Puzzles. They can be a lot of fun sometimes. 100 piece puzzles can be challenging & at the same time rewarding once you put them together. What sucks though, is when you have what is supposed to be a 100-piece puzzle & you only have 78 pieces of it. Dual meets sometimes can resemble puzzles, both those with all 100 pieces, and those with 22 of the pieces missing.
To be frank, I'm not sure if would make a whole lot of difference if we're strictly talking who advances to round two & who gets sent down to the consolation bracket. I'm pretty sure that even with Diakomihalis, Ungar, Cornella, Fernandez & Shapiro in the lineup that this was going to be a win for Oklahoma State. A much closer dual, but still a win for Oklahoma State.
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| #2 Troy Spratley Vs #24 Marcello Milani 125 |
I'm a fan of Greg Diakomihalis & if he's able to overcome Marcello Milani in a wrestle-off once he returns to the lineup, I hope to see him have some big successes throughout 2025-2026. With that said, Troy Spratley is an NCAA DI title contender & he'll show us why in this match. Do I think that Diakomihalis could potentially keep it closer than what Milani will. Yes, but I don't know how much closer. I think Spratley can get to that 8+ lead against Milani, whereas against Diakomihalis we might be looking at something more like a 6-0 or a 7-1. Either way points for the Cowboys here.
OKLAHOMA STATE: 4
CORNELL: 0
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| #12 Richard Figueroa Vs ? 133 |
Here things would've made a huge difference. The last time Richard Figueroa & Brett Ungar met, Ungar took the former Sun Devil now Cowboy into the tiebreakers before eventually dropping a 6-2 decision. Now picture it if you will. Starting out the beginning of the season with a win over the 2024 NCAA DI champ? How huge would that've been for Ungar? How huge would that've been for Cornell? It was no guarantee, but it was a possibility with a fighter's shot of probability. With Ungar out of the lineup early into the season, I can't see Oklahoma State settling for anything less than a major decision.
OKLAHOMA SATE: 8
CORNELL: 0
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| #20 Carter Young Vs ? 141 |
Here it makes an even bigger difference than what it does at 133 lbs. Vince Cornella would've been favored heading into this match with Carter Young. Again not a guarantee of a victory, but a lot better odds than anyone else the Big Red will put in there. Not trying to be pessimistic or negative, but I am trying to be realistic & honest. Again, find it hard to think it'll be anything less than a major.
OKLAHOMA STATE: 12
CORNELL: 0
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| #5 Casey Swiderski Vs #17 Jaxon Joy 149 |
Four matches into this dual & now we finally have a member of the Big Red who could end up being the same representative for the weight come the Ivy League championships. Jaxon Joy is a freshman who has en-JOY-ed some nice wins thus far in his career, including Drew Roberts of Minnesota. He's never faced anyone of Casey Swiderski's level yet. Not at the collegiate level anyway. Swiderski may have been injured this past season, but he was R12 in '23 & 7th in the DI nation in '24. Injuries always leave you in a state of ambiguity, as until they get back on the mat & you see them perform, you're left guessing. I don't think Oklahoma State would've taken him in unless the diagnoses was healthy. Predicting a decision here for the Cowboys.
Now would I feel differently if it were Ethan Fernandez instead? Yeah. I do think Fernandez would have a better shot at Swiderski, but I still think it'd end in decision for the Pokes.
OKLAHOMA STATE: 15
CORNELL: 0
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| #16 Travis Teague Vs ? 157 |
I'm reminded of TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES. There's a scene where Leonardo, Michaelangelo & Donatello are fighting against Tatsu & the Foot Soldiers. Raphael is incapacitated having been beaten nearly to death by the Foot. Michaelangelo says, "Man, we could really use Raph right about now." Heading into 157 lbs, the Big Red could really use Meyer Shapiro right about now. And to emphasize the point even more, they don't have a Casey Jones that is suddenly going to show up to even the score. The two-time All-American, ranked #3 in the country was likely to pick up a W here against the Cowboys. Say Diakomihalis had kept it to a decision against Spratley. Ungar would've upset Figueroa. Cornella with a win over Young, and Joy with a huge upset over Swiderski (which could still happen). Now we'd be heading into 165, with a possible score of Cornell 12 & Oklahoma State 3. Or in the least a Hell of a lot closer than the score I'm predicting.
