Pokes Wrestling @ Big 12 Championships in Tulsa - Saturday and Sunday

[Ptak'sNewspaper]

Great job Cowboys.

 

[Bigdcowboy]

Yes, outstanding job by our wrestlers. Especially our young guys who will get big time experience at nationals

 

[TulsaWorld]

Congrats on your weekend success. Sunday photos here and Saturday photos here

Additional coverage from Dekota Gregory:

Oklahoma State wrestling coach John Smith walked up the stairs to get on the risen black mat for a TV interview as the BOK Center crowd surrounding him roared.

Finals matches for the Big 12 Wrestling Championships hadn’t even begun yet Sunday night, but Smith’s team had already sealed its eight consecutive conference title. The streak matched a program-best from 1921-28.

“Those are important stats for the program,” Smith said. “Something you hadn’t done since 1921-28. Any time you tie or break a record at Oklahoma State in wrestling you’re doing something. I’m glad this team got to feel a little bit of that. This year has been a little bit of a struggle for us, but we did wrestle our best that we’ve wrestled all season.”

More on Nick Piccininni...

Piccininni became the ninth Cowboy to ever win four Big 12 titles Sunday night at the BOK Center with a 3-1 decision against Iowa State’s Alex Mackall. Piccininni started the match with a takedown in the first period before notching an escape in the second and getting shut out in the third. Mackall recorded an escape in the final period.

“That’s not really how I want to wrestle,” Piccininni said. “I’m not really too proud of my performance. It is what it is. I’m moving on and now it’s time to look forward to NCAA championships, and that’s where I’ll showcase everything. That match was what it was, and I think that was just a poor performance on my part, but we’re moving forward, leaving that one in the past.”

And from Guerin Emig...

They say a man truly reveals who he is during hard times, and so we’re going to start a remembrance of Tommy Chesbro in 1984. That was the year Chesbro’s Oklahoma State wrestlers finished second to Iowa at the NCAA Championships, the year one of Chesbro’s all-time greats lost his second match at that NCAA meet, and the year Chesbro wound up being replaced as Cowboys coach.

We’re going to let John Smith, the all-time great who lost that ’84 NCAA match, tell a story:

“I was a true freshman and didn’t place at nationals. Really, my points that I should have gotten was probably the difference for us winning or losing. The one thing I’ll always remember after that tournament was coach Chesbro came up and put his arm around me and said, ‘No regrets. You’re looking at a bright future and regrets only hold you back.’”

Smith shares the story inside a coaches’ room at the BOK Center as his Cowboys prepared to wrestle in this weekend’s Big 12 Championship, and he attempts to add to his bounty as one of the most successful competitors and coaches in the history of his sport.

“Really, that allowed me to ...” Smith continues before pausing for the right words. “... When you have one of your heroes in your sport tell you, ‘Hey, no regrets, you’re gonna move forward ...’

“There was a sense of him not being my coach but him being much more, another father to me. There are moments in your life where someone really makes a difference in the outcome. That was one moment, there’s no question.”

 

[pokefan05]

Wittlake wins 8-4.

OSU is conference champs
3 Champions
1 Runner-up
4 3rds
1 7th

Wittlake is a freaking stud, can't believe that guy is a freshman. Hopefully we have a decent showing at nationals and some of our young guys can punch above their weight. Really excited for next year with potentially having Fix, Brock, and Gfeller back, along with Ferrari and Plott coming in.

Potential lineup for next year?

125 - Fix - SO
133 - Brock - SR
141 - Gfeller?/Hone SO/SR
149 - Boooooooo - SR
157 - Sheets - JR
165 - Wittlake - SO
174 - Geer? - Not sure he could make that cut, maybe Taco goes to 174 and Geer to 184
184 - Taco - SO
197 - Ferrari - FR
HWT - Streck??

However it shakes out, we should be STACKED next year.

 

[Cowboy08]

Wittlake is a freaking stud, can't believe that guy is a freshman. Hopefully we have a decent showing at nationals and some of our young guys can punch above their weight. Really excited for next year with potentially having Fix, Brock, and Gfeller back, along with Ferrari and Plott coming in.

Potential lineup for next year?

125 - Fix - SO
133 - Brock - SR
141 - Gfeller?/Hone SO/SR
149 - Boooooooo - SR
157 - Sheets - JR
165 - Wittlake - SO
174 - Geer? - Not sure he could make that cut, maybe Taco goes to 174 and Geer to 184
184 - Taco - SO
197 - Ferrari - FR
HWT - Streck??

However it shakes out, we should be STACKED next year.

I've heard Ferrari say he wants to go heavyweight and has bulked up to around 220lbs but 197 is probably best for the team and we recruited 2 top heavyweights in Haas & Doucet

 

[Cowboy08]

Potential lineup for next year?

125 - Fix - SO
133 - Brock - SR
141 - Gfeller?/Hone SO/SR
149 - Boooooooo - SR
157 - Sheets - JR
165 - Wittlake - SO
174 - Geer? - Not sure he could make that cut, maybe Taco goes to 174 and Geer to 184
184 - Taco - SO
197 - Ferrari - FR
HWT - Streck??

