Big wins by Teague Travis, Brayden Thompson spark Oklahoma State in Bedlam wrestling
NORMAN — As the clock ticked under a minute left in his match, Oklahoma State’s Teague Travis was locked in a low-scoring battle, trying simply to hold onto his narrow advantage.
OU’s John Wiley had just escaped and needed only a takedown in the final minute to defeat his Cowboy rival in the 157-pound match of Sunday’s Bedlam wrestling dual at McCasland Field House.
But Travis reacted to Wiley’s shot with 13 seconds remaining, turned Wiley on his back for nearfall points and went from the edge of the cliff to the top of the mountain.
Travis’ late flurry of offense turned a slight edge into a bonus-point win and spurred the 11th-ranked Cowboys on their way to a 28-9 victory over the No. 18 Sooners.
“Teague did a really nice job when he needed to tighten everything up,” OSU coach John Smith said. "And he ended up with a tight match turning into a major decision. With the rules now, that can happen.
“It ended up 11-2, but it was a lot tougher match than that. You take a guy down and to his back, that’s seven points now. That’s big in dual meets.”
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Smith is referencing the new scoring rules, the most notable of which is three points for a takedown rather than two. The Cowboys used that rule change to their advantage in multiple scenarios to gain bonus points on Sunday.
Travis ended with an 11-2 major decision. Moments later at 174, freshman Brayden Thompson had an early takedown, then four nearfall points and a riding time point for a 9-0 major decision over OU’s Tate Picklo. And at 184, OSU’s Dustin Plott scored frequently on his way to a 19-2 technical fall.
“I love the three-point takedown as someone who loves to wrestle on their feet,” said Plott, who has moved up a weight class this year and is ranked third nationally. “I think this year you’re seeing a lot more separation in scores. Matches that were 6-2, 9-2, on the verge of a major, now those matches are majors. Everything’s progressing with more points and I think it’s great.”
Of course, the scoring rules only enhanced a strong Cowboy performance in which it lost just two matches. And the Pokes were without two of their higher ranked wrestlers. Daton Fix, who is ranked third at 133 pounds, and Luke Surber, who is No. 12 at 197, were both out with injuries.
Yet the Cowboys showed no signs of panic, taking control early behind wins from Troy Spratley, Reece Witcraft and Tagen Jamison in the first three weight classes.
Witcraft’s 8-1 decision over OU’s Jace Koelzer was one of the most valuable, with the redshirt senior stepping in for Fix.
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“A mature kid, been out there, and these are opportunities for him,” Smith said. “One of our best wrestlers not in the lineup. That’s what you hope for, is you take advantage of your opportunities, and I thought he did a nice job.”
Despite the injury absences, OSU responded confidently, winning all but one of the matches that would have been considered tossups.
“Our young guys are fiery and energetic,” said heavyweight Konner Doucet, who ended the day with a 2-1 win over OU’s Josh Heindselman in the rideout tiebreaker. “The older guys are just trying to lead by example, let them know it doesn’t matter if we’ve got 10 guys out. We’re deep enough in the room that we can compete with anybody.”
While this was OSU’s 18th straight Bedlam dual victory, dating back to 2013, it was the first over new OU coach Roger Kish, who had built North Dakota State into a strong program over his 12 seasons there.
“At the end of the day, I don’t know if we put ourselves in enough scoring opportunities,” Kish said. “We gotta go back and figure out how to get better on bottom. I think that’s been a theme in the matches that we lost, that we’ve given up ride points.”
Smith and Kish have matched up multiple times before, with NDSU having joined the Big 12 in 2015, and Smith knows Kish will keep the Sooners on the right path going forward.
“This is gonna be a good team in the future,” Smith said of the Sooners. “Good coach, good coaching staff. This Bedlam will get tougher and tougher.”
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Bedlam wrestling results
Saturday
At McCasland Field House, Norman
OSU 28, OU 9
125: Troy Spratley, OSU, dec. Conrad Hendriksen, 4-1
133: Reece Witcraft, OSU, dec. Jace Koelzer, 8-1
141: Tagen Jamison, OSU, dec. Kaden Smith, 6-3
149: Willie McDougald, OU, dec. Jordan Williams, 5-4
157: Teague Travis, OSU, maj. dec. John Wiley, 11-2
165: Izzak Olejnik, OSU, dec. Cael Carlson, 8-3
174: Brayden Thompson, OSU, maj. dec. Tate Picklo, 9-0
184: Dustin Plott, OSU, tech. fall, Giuseppe Hoose, 19-2
197: Stephen Buchanan, OU, pinned Kyle Haas, 4:41
HWT: Konner Doucet, OSU, dec. Josh Heindselman, 2-1 tiebreaker
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Wins by Teague Travis, Brayden Thompson spark OSU in Bedlam wrestling
