'Big ol' gas tank': Dustin Plott's energy helps Oklahoma State wrestling to victory
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STILLWATER — Dustin Plott took his shots and made his mistakes, but he never stopped moving.
Oklahoma State’s 174-pound wrestler fought until the final seconds, earning a late takedown for a narrow decision that sparked the 12th-ranked Cowboys on their way to a 28-7 victory over No. 23 West Virginia on Sunday afternoon at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
The Cowboys (7-1, 3-0 Big 12) benefited from three bonus-point victories, with 184-pound Travis Wittlake and 197-pound Luke Surber getting major decisions and 133-pound Daton Fix finishing off a third-period pin.
But OSU’s lead was just 15-7 when Plott went to work in his high-energy match against West Virginia’s Scott Joll. They were tied at 6 after one period of non-stop action, and Plott led 10-9 after two, then secured a pair of third-period takedowns for the 14-11 win.
“If you’re gonna get in that kind of a match with Plott, then you better have a big ol’ gas tank on you,” Fix said. “He has the gas tank on him, and he’s not gonna get tired. He did a good job of staying calm, because sometimes you get in those kinds of matches and you panic a little bit.
“He kept wrestling his match and he ended up kind of breaking that guy at the end.”
More:Oklahoma State wrestler Travis Wittlake set to 'prove myself' in key match at Oregon State
The Cowboys fell behind 4-0 when true freshman 125-pounder Zach Blankenship suffered a 14-4 loss to eighth-ranked Killian Cardinale. It was the second ranked opponent Blankenship has faced in as many matches after being forced into action this weekend because of a health-related issue with OSU’s regular 125-pounder, Trevor Mastrogiovanni.
Despite Blankenship’s losses against Northern Colorado and West Virginia this week, coach John Smith has been impressed with the Bixby product’s aggressiveness.
“It starts with a 125-pounder that is giving us some fight,” Smith said. “He was notified in the middle of the week, ‘Hey, you gotta get down to weight. You’re wrestling this weekend.’ Even giving up a major, I like his demeanor and he did what he could in this scenario.”
Not knowing the timeline for Mastrogiovanni’s return, Blankenship could remain in the lineup going forward. He can wrestle in three more duals and maintain his redshirt status.
More:Oklahoma State wrestling shuffling lineup to prepare for new season
Smith was particularly pleased with his upper weights, starting with Plott’s thrilling victory, rebounding after being taken down three times in the first two periods.
“Either your head spins or you stay focused on wrestling — not wrestling the clock, but wrestling your opponent,” Smith said. “I think he did a good job of that. I didn’t want him to cut him the last time, but he went ahead and cut him and got the takedown that put him up 14-11.
“I like seeing those matches. It’s not a time to scold him because he gave up so many points. It’s a time to celebrate that he stayed focused in the match.”
That led into Wittlake’s 16-7 major decision at 184 pounds, followed by Luke Surber’s 15-4 major decision at 197.
“For our team, it was one of our best outings this year,” Smith said. “I thought we did a good job. It was good to see a handful of them stretch their lungs out. …
"Your body’s strong, keep your mind strong in those scenarios. Not everything went smoothly, but yet, we found a way to manage through it and continue to score.”
Sunday’s results
At Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater
Oklahoma State 28*, West Virginia 7
125: Killian Cardinale, WV, major dec. Zach Blankenship, 14-4
133: Daton Fix, OSU, pinned Davin Rhoads, 5:47
141: Carter Young, OSU, dec. Jordan Titus, 5-1
149: Victor Voinovich, OSU, dec. Jeff Boyd, 8-3
157: Kaden Gfeller, OSU, dec. Alex Hornfeck, 5-3
165: Peyton Hall, WV, dec. Wyatt Sheets, 6-2
174: Dustin Plott, OSU, dec. Scott Joll, 14-11
184: Travis Wittlake, OSU, major dec. Anthony Carman, 16-7
197: Luke Surber, OSU, major dec. Austin Cooley, 14-5
HWT: Konnor Doucet, OSU, dec. Michael Wolfgram, 3-1
*-penalized one team point for a bench warning.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Dustin Plott's 'big ol' gas tank' keys Oklahoma State wrestling win