However it shakes out, we should be STACKED next year.[/QUOTE]

Iowa 2020-2021
125 - Lee
133 - DeSanto
141 - Murin
149 - Eierman
157 - Young
165 - Marinelli
174 - Kemerer
184 - Asaad
197 - Warner
Hvy - Cassiopi


as great as our lineup looks we still don't match up well AT ALL in a dual with the chickenhawks, it's crazy how stacked they are right now

 

[CTeamPoke]

Wittlake is a freaking stud, can't believe that guy is a freshman. Hopefully we have a decent showing at nationals and some of our young guys can punch above their weight. Really excited for next year with potentially having Fix, Brock, and Gfeller back, along with Ferrari and Plott coming in.

Potential lineup for next year?

125 - Fix - SO
133 - Brock - SR
141 - Gfeller?/Hone SO/SR
149 - Boooooooo - SR
157 - Sheets - JR
165 - Wittlake - SO
174 - Geer? - Not sure he could make that cut, maybe Taco goes to 174 and Geer to 184
184 - Taco - SO
197 - Ferrari - FR
HWT - Streck??

However it shakes out, we should be STACKED next year.

I don't think that Fix will cut down to 125 for a full season. I mean... it would be awesome... but gut feeling is that he will go 133 again. He says that the cut to 125 isn't that much for him, but after the pop for methylphenidate I really think he'll go 133. I don't think he will be suspended by WADA and the NCAA, as some have speculated. All that said... it would be best for the team if he went 125, so I'll totally speculate it.

With Geer there's no way he cuts to 174, as the cut to 184 was tough for him as it is. I think he will be the 197lb guy and Ferrari will redshirt. Ferrari has some injury issues... but he's for sure a 197 guy. Doesn't have the frame to go heavyweight, regardless of what he has said in interviews.

I think it'll be...

125 - Fix
133 - Brock
141 - Hone
149 - Boo
157 - Sheets
165 - Wittlake
174 - Plott
184 - Taco
197 - Geer
Hwt - Streck

Apparently Plott could've wrestled this year, but they fully expect him to go at 174 at OSU next season so they decided to make sure that his shoulder is 100% healthy and he is ready for the college season. With the way 174 clears out in 2021... I fully expect Plott to finish top 5 as a freshman. He's that good.

I don't know anything about Gfeller... and because of that I don't feel confident putting him into a lineup projection.

Yes... Iowa is still going to be good next year @Cowboy08... but I think that lineup matches up very well with theirs.

Fix vs Lee.... we might see this in April at the Olympic trials and I'll take Fix in that one... mostly because I'm a homer.

Brock vs DeSanto... Brock is a significantly better technical wrestler than DeSanto. Full stop. DeSanto isn't a solid top wrestler, which is Brock's weakness, and from their feet I would full expect Brock to leverage DeSanto's attacking style to score points and ride.

Hone vs Murin... they're pretty evenly matched, as we saw in the dual. Hone will only get better. So will Murin. Hard to read this one.

Boo vs Jaydin Eierman... Eierman is a transfer from Mizzou that will probably go at this weight. It's going to be a very solid match. Eierman is better than Lugo, but Boo is really good as well. Will probably be Boo's last match in GIA as well... and then at NCAAs anything can happen. Eierman hasn't won a national title for a reason.

Sheets vs Kaleb Young. Sheets is going to be a stud next year and in this postseason. Watch. Already beat Young in Carver-Hawkeye. Wasn't a fluke.

Wittlake vs Marinelli... Wittlake is already close to Marinelli. I see this one as pretty similar to Hone and Murin... but amplified because both wrestlers are really, really good. Would mark this one as a toss up.

Plott vs Kemerer... Gotta give this one to Kemerer for now, as Plott is an unknown in college folk style and Kemerer is a #1 caliber guy and probably enters next season as the favorite to win the weight, and that's with merit. It's also assuming Kemerer gets an additional year of eligibility. If it's not Kemerer... Plott is a better wrestler than Nelson Brands.

Taco vs Abe Assad?... Taco beat brands and he absolutely would've beaten Assad in the dual if they had sent him out there. Assad is classic Iowa... pushes and waits for a mistake. He and Plott have wrestled and split matches.

Geer vs Warner... Healthy Geer with another offseason bulking to know he's going to be 197 will be solid. Much better than this year.

Streck vs Cassioppi... Cassioppi all the way here. Dude's very solid and from what I've seen of Streck... he'll qualify for NCAAs, but I wouldn't expect points from him. Will be better than what we have unless Harris hits a growth spurt.

 

[OSU9953]

I don't think that Fix will cut down to 125 for a full season. I mean... it would be awesome... but gut feeling is that he will go 133 again. He says that the cut to 125 isn't that much for him, but after the pop for methylphenidate I really think he'll go 133. I don't think he will be suspended by WADA and the NCAA, as some have speculated. All that said... it would be best for the team if he went 125, so I'll totally speculate it.

