboys immediately. Spratley finished in the Round of 12 last season but now has wins over three place winners this year including Ventresca, Nebraska's Caleb Smith and Wyoming's Jore Volk. He's positioned himself not only to compete for his first All-American honor but potentially a national title as well, if he continues on this trajectory.
That gas tank goes all seven minutes. l
— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling)
Following Spratley was two-time NCAA qualifier Reece Witcraft with a solid 14-4 win over Virginia Tech's Dillon Campbell. Witcraft's win doesn't immediately propel him into the All-American conversation, given that Campbell is backing up Tech's Connor McGonagle at the weight, but this 14-point performance combined with his fourth-place finish at the Cliff Keen Invitational shows that he too has made notable improvements this season and is in the mix at 133 pounds, a weight without a returning champion from 2024. Witcraft's big chance to show that he can compete against some of the best in the country will come in late January when he could meet All-American Evan Frost of Iowa State, but, for now, a bonus-point win in his home gym is something for him to hang his (cowboy) hat on.
No. 4 Tagen Jamison was not going to be left out of the bonus-point party in the first half of the dual either. The 141-pound sophomore notched his own 8-0 win over All-American No. 13 Sam Latona of Virginia Tech to bring his season record total to 10-1. Jamison is in a tougher weight class than his two teammates because he has two returning champs — Andrew Alirez and Jesse Mendez — he'd have to get through to finish on the top of the podium in addition to 2024 NCAA finalist Beau Bartlett. His win against Latona though and the nature of the win itself suggests that Jamison isn't backing down from anyone. The young Cowboy went 0-2 at NCAAs last year; expect a far different result this season.
Bonus points from Plott showed his poise and countered Tech's success at 149 and 157
While Oklahoma State ran away with the first three matches, Virginia Tech turned up the heat in the middleweights, notching a pin at 149 pounds from NCAA champion Caleb Henson and an intense 20-15 win from No. 14 Rafael Hipolito at 157 pounds.
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Those points, though, still weren't enough to stop the Oklahoma State force later in the lineup. The Cowboys responded with a 7-1 win at 165 pounds from All-American No. 6 Cameron Amine, a tech fall from Dean Hamiti at 174 pounds and then a dominant performance from NCAA finalist Dustin Plott at 184 pounds.
Plott was the only returning Cowboy All-American in the lineup this year who wrestled for Oklahoma State last season, and he's living up to his Cowboy legacy. In a workmanlike manner, Plott picked up two takedowns in the first period against Virginia Tech's Sam Fisher, another takedown in the second period and ten more points in the third to secure the 20-5 win at the buzzer. The tech fall against the Hokie marks Plott's fifth of the season and his seventh bonus-point win thus far.
With the momentum in Oklahoma State's favor, another veteran member of the team and All-American contender this year Luke Surber added a gritty overtime win to the team's total against Andy Smith, locking up the dual before heavyweight. Plott and Surber have been stellar, steady upperweights for the Cowboys this year and will both look to keep this energy rolling into March, with Plott hoping to upstage four-time NCAA champion Carter Starocci and returning NCAA champion Parker Keckisen at 184 pounds and Surber looking to crack the Top 8 at 197 pounds.
Transfers Dean Hamiti and Wyatt Hendrickson have jumped levels in Stillwater
Head coach David Taylor is developing athletes within the program like Spratley, Jamison, Plott, Surber and Witcraft and helping them reach new heights, but some of the most impressive Cowboy performances on Thursday night though came from the newcomers, specifically, transfer Dean Hamiti and Wyatt Hendrickson. In their first year with the program, both of these All-Americans added bonus point wins to their resumes against their opponents, with Hamiti teching No. 4 Lennox Wolak and Hendrickson pinning Hunter Catka.
Wyatt Hendrickson with the celebration flip 😳
— WrestlersGrind (@_wrestlersgrind)
Hendrickson's result was perhaps more expected, given his propensity for pins and his dominant style of wrestling.
He took down Catka, who is competing as the backup to freshman Jimmy Mullen, despite finishing as high as the Round of 12 in his career, within the first 30 seconds of his match against the Hokie on Thursday and then went to work on top. He then pinned Catka less than two minutes later, ending the match before the conclusion of the first period to notch his fifth fall of the season.
Though Hendrickson was excellent during his last four years wrestling at the Air Force Academy before transferring and has already finished third twice, he seems just as, if not more, dominant and quick since joining the Cowboys' roster. He's in a weight class with Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson and 2024 undefeated national champion Greg Kerkvliet, but his results continue to suggest that he has the potential to possibly compete with these athletes after three more months of training under Olympic gold medalist head coach Taylor.
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Hamiti has been similarly successful and dominant in his career and became known for his high-flying offense and aggressive wrestling at Wisconsin. He too looks even stronger, faster and more confident wrestling for the Cowboys. His aforementioned 20-4 technical fall against a top-5 opponent in Wolak was nothing short of impressive.
This was Hamiti's match from the start too, as he earned the first takedown and never took his foot off the gas, ending the bout after the second period. Hamiti made a compelling argument tonight that he belongs in a tier with returning NCAA champions Keegan O'Toole and Levi Haines at his weight class. He'll get his chance against O'Toole in February too, but, for now, he remains undefeated with an over 80% bonus rate and looks to be a threat in one of the most top-heavy weight classes in the country.
Hamiti, Hendrickson and Plott led the way with their techs and pins tonight, but this a tough team from start to finish, and the depth and power of the squad that wrestled tonight should put most teams in the country on high alert.
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