Cowboy Wrestling Season Preview

October 31, 2016 | Cowboy Wrestling

2016-17 Cowboy Wrestling Media Guide

STILLWATER – Ranked No. 1 in multiple preseason polls and facing the challenge of replacing three starters from last season's squad, including three-time NCAA Champion Alex Dieringer and two-time All-American Austin Marsden, the 2016-17 Oklahoma State wrestling team is up to the task of chasing the program's 35^th team championship in 2017.

There is reason for optimism, as the Pokes' roster boasts plenty of wrestlers that will look to make an impact this upcoming season. Head coach John Smith returns 2016 NCAA Champion at 141 pounds Dean Heil, along with All-Americans Nolan Boyd, Anthony Collica and Joe Smith from an NCAA Runner-Up finish at the NCAA Championships in Madison Square Garden last spring.

The Cowboys will get a couple of wrestlers back in the lineup whose 2015-16 campaigns were cut short due to injury, including 2015 All-American Kyle Crutchmer, a 174-pound senior, and 133-pound redshirt freshman Kaid Brock, who made noise in his first dual match when he pinned defending national champion Cody Brewer of Oklahoma shortly before his season-ending injury.

The Cowboys will open the season with a neutral-site match against Bucknell on Nov. 6 in Miami, Okla. The dual will mark the beginning of a three-match road trip that will take the Pokes to Minnesota (Nov. 27) and Oklahoma (Dec. 2) before they open their home schedule.

The 2016-17 season will bring seven regular-season duals to Gallagher-Iba Arena, including Pittsburgh (Dec. 4), Cornell (Dec. 16) and Iowa (Jan. 15). The Cowboys will also host Big 12 foes West Virginia (Jan. 20), South Dakota State (Jan. 22), Wyoming (Feb. 10) and Oklahoma (Feb. 12). On Feb. 19, OSU will play host to the National Wrestling Coaches Association Bowl Series as well, which will serve as the dual national championship.

Smith and the Cowboys will utilize what will prove to be a tough schedule to prepare for the 2017 NCAA Championships, set for March 15-18 in St. Louis, Mo.

"It appears to me that we have a lot of guys who are competitive, but may not be one of those top-tier guys at this point in the season," head coach John Smith said. "We've got a lot of guys ranked from No. 5 to No. 12, which isn't a bad place. We just need to move them into that top-tier status. We've been pretty successful doing that."

Below is Smith's breakdown of each weight class.

125 pounds
"I think you look at two guys right now in Nick Piccininni and Eli Hale. Both have great workout habits and both have been training well. I'm sure that we'll see both of them in the lineup. From the outside looking in, you'd probably give Nick a little bit of an advantage, but it's a long season and I feel good about both of them and their work habits. It's nice to have two guys that train at a level that influences others. Zac Gentzler has been injured for part of the preseason, and he'll be coming back as well so that will give us some additional depth at 125."

133 pounds
"I think you look at Kaid Brock as the guy that appears to be the starter, a redshirt freshman, and he appears to be ready to go. With Kaid, he needs to really focus on staying in position, keeping his body good and healthy and recognizing that you can't give up too much position or you can get hurt pretty easily at this level. I'm excited about him. I think that you also have a guy like Lincoln Olson from Michigan who is a redshirt freshman as well. Then you have some veterans with Kyle Garcia as well as possibly Donald Cannon who is coming off an injury. We've got three to four guys that can compete at that weight, but I would say Kaid is the guy you would look at the most right now, unless that changes. Gary Wayne Harding, our starter the last two years, I'm really hoping to see him go through a full redshirt. I think this is a good time in his career to redshirt him, and I will do everything I can to keep him in that redshirt unless injuries just plague this weight."

141 pounds
I think at 141, you've got a lot of interesting guys that could play a role for us. Of course Dean Heil, the returning national champion stands out above all of them. He's coming back, now a two-time All-American with one of those being a national championship. I like where he's at. I think he's made good progress in preseason. He's really done well. It's a tough weight class nationally, and I think we'll have a chance to maybe use a few guys at the weight if we need to. Boo Lewallen has been injured, and I'm looking forward to seeing him come back. He's been on the mat a little bit this preseason and I think he's going to heal fine and be ready to go sometime in December. You have guys like Tristan Moran, who is really putting the work in right now. I see him developing, and I see him getting better. It's really exciting watching him and seeing a lot of progress. I would say those three guys are the guys that we're really going to be looking at. Lincoln Lemon has certified at 133, but we could see Lincoln at 133 or 141."

