Cowboys Fall to Penn State in NWCA Dual Finals

Sunday, February 19

Stillwater, OK

3 PM

Oklahoma State University

Penn State

Photo by: Bruce Waterfield

February 19, 2017 | Cowboy Wrestling

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STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State wrestling team took its first loss of the dual season Sunday afternoon in the NWCA National Dual finals, falling to No. 2 Penn State, 27-13, in front of a record crowd at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Sunday's match drew an attendance of 14,059, which not only surpassed the previous arena record for wrestling of 10,082 set in 2001 against Oklahoma, but also set a new Gallagher-Iba Arena record. The previous record was set when the Cowboy basketball team hosted Missouri in 2007. That crowd reached 14,044.

"It was exciting," head coach John Smith said. "I've been waiting for that opportunity to pack the house for the first time since 2001. I've been excited about the opportunity to do that again and I wish we could've delivered a little bit more for the fans, but I wouldn't give up on this team.

"The one thing about this team is that they didn't recognize that they went up against guys that have some world events under their belt. You're not wrestling that guy - you're wrestling a college guy. They're tough kids and in the end we just didn't have it…We just didn't have the emotions to go out and do something special with it. I hope we can grow from it and be a lot more competitive as we prepare for the postseason."

The Cowboys picked up the first three matches, beginning with Nick Piccininni at 125. Piccininni was trailing, 3-2, early in the second period when No. 2 Nick Suriano was forced to concede the match due to injury default after 3:34.

Redshirt freshman Kaid Brock picked up bonus points at 133 pounds to put the Cowboys up, 10-0. Brock was all over Penn State's George Carpenter from the opening whistle, racking up five takedowns and a nearfall on his way to a 17-6 major decision.

Reigning NCAA Champion Dean Heil picked up a 3-2 decision over No. 10 Jimmy Gulibon at 141 pounds to remain undefeated on the season. Heil withstood a couple of blows from Gulibon at the end of the second and third periods, outlasting the Penn State senior to secure the win.

Penn State would answer, taking the following seven matches, including a handful of toss-ups, to clinch the victory.

Cowboy senior Anthony Collica held his own against No. 1 Zain Retherford at 149 pounds, coming up just short in a tight, 2-1 match. The loss was only Collica's second of the season.

Senior Kyle Crutchmer was edged by No. 7 Mark Hall at 174. The two wrestlers were tied late in the third, but Hall came out of a scramble with the decisive takedown to earn the win.

"I think in both of those matches we waited for the takedown," Smith said. "We were waiting for the moment and we need to be the one that strikes first. You can't just wait until the end and try to steal a match. I thought (Kyle Crutchmer) wrestled well. It was a tough match against (Mark) Hall, who is one of the finest, if not the finest, young guy that has come out of high school in a long time. The one thing you can take from it is that he did close the gap a little bit and never took advantage of his opportunities.

"I thought Anthony (Collica) wrestled a tough match. He can take this and grow from it. He was close and it was tight, but in the end you have to get off the mat because you can't give up a riding time point in critical matches like that."

At 197 pounds, Penn State's Matt McCutcheon also scored a couple of late takedowns against Cowboy Preston Weigel to take that match, 4-3.

The Cowboys will be back in action March 4-5 when they head to Tulsa for the Big 12 Championships, which are set to be held at the BOK Center.

No. 2 Penn State 27, No. 1 Oklahoma State 13
Feb. 19, 2017 | Gallagher-Iba Arena | Stillwater, Okla.
125: No. 11 Nick Piccininni (OSU) inj. def. No. 2 Nick Suriano (PSU) 3:34
133: No. 3 Kaid Brock (OSU) MD George Carpenter (PSU) 17-6
141: No. 1 Dean Heil (OSU) dec. No. 10 Jimmy Gulibon (PSU) 3-2
149: No. 1 Zain Retherford (PSU) vs. No. 2 Anthony Collica (OSU) 2-1
157: No. 1 Jason Nolf (PSU) TF No. 6 Joe Smith (OSU) 24-9
165: No. 4 Vincenzo Joseph (PSU) MD No 8 Chandler Rogers (OSU) 12-4
174: No. 7 Mark Hall (PSU) dec. No. 9 Kyle Crutchmer (OSU) 3-2
184: No. 2 Bo Nickal (PSU) fall No. 4 Nolan Boyd (OSU) 0:38
197: No. 9 Matt McCutcheon (PSU) dec. No. 8 Preston Weigel (OSU) 3-2
HWT: No. 3 Nick Nevills (PSU) dec. Derek White (OSU) 10-5