Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Wrestling Previews 2021-22 Season
October 28, 2021 | Cowboy Wrestling
The start of the Oklahoma State wrestling season is just over two weeks away as the team will officially open its dual season at Stanford on November 13. Head coach John Smith and All-Americans Daton Fix (133), Travis Wittlake (165) and Dakota Geer (184) met with the media on Wednesday to discuss and preview the upcoming 2021-22 season. Here is some of what they had to say:
Head coach John Smith
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On the upcoming season:
"We look good. I said it earlier, we're a little deeper this year. That doesn't mean that we're great at the weight yet; I think that needs to be developed in some weights. I think we have potential. I still think we're behind a couple of the leaders, but I do believe that we can close the gap. The nice thing is that I feel comfortable with the two or three guys we have at each weight. If we have to go and have to change because of an injury or do something differently, I feel like we have an athlete that can step in and do that. That's a big part of being successful. And, as you know, winning dual meets are important to us. It's what gives us the courage and the excitement of having a winning season going into postseason. Your dual season really matters in your confidence as you go into postseason. For that reason, we want to win every dual."Â
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On the depth of the roster:
"I thought we did a nice job with who we brought in last year. Some really quality kids. Seems as if they just kept coming, you know. It's a year that I feel like we've built some weight classes that we were struggling a little bit with depth. Any time you go into a season and feel pretty good about having two good athletes at each weight, maybe three, it puts you in a good position of just feeling comfortable during the year when you get dinged up a little bit and you've got good people stepping in."
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On ongoing competitions for the starting spot at some weights:
 We're going to be ranking in a week and a half. The nice thing about wrestling is two guys get to wrestle and get to show us who's going to start. I don't have to pick anyone. It's the results of the match. It's not a judgement of who's better at this position and this position. It's, 'Hey, who's winning the ranking match?' That's who's going to wrestle most of the time. For us, it's a nice opportunity that we have."
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On preparing for quality opponents to open the season:
"You look at our first two dual meets, both of them on the road against two highly competitive teams. Stanford and the University of Minnesota back-to-back weekends. There's a level of preparation to get to where you want to be."
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Dakota Geer
On the state of the team:
"I feel like the competition up there this year might be the highest I've seen it since being at Oklahoma State. It definitely makes for some fun practices. It also means we're going to have a tough team this year and I'm excited at the start of the year how everyone does."
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On returning for his final season:
"I'm happy. The weight cut was a little intense, so I have to get a grasp on that, but overall, I'm happy to be back. The reason I was hesitant was the weight cut. I let my weight get pretty high this summer, so that was the toughest thing. I'm getting pretty close (to weight) now and I'm having more fun with it. I'm excited to get out to California and get our first dual going."
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Daton Fix
On returning to training after the World Championships:
"I took a little bit of time off and I'm just now getting back into it. It's not a bad thing for me, but sometimes they have to force me to stay off the mat. I'm excited that I'm back training now and am looking forward to the season."
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On Carter Young:
"He's awesome. A couple months ago at the World Team Trials he wrestled awesome. He's a really good wrestler. He knows how to wrestle in all positions and being a freshman, mat wrestling is going to be the key for him if he wants to make the team or do well in the lineup. He's got to focus on wrestling on the mat because on his feet he can wrestle with anyone in the country."
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On the 125-pounders:
"We have a couple guys who are really good. I think either one of (Trevor Mastrogiovanni or Reece Witcraft) could All-American at the weight. To have that kind of depth at all of our weights is important. If somebody goes down, we have someone who can step in and it also pushes all of our starters to perform every day."
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Travis Wittlake
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On the dual he is most looking forward to:
"Definitely the Iowa one, I think that would be a pretty common answer. It's going to be a great atmosphere with tons of fans. I've never wrestled in front of that many people in a stadium like that."
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On Victor Voinovich:
"Victor has been doing really well. Anytime I get a chance I like to watch Victor. He's been having some success. He's wrestling with Kaden Gfeller and Wyatt Sheets al lot, so those are tough guys in the room. It's good for those guys to be around his weight and he'll be ready to go."
