5 matches that could swing momentum in Bedlam dual
STILLWATER — The season’s second and final Bedlam wrestling dual has arrived, set for 7 p.m. Thursday at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Sixth-ranked Oklahoma State pulled out a tight 21-15 win at OU on Dec. 11, extending the Cowboy win streak in the series to 16 straight duals.
But the Sooners, despite a 9-7 overall record and 2-5 mark in the Big 12 Conference, have wrestled the Cowboys (13-2, 7-1) closer in recent meetings, including an 18-16 OSU win last February.
With the Sooners coming off a road upset of South Dakota State, OSU can expect another highly contested Bedlam on Senior Night for several Cowboys.
Oklahoma State has a significant advantage in a few matches, like 133, 157 and 184 pounds, but several others could swing either way.
Here’s a look at five matches that hang in the balance entering Thursday’s dual:
125 pounds
OU’s Joey Prata enters the match ranked 30th in the weight class, while OSU’s Reece Witcraft — who only made his season debut at 125 two weeks ago in response to an injury to regular starter Trevor Mastrogiovanni — jumped into the Intermat top 33 at No. 28 this week.
Witcraft is only 1-3 at the weight, having faced four ranked opponents since cutting down from 133. Prata is a veteran who is much more settled at the weight.
If the dual starts at 125, this match could be a strong momentum swing to begin the day.
141 pounds
Based on ranking, this is the biggest edge OU has in any match. Mosha Schwartz, a transfer from Northern Colorado, has been climbing the national rankings all season. He was ranked 28th when he defeated OSU’s Carter Young via 8-6 decision in December, but is now up to No. 7 with a 19-2 record.
No. 15 Young (12-9) went through some early season struggles, starting the year with six wins in his first 14 matches. But he has won six of the last seven, including two wins over top-10 opponents.
Young’s only loss in that span was a 4-3 decision against South Dakota State’s 10th-ranked Clay Carlson, who Schwartz defeated 8-2 on Sunday.
149 pounds
This is as close to a straight toss-up as you’re going to see. OU’s Mitch Moore has a 13-5 record and is ranked 19th, while OSU’s Victor Voinovich is 13-7 with a No. 20 ranking.
Moore earned a 3-1 decision in sudden-victory when they met in December, and Voinovich has suffered three losses to top-15 wrestlers in his last five matches.
Moore, however, was unavailable for the Sooners’ win at South Dakota State last Sunday after losing his match at North Dakota State on Friday, leaving his status unknown.
165 pounds
Here’s another swing match that went the Sooners’ way in December. OU’s Garrit Nijenhuis is ranked No. 21 with a 12-5 record, while OSU’s Wyatt Sheets is 12-10 and ranked 23rd. Nijenhuis took a 6-5 decision in the last meeting.
Nijenhuis is coming off an upset win over South Dakota State’s Tanner Cook, who was ranked 15th, while Sheets has been at his best the last few weeks, despite a 3-3 record. The three losses were close decisions to past NCAA champions. Sheets also defeated Cook last week.
Heavyweight
This has been a drama-filled weight class the past few Bedlam duals, though the December meeting was the first match between OU’s Josh Heindselman and OSU’s Konner Doucet.
Heindselman earned a 2-1 win via tiebreaker in December and has the ranking edge at No. 15 with a 21-7 record. Doucet, in his first year as a starter, has climbed to No. 22 with a 14-7 mark.
But at its heart, this is a pure Bedlam duel with a couple of Oklahoma boys — Heindselman from Piedmont and Doucet from Comanche — battling in what could be the final match of the day.