OSU claims fifth straight victory

STILLWATER — The Oklahoma State wrestling team capped off a weekend sweep in Gallagher-Iba Arena with a 28-7 victory over No. 23 West Virginia as it improved to 8-1 overall and 4-0 in conference matches.

The Cowboys won eight of 10 matches, that included bonus point wins from Daton Fix, Travis Wittlake and Luke Surber.

Fix put the Cowboys up 6-4 early into the dual when he pinned Davin Rhoads in the third period. The fall is the third of the season for the second-ranked Cowboy who moved to 14-0 on the season.

Wittlake and Surber finished their weekends with a pair of major decisions after both collecting 17-5 victories against Northern Colorado on Friday. Wittlake took down No. 30 Anthony Carman seven times on his way to a 16-7 victory, which gave him a total of 14 takedowns in his last two outings. The next Cowboy on the mat, Surber scored a takedown in each of the first two periods, then exploded in the third scoring four takedowns on his way to a 14-5 major decision.

Following Fix’s fall at 133 pounds, OSU won decisions in the next four bouts to jump out to a 15-4 lead. Carter Young was strong in the top position as he rode Jordan Titus to a 5-1 decision, while Victor Voinovich collected his 11th win of the season and Kaden Gfeller defeated No. 28 Alex Hornfeck, 5-3.

Oklahoma State will put its five-match win streak on the line next weekend against a pair of ranked conference opponents. OSU will square off with No. 15 Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls on Saturday before taking on No. 4 Iowa State in Ames on Sunday.