James Hackney
Oklahoma State continues to dominate duals, taking 15 of 20 matches this weekend. Most impressive was that of those 15 wins, nine of them were with bonus points. The lineup saw some changes with Sammy Alvarez getting an opportunity, along with a short return from Luke Surber. The team’s quick start to 2024 has gone well so far, as the Cowboys have stayed undefeated. They have three more in January, with the biggest one against Iowa State to finish the month. After a strong weekend, here are my takeaways.
Sammy Alvarez may have earned the spot.
Expectations coming into the season was that Alvarez would be a high quality contributor at 141lbs. However, Jamison broke out and is looking like a potential top five wrestler at that weight. Alvarez made the move to 149 but after two bonus point losses at Reno it looked like it may not have been the best idea. He looks to have adjusted however as Alvarez dominated his ranked Pittsburgh opponent. He was right there to take out top ten wrestler Ty Watters two days later as well. Alvarez is dynamic offensively, with impressive scrambling abilities and looks to have a solid gas tank.
While Williams was a blue chipper out of high school, he hasn’t seemed to fully adjust to the starting spot. He has moments, but hasn’t notched a big win yet. He did beat Gabe Willochell, who pinned Alvarez at the Reno tournament. However, that was his first competition at the weight. Whether Alvarez was given a weekend shot or if Williams was banged up remains to be seen, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see more of him here in the future.
Luke Surber didn’t look 100% in his return.
After not wrestling since the first of December, there was bound to be an adjustment period for Surber. He didn’t get an easy match back with standout redshirt freshman Mac Stout. He struggled against Stout’s offense, allowing him to get deep and attempting to counter with a leg pass multiple times. He came close at times, but Stout was savvy and adjusted to avoid getting to that position…
