7 Reasons To Watch Oklahoma State This Weekend
7 Reasons To Watch Oklahoma State This Weekend
The Oklahoma State dual meets against Northern Iowa and Lehigh this weekend are not to be missed. Here's why.
Wrestling fans will be spoiled this weekend, with wall-to-wall dual meets from Friday to Sunday. Two events at the top of the must-see list involve #4 Oklahoma State as the Cowboys host the Northern Iowa Panthers on Friday and the Lehigh Moutain Hawks on Sunday. Here are the top seven reasons to tune in.
Watch Northern Iowa at Oklahoma State LIVE on Friday at 8 p.m. ET
Watch Lehigh at Oklahoma State LIVE on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET
7. Josh Alber Beast Mode
Panther senior Josh Alber has been on a tear. A three-time NCAA qualifier, Alber is still looking for his first All-American honor, but this season's Midlands Champ has never looked better, having beaten Chad Red, Jaydin Eierman and Dom Demas all within the last three weeks. Can Kaid Brock slow down beast-mode Alber? Only one way to find out!
6. True Frosh Phenom Josh Humphrey
Lehigh suffered a slew of unfortunate injuries this season, seriously depleting their lower weights. One big bright spot for the Mountain Hawks, however, has been true freshman Josh Humphreys. The West Virginia native has racked up a 12-5 record with enough major wins to earn a #14 ranking. 157-pounds has not been the Cowboys' strongest weight, so Lehigh will be the rare favorite in this matchup.
5. Wood vs. White: Big Guy Battle
These two top 10 heavies have tussled once before, at the 2017 Journeymen Collegiate Classic, which White won 3-2. The Cowboy Bulkjob has been nearly perfect this season, losing only to Gable Steveson and attaining the ranking of #2. Wood is ranked #6, and his only blemishes this year have been to Steveson and Anthony Cassar. The dual meet will likely be decided by the time we get to 285, especially if the coaches start at 125, but NCAA seeding will be on the line for both of these large hammers.
4. John Smith is a National Treasure
Whether it's telling misguided fans to shut up or pumping up his wrestlers from the corner, Olympic legend John Smith provides a near constant and endless stream of pure gold when he's near a microphone. No matter the outcome of these duals, you'll want to stick around to hear Coach Smith's take. Also, his vest game is on point.
3. The Colossal Cowboy Crowds
As our friends at Pistols Firing have kindly noted, attendance at Historic Gallagher-Iba has been solid this year, and if trends continue, Oklahoma State could break their program's record. There are few better environments in sports than a packed house for a wrestling dual, and the Cowboy fans are known to get a little bit raucous from time to time.
2. Kaden Gfeller, The Tasmanian Devil
Max Thomsen is an All-American, but one would be hard-pressed to bet against Kaden Gfeller right now. The Cowboy redshirt freshman has been a Tasmanian Devil on the mat, winning the Reno Tournament of Champions and the Southern Scuffle. Only the top two ranked guys at the weight class, Anthony Ashnault and Matt Kolodzik, have been able to defeat Gfeller so far this season.
Sidebar: Ashnault and Kolodzik are scheduled to wrestle this Sunday, also live on Flo.
1. Joseph Smith Welcomes Kutler & Lujan To Stillwater
Joseph Smith made his return to folkstyle after nearly a year-long absence up two weight classes from where he wrestled at the 2017 NCAAs. But bumping up from 157 to 174 has not been a problem for the two-time All-American. Smith has been ripping through opponents, with only Mark Hall in the Southern Scuffle finals being able to solve him. This weekend, Smith will be tested again. The #5 Cowboy welcomes #8 Taylor Lujan of UNI and then #6 Jordan Kutler of Lehigh to Stillwater. We'll have a good bead on what level Smith is at after this weekend.
Bonus Reason
Oh yeah, Daton Fix will also be wrestling this weekend. He is pretty good. I recommend you watch his matches.