With Geer there's no way he cuts to 174, as the cut to 184 was tough for him as it is. I think he will be the 197lb guy and Ferrari will redshirt. Ferrari has some injury issues... but he's for sure a 197 guy. Doesn't have the frame to go heavyweight, regardless of what he has said in interviews.

I think it'll be...

125 - Fix
133 - Brock
141 - Hone
149 - Boo
157 - Sheets
165 - Wittlake
174 - Plott
184 - Taco
197 - Geer
Hwt - Streck

Apparently Plott could've wrestled this year, but they fully expect him to go at 174 at OSU next season so they decided to make sure that his shoulder is 100% healthy and he is ready for the college season. With the way 174 clears out in 2021... I fully expect Plott to finish top 5 as a freshman. He's that good.

I don't know anything about Gfeller... and because of that I don't feel confident putting him into a lineup projection.

Yes... Iowa is still going to be good next year @Cowboy08... but I think that lineup matches up very well with theirs.

Fix vs Lee.... we might see this in April at the Olympic trials and I'll take Fix in that one... mostly because I'm a homer.

Brock vs DeSanto... Brock is a significantly better technical wrestler than DeSanto. Full stop. DeSanto isn't a solid top wrestler, which is Brock's weakness, and from their feet I would full expect Brock to leverage DeSanto's attacking style to score points and ride.

Hone vs Murin... they're pretty evenly matched, as we saw in the dual. Hone will only get better. So will Murin. Hard to read this one.

Boo vs Jaydin Eierman... Eierman is a transfer from Mizzou that will probably go at this weight. It's going to be a very solid match. Eierman is better than Lugo, but Boo is really good as well. Will probably be Boo's last match in GIA as well... and then at NCAAs anything can happen. Eierman hasn't won a national title for a reason.

Sheets vs Kaleb Young. Sheets is going to be a stud next year and in this postseason. Watch. Already beat Young in Carver-Hawkeye. Wasn't a fluke.

Wittlake vs Marinelli... Wittlake is already close to Marinelli. I see this one as pretty similar to Hone and Murin... but amplified because both wrestlers are really, really good. Would mark this one as a toss up.

Plott vs Kemerer... Gotta give this one to Kemerer for now, as Plott is an unknown in college folk style and Kemerer is a #1 caliber guy and probably enters next season as the favorite to win the weight, and that's with merit. It's also assuming Kemerer gets an additional year of eligibility. If it's not Kemerer... Plott is a better wrestler than Nelson Brands.

Taco vs Abe Assad?... Taco beat brands and he absolutely would've beaten Assad in the dual if they had sent him out there. Assad is classic Iowa... pushes and waits for a mistake. He and Plott have wrestled and split matches.

Geer vs Warner... Healthy Geer with another offseason bulking to know he's going to be 197 will be solid. Much better than this year.

Streck vs Cassioppi... Cassioppi all the way here. Dude's very solid and from what I've seen of Streck... he'll qualify for NCAAs, but I wouldn't expect points from him. Will be better than what we have unless Harris hits a growth spurt.

gfeller is following a similar path to joe smith. Hopefully he gets his head together or like jojo..his career will be somewhat disappointing. Don’t ever see Hone beating Murin. Don’t get me wrong, Murin is far from elite...but hone is an effort guy with average athleticism.

Brock at 133 intrigues me. Weight cut has been fairly tough for him, but his strength plays much better at that weight class. That would be a very close match.

 

[#1 Pokes Fan]

Any word of cancelling the tournament in Minnesota? I'd love to see the tournament go on as planned but would giggle inside a little to screw Iowa out of a probable title if it does get cancelled.

@CTeamPoke
@Seth25809er

 

[PJ-OSU]

Any word of cancelling the tournament in Minnesota? I'd love to see the tournament go on as planned but would giggle inside a little to screw Iowa out of a probable title if it does get cancelled.

@CTeamPoke
@Seth25809er

The NCAA just canceled all spring and winter championships.

 

[CTeamPoke]

Any word of cancelling the tournament in Minnesota? I'd love to see the tournament go on as planned but would giggle inside a little to screw Iowa out of a probable title if it does get cancelled.

@CTeamPoke
@Seth25809er

Yep it’s over.

I hope they give the athletes an additional year of eligibility. This is heartbreaking for a guy like Picc.

 

[#1 Pokes Fan]

Interesting question here, by pushing the Olympics back a year, how will that impact Fix's college eligibility now?

@CTeamPoke @Seth25809er

 

[CTeamPoke]

Interesting question here, by pushing the Olympics back a year, how will that impact Fix's college eligibility now?

@CTeamPoke @Seth25809er

Man we probably won't know for a while. I don't think he will take another one. This one doesn't seem to have benefitted him all that much.

Selfishly I hope he wrestles this next season and wins an NCAA title, and then makes the Olympic squad and just crushes both of Spencer Lee's major dreams in the span of two months. Would be hilarious.