Recap: No. 3 Oklahoma St. drops @UNCBearswrestle 37-4

Monday, December 18

Greeley, CO

7 pm

University of Northern Colorado

Oklahoma State

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

12/18/2017 10:58:00 PM | Wrestling

Wrestling results sheet OSU

Northern Colorado remains optomistic after tough dual

By: Matthew Kushar, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo- It was a tough night at Bank of Colorado Arena for Northern Colorado wrestling, as they dropped the dual against No. 3 Oklahoma State 37-4.

The Cowboys showed why they are one of the top ranked teams in the nation, winning nine of the 10 matches against the Bears.

The dual started at the 157 lb weight class with Tyler Kinn facing off against Jonce Blaylock. In the first period, Blaylock scored a two-point takedown on Kinn to take the lead. Blaylock padded his lead in the second with another takedown and an escape, while Kinn got on the scoreboard with an escape. The match ended with Blaylock winning a 10-3 decision after two more takedowns of Kinn. OSU went up 3-0 in the dual over UNC.

In the 165 lb weight class, Keilan Torres went up against No. 6 Chandler Rogers. Torres's night ended in the first period when Rogers pinned him at :54 and OSU extend the lead to 9-0.

Sethan Bogulski wrestled against No. 10 Jacobe Smith in the 174 lb weight class in a competitive match. Smith had a 4-1 lead after the first with two takedowns, but Bogulski managed to get an escape. Bogulski would keep it close in the second period, scoring a take down to trim the lead to 6-3. In the third period, Bogulski could not score against Smith and lost a close 6-4 decision. OSU now led 12-0 after three matches.

Dylan Gabel asserted his control against OSU's Keegan Moore in the first period with a take down and an escape to open a 3-0 lead. Gabel repeated his performance in the second period with a takedown and another escape to build a 7-0 lead going into the third period. Another takedown of Moore would secure the victory in the third period for Gabel with a 10-1 major decision. The win helped UNC close the gap to 12-4 in the dual.

The 197 lb weight class saw a matchup of ranked opponents in No. 19 Jacob Seely and No. 4 Preston Weigel. After a scoreless first period, Weigel broke the tie with a takedown of Seely. A four-point near fall in the third period gave Weigel a big enough lead and he defeated Seely in a 7-0 decision. OSU had a 15-4 advantage going to the break.

Robert Winters Jr. met No. 8 Derek White in the Heavyweight class. White earned two takedowns in the first period, while Winters picked up an escape to stay competitive down 1-4. White would take down Winters in the second period and extend his lead to 7-2. Two takedowns in the third period by White gave him the 12-4 major decision win over Winters and OSU's lead now stood at 19-4.

Now in the 125 lb weight class, Sean Cannon faced off against No. 3 Nick Piccininni. Piccininni was in control early over Cannon with a takedown and a four-point near fall to lead 6-0. The match would end with Piccininni scoring two more four-point, near-falls and a two-point near fall to win 16-0 by tech fall. The tech fall gave OSU a 24-4 advantage over UNC in the dual.

In the 133 lb weight class, Rico Montoya went up against No. 3 Kaid Brock. The first period did not go well for Montoya, as Brock scored three takedowns to lead 6-2. Montoya executed his plan better in the second period with an early escape to bring Brock's lead down to three. With :25 seconds left in the second, Montoya scored his own takedown to get within one of Brock at 6-5. Brock responded in the third period with a two-point reversal, but Montoya earned another escape to remain in striking distance. Montoya tied the match at eight with a takedown of Brock with :15 seconds left. Unfortunately, Brock scored the deciding point on riding time for a 9-8 decision win. OSU now had a 27-4 lead in the dual.

Benjamin Polkowske went up against No. 1 Dean Heil in the 141 lb weight class and Heil managed to pin Polkowske at 1:47. After the pin, OSU's lead ballooned to 33-4.

The final match of the dual had Jimmy Fate against No. 10 Geo Martinez in the 149 lb weight class. Martinez had a takedown and a four-point near fall over Fate in the first period to forge a 6-0 lead. Another takedown in the second period gave Martinez a 9-0 lead. Martinez would win the match with a 14-1 major decision victory over Fate.

Oklahoma State won the dual 37-4, dropping UNC to 0-2 on the season and 0-1 against Big 12 teams. OSU improved to 4-0 and 2-0 in the Big 12.

In Their Words

Dylan Gabel
On the match
"I listened my coaching staff and they gave me heads up of what to expect when I get out there. Basically watch out for the club, under hook, and heavy hand fighting in the beginning, They told me if I push the pace I can really start to break him a little bit. This the best I've been wrestling my whole career. I came off a good win against Northwestern kid last week, wrestling a complete match. I wanted to follow it up today with another complete match. I was able to get out quickly on bottom and get those two takedowns, while riding tough on top."

On the program's improvement
"The energy that the guys bring to the room, not just matches, is completely different. The atmosphere is a lot better you see it on the mat when we perform. We're not backing down as much anymore and we really believing in our ourselves and capabilities as a team. I stayed in-state to raise the level of excitement at Northern Colorado and rally the state around our program."

Rico Montoya
On the match
"He ran spiral with a half and I should of done a better job getting my hips out. I have to be more savvy and understand the situation and cut at the end. It's a good experience and I'd rather have this happen now then in March. It's a good climb the latter moment, but I want to happen now. I should have worked harder in the last 30 seconds of the first period. If I get out there at 6-3, it would have been 9-9 at the end of the match."

On the program's improvement
"I think now everything is clicking together. The fans are getting into it and its better every year I've been here. It's exciting to go out there and compete."

Troy Nickerson
Overall Thoughts
"I think overall, we wrestled fairly well. We pushed the pace and were definitely in better shape than them. Our guys did not back down tonight which is nice to see and its progress. We left a couple out on table out there, but its progress. I'm happy with the direction these guys are headed."

On Dylan Gabel
"He's rising to the occasion and he's taking that next step. He's beaten two really good guys in these last two duals and I'm excited to see what he can do going down to the Scuffle."

Next Up
Northern Colorado will be off until 2018 when they travel to Chattanooga, Ten. for the annual Southern Scuffle. The tournament takes place all day Jan. 1-2.