OKLAHOMA STATE: 19
CORNELL: 0
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| U.R. Ladarion Lockett Vs U.R. Louie Cerchio 165 |
A four-time New Jersey state place-winner, who put together a 29-6 record last year, I think freshman Louie Cerchio will do some nice things for Cornell the future. However, his opponent Ladarion Lockett, also a freshman, is a four-time Oklahoma State champion & let me also add in, a recent PAN-AMERICAN gold medalist. By the time this dual takes place, the Cowboys will have already faced Stanford & I'm excited to see Lockett against Hunter Garvin. I do think this is yet another ✓ in the win column for the Cowboys.
OKLAHOMA STATE: 22
CORNELL: 0
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| #11 Alex Facundo Vs #3 Simon Ruiz 174 |
Here is Cornell's best shot of the dual. Still far from a guarantee, but the best odds they are going to have all night. Simon Ruiz ended last season as an All-American with a 5th place finish. He took the "peak at the right time" philosophy to heart winning an Ivy League title & winning some really tough matches at the NCAA's to achieve his first top 8 medal. With that said, during the season, he took some lumps & that concerns me heading into this dual. Nick Incontrera, Garrett Thompson & Myles Takats all stick out in particularly. All super tough wrestlers, but the point is, I don't know if any of them are any tougher or any better than Alex Facundo. Danny Braunagel, Tyler Lillard, Matt Olguin, Cam Amine...yeah, Facundo may be ranked eight spaces lower than Ruiz, but he's had some pretty darn impressive wins in his own right. This will be the marquee match of the dual.
OKLAHOMA STATE: 22
CORNELL: 3
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| #7 Zack Ryder Vs U.R. Christian Hansen 184 |
One of the most anticipated freshmen this season, the orange & black faithful have a lot of high expectations for the transfer from Penn State. With that said, Cradlezone & I discussed how Ryder has shown thus far in his redshirt season last year to be one that isn't keen on scoring a lot of points. Matches where it seems he should've easily scored a major, he only won by a few points. That's the way some wrestlers are. 14-0 or 3-2, a win is a win. Perhaps the sense of urgency will be greater as Oklahoma State progresses in the tournament. Here they will have nothing to worry about, so I say Ryder scores early & coast to something like a 5-0 win.
OKLAHOMA STATE: 25
CORNELL: 3
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| #10 Cody Merrill Vs U.R. Aiden Hanning 197 |
It's not lost on me that Ben Mower defeated Cody Merrill in the wrestle-offs, but I think we're going to see Merrill in the lineup when the Cowboys dual the Big Red this weekend. I realize that Coach Taylor isn't John Smith & may do things differently, but historically speaking Oklahoma State has often gone with the young up & comer over the experienced yet to really prove themselves, whenever anything has been put into question. I don't think things will be any different than what they've always been in Stillwater. Believe we'll see some bonus here as well.
OKLAHOMA STATE: 29
CORNELL: 3
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| #9 Konnor Doucet Vs #22 Ashton Davis HWT |
The two-time NCAA DI qualifier sat out last season to make room for Air Force transfer Wyatt Hendrickson to win the National title with one of the biggest upsets our sport has ever seen. Now it is his turn to step back into the lineup & show what he can do for his team. Ashton Davis a formidable opponent I think can keep this one a decision, but should be three more team points for the Cowboys.
OKLAHOMA STATE: 32
CORNELL: 3
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32 to 3 is quite the pistol whipping, but when your lineup is missing five of your best wrestlers, I'm not sure what else you can expect. Either way I think this one ended in gunsmoke, so maybe it doesn't matter in the long run. Cowboys either way, headed to R2.
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