Oklahoma State Rallies For Bedlam Win Behind Luke Surber Pin

With the match tied at 15 a piece heading into the final bout of the dual, Luke Surber pinned No. 28 Keegan Moore 34 seconds into the first period to give the Oklahoma State wrestling team its 16th straight win over the Sooners, 21-15.

"I knew I was going to have to win to win the dual," Surber said. "I went out and got in on my shot and went for the cradle and he rolled onto his back. I had him pinned like five times probably."

Oklahoma jumped out to a 12-4 lead after the first five matches, with the lone Cowboy victory coming in a 14-5 major decision from No. 2 Daton Fix over No. 30 Wyatt Henson. 

Following intermission, Kaden Gfeller got Oklahoma State back on track with a 7-1 decision over No. 29 Jacob Butler. Gfeller used a reversal in which he caught Butler on his back for a four-point near fall to separate the score in the second period on his way to a comfortable win.

Following a close Sooner victory at 165 pounds, the upper weights for the Pokes came up big winning the final three matches to close the score on the Sooners and set Surber for his heroics. Beginning at 174 pounds, Dustin Plott was dominant in a 21-6 technical fall over No. 19 Darrien Roberts.

Travis Wittlake followed Plott with a takedown in sudden victory to clinch a 6-4 decision over No. 29 Greyden Penner to tie the match at 15 heading into the final bout.

"In those first five matches at some weights it looked like a bit of a repeat from Minnesota losing those tight matches," head coach John Smith said. "We knew what we needed to do. We needed to win four out of the five after the showing we had in those first five weights. That's what we did. We went out and won four out of five to win the dual."

The early deficit for the Cowboys came from close losses, including two in overtime. Konner Doucet and Victor Voinovich each dropped their bouts to higher-ranked Sooners in overtime, while Trevor Mastrogiovanni and Carter Young dropped matches by two points each.

Oklahoma State will be off until the Southern Scuffle on Jan. 1-2 in Chattanooga, Tenn. The next dual match for the Cowboys will come on Jan. 8 when they travel to Corvallis to take on Oregon State.

No. 12 Oklahoma State 21, Oklahoma 15

Dec. 11, 2022 I McCasland Field House I Norman, Okla.

Attendance: 3,150

HWT: No. 17 Josh Heindselman (OU) dec. No. 25 Konner Doucet (OSU), TB-1 2-1

125: No. 16 Joey Prata (OU) dec. No. 8 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (OSU), 4-2

133: No. 2 Daton Fix (OSU) MD No. 30 Wyatt Henson (OU), 14-5

141: No. 28 Mosa Schwartz (OU) dec. No. 21 Carter Young (OSU), 8-6

149: No. 15 Mitch Moore (OU) dec. No. 18 Victor Voinovich (OSU), SV-1 3-1

157: No. 9 Kaden Gfeller (OSU) dec. No. 29 Jacob Butler (OU), 7-1

165: No. 21 Gerrit Nijenhuis (OU) dec. No. 20 Wyatt Sheets (OSU), 6-5

174: No. 4 Dustin Plott (OSU) TF No. 19 Darrien Roberts (OU), 21-6, 6:39

184: No. 16 Travis Wittlake (OSU) dec. No. 29 Greyden Penner (OU), SV-1 6-4

197: No. 29 Luke Surber (OSU) fall No. 28 Keegan Moore (OU), 0:34