Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Lehigh
Cowboy Wrestling Opens 2022-23 Season With Doubleheader in Pennsylvania
November 11, 2022 | Cowboy Wrestling
1 - Lehigh and Bucknell Notes
The Basics
The Oklahoma State wrestling team will open its 2022-23 season with a doubleheader against No. 17 Lehigh and Bucknell on Saturday, Nov. 12. The No. 11 Cowboys will begin the day with a match against Lehigh at 11 a.m. CT before driving to Lewisburg for a nightcap with Bucknell.
On the Air
The opening match of the season for Oklahoma State will be streamed on FloWrestling, while the dual with Bucknell can be found on ESPN+. Both matches can also be heard on the radio with Rex Holt going on air 30 minutes before the start of each dual on Pete 94.3-FM. Live stats can be found on Trackwrestling.com.
The Series - Lehigh
Oklahoma State holds an 11-2 advantage in the all-time series over Lehigh ahead of Saturday's contest. The last time the Cowboys visited Lehigh, the Mountain Hawks won, 21-20, in 2019. Last season, OSU improved to 6-0 against Lehigh in Gallagher-Iba Arena with a 26-9 victory led by a first-period pin from Daton Fix.
The Series - Bucknell
Oklahoma State and Bucknell have met six times prior to Saturday's dual with each dual resulting in an OSU victory. The average margin of victory for the Cowboys has been 31.5 points, with the largest margin of victory coming in a 40-6 win in 2013. This will be only the second match in Lewisburg between the teams, with OSU winning, 37-6, on Dec. 17, 2012. The Cowboys won 32-6 the last time the teams met a season ago.
About the Cowboys
Oklahoma State enters the 2022-23 season ranked No. 11 in the preseason NWCA Coaches Poll ahead of its doubleheader season opener against No. 14 Lehigh and Bucknell on Saturday. The Pokes return four All-Americans who have earned All-America honors a total of eight times, headlined by three-time NCAA finalist Daton Fix. Wyatt Sheets and Travis Wittlake are both two-time All-Americans for OSU, while Dustin Plott is coming off of his first appearance on the podium last season. The OSU lineup has seen some movement from a season ago with weight changes from past starters opening opportunities for unproven talent at 165 pounds and heavyweight. Wittlake moved up two weight classes to 184 pounds in the offseason, while Luke Surber dropped down a weight to 197 pounds. In their places, Jalin Harper will get the first chance to stake his claim to the starting spot at 165 pounds and Konner Doucet will be the guy at heavyweight. Trevor Mastrogiovanni returns for his third season in the lineup at 125 pounds as he looks to make the jump that Plott did a year ago to All-America status for the first time. Carter Young returns at 141 pounds where he went 12-9 as a true freshman, but should benefit from an offseason where he grew into the weight class. Talented freshman Victor Voinovich will start the season at 149 pounds, but will be challenged by reigning Big 12 champion Kaden Gfeller who decided to return to Oklahoma State for his final season in August. Voinovich flashed potential while redshirting as a true freshman posting a 16-1 record and placing third at the Southern Scuffle. With Sheets and Gfeller back for their COVID seasons, the middleweights could see some different looks throughout the course of the season. Those two and Harper will be challenged by a group of Cowboys looking to break into the starting lineup for the first time, including Chance McLane, Travis Mastrogiovanni, Luke Mechler and Jordan Williams.
A Pair of Oklahoma State Wins Would...
• Move the Cowboys to 2-0 overall
• Push OSU's road dual record this season to 2-0
• Improve John Smith's record against Lehigh to 9-2; against Bucknell to 7-0
• Move the all-time series record against Lehigh to 12-2; against Bucknell to 7-0
Cowboys in the Polls
Oklahoma State's roster features nine wrestlers ranked in various polls this week, with five holding spots inside the top-10. Senior 133-pounder Daton Fix is the consensus No. 2 wrestler at his weight and is the highest ranked Cowboy, as the reigning Big 12 champion and a national finalist the last two seasons. Following Fix, Dustin Plott appears at No. 4 at 174 pounds after earning All-America honors for the first time last season with a sixth-place finish. Also making appearances in the top 10 of their respective weight classes are Trevor Mastrogiovanni, Carter Young and Travis Wittlake. Mastrogiovanni holds down the No. 7 spot to enter the season after he posted a 19-5 record as a sophomore, while Young is ranked as high as No. 9 by WIN Magazine at 141 pounds. Wittlake is bumping up two weight classes to 184 pounds and is ranked No. 9 by WIN Magazine, after spending the last three seasons starting for OSU at 165 pounds. Wyatt Sheets is ranked as high as No. 12 at 157 pounds, while Victor Voinovich (149) is ranked No. 19 by Intermat ahead of his first career dual start. Luke Surber was ranked No. 21 by FloWrestling as he moves down to 197 pounds, while Konner Doucet was ranked for the first time in his career at heavyweight.