149 pounds
"You start with Anthony Collica. He's in a pretty good position. He's a returning All-American that really had a good end of the season at the NCAA Championship. There are a few guys in the weight class that really stand out above everyone. He's not in that category yet, but I think it's something he could close the gap on. He needs to finish his shots a little better and continue to be the aggressor on the mat, but he's definitely shown great improvement. Both of the guys that could be backing him up and could be in the lineup at any given time, Jonce Blaylock and Davey Dolan, could end up growing out of the weight to 157. They're pretty big kids right now, and they're pretty lean, but both of those guys could see starting time at 149 and 157. Geordan Martinez, a transfer from Boise State, I don't see any reason why he wouldn't redshirt this year. Any true freshman, like a Wyatt Sheets, there's no chance in them seeing the lineup this year."

157 pounds
"You start with Joseph Smith. Joe was a true freshman and ended up having a good end of the year. Hopefully some of that maturity and some of that experience will put him at another level as we go into the season. I think it's going to be important for him to continue to develop his offense and work on being aggressive up top. Like I said, we've got a good group of people in and around 149 and 157 with Davey and Jonce. Dalton Moran could see time at 157. Those two middle weight classes, I think we've got guys that could help us throughout the season."

165 pounds
"165 is a weight class where we're a little thin. We've got a good one in Chandler Rogers. I think that he's going to find the move down is going to be a little bit of a different challenge. This is a weight class he hasn't been to in a few years. I don't think he's that big for the weight class. I think he's got good size, but if we see him struggle this year it will be because of weight. For Chandler, it's really about remaining focused on his diet and being really disciplined. If you're not disciplined, it's going to be a real challenge. Hestin Lamons would be the guy who will back him up. I have real confidence in Hestin. He's had real development since he's been here, and I've seen real changes in him. He's a great person to have on our team right now."

174 pounds
"At 174, I think you'd probably start with Kyle Crutchmer. He's coming off an injury from last year that ended his season a little early. I think the key for Kyle is staying level headed this year and not getting too high or too low. He needs to focus on what makes him really tick. He gets away from the things that really allow him to be successful on the mat. He needs to stay as close to those principles as he can and not get too far away from them. He does several things very well and he needs to focus on those things. Jordan Rogers, both of them seniors, could definitely see time here. We'll look to redshirt Jacoby Smith at 174. I feel like we're in pretty good shape in this weight as we head into the season."

184 pounds
"Of course, you have Nolan Boyd, a returning All-American. He definitely leads the pack right now. In Nolan, you have a guy that is coming back to a weight class where everybody is back, so it's not easier. If he's going to take guys out, he's going to take guys out who have won it and take guys out who have been finalists and have definitely placed ahead of him. He's going to need to recognize that the weight class is full and tough. Nolan Boyd is tough, but we're going to need to see some improvement for him to be able to really challenge those guys. Improvement is what he's done his entire career, so I'll just say that. At 184, we also have Andrew Marsden, who we pulled out of redshirt last year. We could see him at 184 or 197, but he's probably going to be a 184-pounder. We'd love to be able to redshirt him. Of course, we have Keegan Moore, a true freshman, we'll redshirt him. Landry Chappell is our other senior at the weight class, so if we needed to use anyone, it would come from three seniors: Nolan Boyd, Luke Bean and Landry Chappell. The guys that we need to redshirt, I think we're in good shape to be able to do that."

197 pounds
"At 197, Preston Weigel, who had a great run at the end of the year and who we saw great improvement from throughout the year, there were some real questions with him at the start of the year and he seemed to gather up steam. He brought a good postseason level of competition that he brought to the mat. He won the Big 12 Championship, and had a good NCAA Championship. He should be coming back with some confidence. Derek White, we had a late transfer from Nebraska. He's looked impressive in the room, and we really feel fortunate that he's on the team. I think those are two solid guys that I feel really comfortable with."

285 pounds
"You look at Austin Shafer who is in his senior season. He has an opportunity here to finish his career on a high note. Right now, it looks like the weak link in our lineup, but there's something about him where I think he can be a good heavyweight. He doesn't have to worry about his weight now. He wrestled at 197 the last couple of years and it was a big pull for him. His weight fluctuated quite a bit. Sometimes when you can eat, you feel a lot better. I hope that moving him to heavyweight will give him a little bit of freedom and help him perform at a high level. Tanner Allen is the only choice for backup right now. Ethan Andersen and Blake Andrews both have a redshirt year that we'd like to use. I think Tanner Allen, if he needs to fill in, can. He's really had great improvements. His body has changed. He has quite a bit of muscle, and he's been a solid guy for us. I really enjoy seeing what he's done with himself from the time he came in here when he was a little bit soft to where we've seen his body change through the hard work he's put in, especially in the weight room.