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On Wyatt Sheets:
"I was super proud of Wyatt. That was pretty amazing. It was good for his family, good for him and good for Wyatt's confidence, especially after the injury he had. It makes you wonder what he's going to be able to do this year. I think there's big things ahead for him."
Â
Head coach John Smith
Â
On the upcoming season:
"We look good. I said it earlier, we're a little deeper this year. That doesn't mean that we're great at the weight yet; I think that needs to be developed in some weights. I think we have potential. I still think we're behind a couple of the leaders, but I do believe that we can close the gap. The nice thing is that I feel comfortable with the two or three guys we have at each weight. If we have to go and have to change because of an injury or do something differently, I feel like we have an athlete that can step in and do that. That's a big part of being successful. And, as you know, winning dual meets are important to us. It's what gives us the courage and the excitement of having a winning season going into postseason. Your dual season really matters in your confidence as you go into postseason. For that reason, we want to win every dual."Â
Â
On the depth of the roster:
"I thought we did a nice job with who we brought in last year. Some really quality kids. Seems as if they just kept coming, you know. It's a year that I feel like we've built some weight classes that we were struggling a little bit with depth. Any time you go into a season and feel pretty good about having two good athletes at each weight, maybe three, it puts you in a good position of just feeling comfortable during the year when you get dinged up a little bit and you've got good people stepping in."
Â
On ongoing competitions for the starting spot at some weights:
 We're going to be ranking in a week and a half. The nice thing about wrestling is two guys get to wrestle and get to show us who's going to start. I don't have to pick anyone. It's the results of the match. It's not a judgement of who's better at this position and this position. It's, 'Hey, who's winning the ranking match?' That's who's going to wrestle most of the time. For us, it's a nice opportunity that we have."
Â
On preparing for quality opponents to open the season:
"You look at our first two dual meets, both of them on the road against two highly competitive teams. Stanford and the University of Minnesota back-to-back weekends. There's a level of preparation to get to where you want to be."
Â
Dakota Geer
On the state of the team:
"I feel like the competition up there this year might be the highest I've seen it since being at Oklahoma State. It definitely makes for some fun practices. It also means we're going to have a tough team this year and I'm excited at the start of the year how everyone does."
Â
On returning for his final season:
"I'm happy. The weight cut was a little intense, so I have to get a grasp on that, but overall, I'm happy to be back. The reason I was hesitant was the weight cut. I let my weight get pretty high this summer, so that was the toughest thing. I'm getting pretty close (to weight) now and I'm having more fun with it. I'm excited to get out to California and get our first dual going."
Â
Daton Fix
On returning to training after the World Championships:
"I took a little bit of time off and I'm just now getting back into it. It's not a bad thing for me, but sometimes they have to force me to stay off the mat. I'm excited that I'm back training now and am looking forward to the season."
Â
On Carter Young:
"He's awesome. A couple months ago at the World Team Trials he wrestled awesome. He's a really good wrestler. He knows how to wrestle in all positions and being a freshman, mat wrestling is going to be the key for him if he wants to make the team or do well in the lineup. He's got to focus on wrestling on the mat because on his feet he can wrestle with anyone in the country."
Â
On the 125-pounders:
"We have a couple guys who are really good. I think either one of (Trevor Mastrogiovanni or Reece Witcraft) could All-American at the weight. To have that kind of depth at all of our weights is important. If somebody goes down, we have someone who can step in and it also pushes all of our starters to perform every day."
Â
Travis Wittlake
Â
On the dual he is most looking forward to:
"Definitely the Iowa one, I think that would be a pretty common answer. It's going to be a great atmosphere with tons of fans. I've never wrestled in front of that many people in a stadium like that."
Â
On Victor Voinovich:
"Victor has been doing really well. Anytime I get a chance I like to watch Victor. He's been having some success. He's wrestling with Kaden Gfeller and Wyatt Sheets al lot, so those are tough guys in the room. It's good for those guys to be around his weight and he'll be ready to go."
Â
On Wyatt Sheets:
"I was super proud of Wyatt. That was pretty amazing. It was good for his family, good for him and good for Wyatt's confidence, especially after the injury he had. It makes you wonder what he's going to be able to do this year. I think there's big things ahead for him."
Â
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