James Hackney
#4 Oklahoma State over #16 Oregon State (27-9)
It wasn’t always easy, but the Cowboys got a strong team win over Oregon State. Of the eight matches that OK State won, four were overtime matches and two others were within a takedown. Troy Spratley and Tagen Jamison suffered losses, while Dustin Plott scored his second top five win of the season. So many close matches after a recent dominant run for the team could be worrisome but it is always good to be able to come out and end up on the right side of tough matches at this point in the season.
125: #16 Brandon Kaylor Fall #19 Troy Spratley (4:47)
This match got off to a fast start, as Kaylor put Spratley straight to his back with nearfall for an early 6-0 lead. Spratley got away quickly and scored a takedown of his own to finish the period on top and make it 6-4. In the second period Kaylor got the pin with a suck back, a move that he is known for and very good with. Not an ideal result here, but hopefully a learning experience for the still young Cowboy wrestler. In the grand scheme of 125, a loss like this doesn’t change that Spratley is still a contender this season.
133: #3 Daton Fix Tech #26 Gabe Whisenhunt (22-6 6:01)
After a slow start in the first period with just one takedown, Fix opened up the rest of the match to pull away and score the tech. Fix has now scored bonus points in five of his six matches this year and continues to look like a finalist favorite.
141: #23 Cleveland Belton Dec. #7 Tagen Jamison (4-3)
One of the more surprising results occurred here as Jamison wasn’t able to find his offense in this match. Belton is a lanky wrestler and stayed on his knees most of the match, making things difficult for Jamison to get to legs. Belton scored the match’s lone takedown on an excellent double leg in the second. Jamison was pushing late and got a stall point, but wasn’t able to force another one in a match that had some odd edge wrestling calls. Similar to Spratley, this was a solid learning experience for a young wrestler. If Jamison can find more ways to score against opponents trying to slow the match down he should be able to flip matches like these in the future….
