WINNING ATTITUDE
OSU's Nick Piccininni has 100 victories but hasn't stopped pushing for something bigger
STILLWATER — As Oklahoma State coach John Smith talked about the importance for his wrestlers to come back with strong attitudes after difficult defeats in last weekend's duals, his comments drifted to senior 125-pounder Nick Piccininni.
“You get worn down by getting beat and not getting back up,” Smith said. “You're either moaning and complaining about getting beat, or you're being motivated by getting your butt whipped. Then you go back in the room with a different attitude. I saw that in Nick Piccininni (on Monday).
“He won both matches, but he didn't win `em like he wanted to.”
Piccininni has won enough matches to be lauded with some of the best to ever wrestle at Gallagher- Iba Arena. Earlier this month, he became the 44th Cowboy to win 100 matches in his career.
Yet after last weekend, when he ran his overall record to 102- 16, he was back in the workout room, pushing as hard as anyone to prepare for this week's home duals — at 7 p.m. Friday against South Dakota State and 2 p.m. Sunday against Missouri.
Win or lose — and obviously, it's mostly win — Piccininni goes back to work with the same passion to be better for his next match. Now a senior, he knows others might look to him for motivation when they need to get their attitudes right.
“I try to put in as much effort as I possibly can, and try to be an example for our guys, so if they look over at me, I know I'm working my hardest,” Piccininni said. “I know I'm putting everything into practice every day. If they look toward the middle and see me working, hopefully they step it up a notch.”
Ranked No. 4 at 125, Piccininni ( 18- 1) will face No. 19 Danny Vega of South Dakota State, then Missouri's Cameron Valdiviez.
Every step is another closer to his ultimate goal of a national title.
But reaching triple-digits in victories was a special moment to enjoy along the journey.
“Before the fact, I didn't really think about it much,” Piccininni said. “But being the 44th person in Cowboy wrestling history, it's pretty cool to put your name next to a bunch of legends in the sport. It's something that I'll hold onto for the rest of my life.”