'I didn’t know what to expect': Kaden Gfeller helps lead OSU's domination of OU in Bedlam wrestling
NORMAN — Oklahoma State coach John Smith was pleased with the final result, but he saw a lot to work on in how his wrestling team got there.
The fourth-ranked Cowboys defeated No. 17 Oklahoma 31-3 in the first Bedlam dual of the season on Sunday at the Lloyd Noble Center.
With two bonus-point victories — a 10-2 major decision by Dustin Plott at 174 and a pin by Daton Fix at 133 — and several workmanlike decisions, the Cowboys controlled Bedlam from start to finish.
But Smith wants to see more out of his Cowboys.
“Just looking for a little bit more passion to score in situations,” Smith said. “A lot of it was just chain wrestling, following up off of missed shots, just doing some things that I seem to always have a problem with early on — not a problem with it, but I can’t get those guys to think about it.”
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OU won the pre-match coin flip and got to choose the starting weight for the dual, picking 149 pounds, where the Sooners were sending out two-time Big 12 champion Dom Demas for his first match of the year. He moved up from 141 pounds, where he has wrestled throughout his career.
After Demas scored a first-period takedown, Kaden Gfeller escaped and commanded the match from that point.
Gfeller got a takedown and a nearfall in the second period, then added a late takedown in the third to finish off a 9-3 decision.
“A lot of attitude in that match,” Smith said. “I like the fact that (Gfeller) did a nice job recovering from getting taken down at the beginning, and building himself back into the match, then with a comfortable lead, scoring that last takedown. Those are things you like to see, and things you remember as you move forward.”
With OU’s decision to start the dual at 149, Gfeller took it personally that OU seemed to think it could attack him.
“I took it a little personal that they thought I might have a little trouble coming off the scale with a one-hour weigh-in,” Gfeller said. “I just used it as motivation to go out there and wrestle harder.
“I didn’t know what to expect. I just wanted to wrestle my match, wrestle hard.”
At 157 pounds, OSU’s Wyatt Sheets trailed Justin Thomas 2-1 in the final period, but recorded a full period of riding time to tie the match at 2. Then in the sudden-victory period, Sheets scored a takedown for the 4-2 win.
“The riding time, which was close to the end, I think that really put the momentum towards me,” Sheets said.
Oklahoma State extended its team lead to 9-0 at 165 pounds with an 8-4 decision by Travis Wittlake over Joe Grello. The Cowboys added four more team points with Plott’s 10-2 decision over Anthony Mantanona at 174 pounds.
The match with the two highest-ranked competitors — OSU’s top-ranked A.J. Ferrari and OU’s No. 11 Jake Woodley — was tightly contested throughout, with points hard to come by.
But Ferrari, a sophomore and the defending national champion, picked up a first-period takedown, then extended his lead to 5-2 in the second period. Ferrari ultimately won 6-3.
OU got on the board at heavyweight, but it wasn’t without some drama. OU’s Josh Heindselman and OSU’s Luke Surber went to sudden-victory overtime tied at 1, and Heindselman scored a takedown.
Surber tried to answer with a reversal to tie the match again, but was denied. OSU challenged the call, saying Surber had tied the match, but on the review, the call on the mat was confirmed, and Heindselman took a 3-1 victory.
At 125, OSU’s Trevor Mastrogiovanni swung momentum back to the orange corner with a thrilling 6-4 victory over Joey Prata. The wrestlers were tied at 4 as the clock ticked down in the third period, when Mastrongiovanni scored a takedown with five seconds left to seal the win.
At 133, OSU’s second-ranked Daton Fix was on his way to a bonus-point victory already, but put the finishing touches on it with a pin of Tony Madrigal with 42 seconds left in the match. That extended OSU’s lead to 28-3.
OSU’s Carter Young wrapped up the day with a 9-4 decision over Jacob Butler in the day’s final match.
A scuffle broke out during the post-match handshake line, with Ferrari and Heindselman appearing to be at the center of it. But the two were quickly separated.
“I went back and watched it on tape, and we didn’t start it,” Smith said. “I’ll just say that. I made sure we didn’t start it. There’s been a problem there in the past, but those things shouldn’t happen.”
Bedlam wrestling results
Sunday
At Lloyd Noble Center, Norman
OKLAHOMA STATE 31, OKLAHOMA 3
125: Trevor Mastrogiovanni, OSU dec. Joey Prata, 6-4
133: Daton Fix, OSU, pinned Tony Madrigal, 6:18
141: Carter Young, OSU, dec. Jacob Butler, 9-4
149: Kaden Gfeller, OSU, dec. Dom Demas, 9-3
157: Wyatt Sheets, OSU, dec. Justin Thomas, 4-2, SV
165: Travis Wittlake, OSU, dec. Joe Grello, 8-4
174: Dustin Plott, OSU, maj. dec. Anthony Mantanona, 10-2
184: Dakota Geer, OSU, dec. Darrien Roberts, 9-2
197: A.J. Ferrari, OSU, dec. Jake Woodley, 6-3
HWT: Josh Heindselman, OU, dec. Luke Surber, 3-1, SV
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU at OSU wrestling: Kaden Gfeller helps lead Cowboys' rout in Bedlam
