Seth Duckworth
From Oklahoma State Sports Information
STILLWATER – Head coach John Smith and the Oklahoma State wrestling program released its schedule for the 2023-24 season, which features 16 duals and an overseas trip to Italy with a challenging ACC opponent.
Of the Cowboys’ 16 duals, a whopping 14 of their opponents are currently ranked inside Intermat’s preseason dual meet rankings. Eight of those ranked matchups will be held inside Gallagher-Iba Arena as part of a nine-match home slate.
The Cowboys will open their season on November 10 at home against Bucknell, who fell to OSU last season in Lewisburg, Pa., 30-6. After a trip to the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational to begin December, Oklahoma State will play host to No. 24 Lehigh on December 8. OSU downed the Mountain Hawks, 25-6, in the 2022-23 season opener.
A trip down I-35 to face No. 13 Oklahoma on December 10 marks the first of six straight duals on the road. Last season, Oklahoma State edged out the Sooners, 21-15, in wild fashion behind a final bout pin from Luke Surber to claim the dual.
On a date still to be announced, the Cowboys will head to Minneapolis to square off with No. 16 Minnesota, who was the only team to defeat the Cowboys inside Gallagher-Iba Arena last season. The Cowboys will then head west on December 19 for a dual with Wyoming. OSU has never lost to Wyoming, owning a 26-0-1 record in the all-time series.
Oklahoma State will then travel overseas to Sicily, Italy, where the Cowboys will take on No. 6 NC State. The dual is set to take place just outside of Catania at Naval Air Station Sigonella. The Cowboys and Wolfpack made history in 2018 when they competed in Naples, Italy, which was the first NCAA dual to ever be held outside of North America.
Upon return from Italy, OSU will hit the road once again for a dual with No. 15 Pittsburgh on January 12. Just two days later, the Cowboys will look to improve their all-time record to 17-0 against No. 27 West Virginia in Morgantown, W.V.
Oklahoma State is set to host No. 21 Oregon State on January 21 in the first home dual of the 2024 calendar year. Last season, the Cowboys rattled off four straight matches to complete a 20-12 comeback in Corvallis, Ore. Oklahoma State is undefeated in the all-time series with an impressive 22-0 record.
No. 20 Northern Iowa will visit Stillwater on January 26 looking for back-to-back wins in Gallagher-Iba Arena following their 19-15 victory in 2022. The two teams have split their four matchups since 2020, including last season’s tight 19-17 Cowboy win in Cedar Falls, Iowa. A day later, the Cowboys will look to return the favor against No. 10 Iowa State, who claimed victories over OSU in both 2022 and 2023.
On February 2, Oklahoma State will host incoming Big 12-member No. 11 Arizona State. This will mark their first matchup since 2014, with the Cowboys posting a record of 39-4 in the all-time series.
In the final road trip of the regular season, Oklahoma State will take on No. 3 Missouri, the Cowboys’ highest-ranked opponent, on February 4. Each of their past two matchups have been decided by a single point, as OSU downed the Tigers, 17-16, through tiebreakers in Stillwater last season.
OSU will face No. 17 South Dakota State on February 10 before hosting a pair of rivalry duals to end the regular season.
No. 13 Oklahoma will make a return trip on February 18 for the 96th Stillwater rendition of the Bedlam rivalry. Dating back to 1995, the Cowboys have won 26 consecutive home Bedlam duals, including a lopsided 26-6 last season.
To close out the regular season, Oklahoma State and No. 8 Iowa will write another chapter in one of college wrestling’s greatest rivalries on February 25. The Hawkeyes have won back-to-back matchups, but OSU took the most recent dual in Stillwater with a dominant 27-12 win in 2019. The Cowboys currently lead the all-time series 29-25-2 with a 14-7-2 mark in Stillwater.
Postseason action begins with the Big 12 Championships at the BOK Center in Tulsa on March 9-10 as the Pokes look to capture their 20th Big 12 tournament title. Two weeks later, Oklahoma State will conclude its season with the NCAA Championships from March 21-23 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
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Oklahoma State Wrestling 2023-24 Schedule
Nov. 10 – Bucknell (7 p.m.)
Dec. 1-2 – Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Dec. 8 – Lehigh (7 p.m.)
Dec. 10 – at Oklahoma (2 p.m.)
TBA – at Minnesota (TBA)
Dec. 19 – at Wyoming (TBA)
Dec. 30 – NC State (Sicily, Italy – TBA)
Jan. 12 – at Pittsburgh (6 p.m.)
Jan. 14 – at West Virginia (12 p.m.)
Jan. 21 – Oregon State (2 p.m.)
Jan. 26 – Northern Iowa (7 p.m.)
Jan. 27 – Iowa State (6 p.m.)
Feb. 2 – Arizona State (7 p.m.)
Feb. 4 – at Missouri (2 p.m.)
Feb. 10 – South Dakota State (6 p.m.)
Feb. 18 – Oklahoma (2 p.m.)
Feb. 25 – Iowa (2 p.m.)
Mar. 9-10 – Big 12 Championships (Tulsa, Okla.)
Mar. 21-23 – NCAA Championships (Kansas City, Mo.)
