OU Hits the Road for Two Top-25 Big 12 Duals

NORMAN — The No. 18 Oklahoma wrestling team hits the road this weekend for a pair of top-25 Big 12 duals, beginning with a Friday evening matchup against No. 3 Missouri and closing with a Sunday matinee versus No. 21 West Virginia.

The Missouri dual is set for 7 p.m. Friday at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo., and the showdown against the Mountaineers starts at 1 p.m. Sunday at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, W.Va. Friday night's dual will be streamed on FloWrestling, while Sunday's will be available on ESPN+.

LAST TIME OUT

The Oklahoma wrestling team earned its second win of the weekend, downing North Dakota State 29-7 on Sunday, Nov. 19 inside McCasland Field House. OU used four bonus-point wins for its third straight contest scoring 26-or-more points to remain unbeaten in dual action. The win also capped off a perfect record in the month of November for the Sooners.

After 12 years of lining up on the North Dakota State bench, the dual marked the first time OU head coach Roger Kish squared off against his former program.

Veterans Cael Carlson (9-0 MD) and Stephen Buchanan (17-2 TF, 5:00) led the OU charge, each earning bonus-point wins while combining to outscore opponents 26-2. Josh Heindselman finished the dual with a 5-2 decision over Devon Dawson. An escape, takedown and riding-time point improved the heavyweight's record to a perfect 7-0.

PROJECTED OU STARTERS

125: Conrad Hendriksen (5-1)
133: No. 33 Jace Koelzer (6-2)
141: No. 8 Mosha Schwartz (3-0) or Carter Schmidt (0-0)
149: No. 20 Willie McDougald (3-3)
157: John Wiley (2-4) or Jared Hill (3-3)
165: No. 15 Cael Carlson (6-1)
174: No. 18 Tate Picklo (5-2) or Gerrit Nijenhuis (2-2)
184: No. 29 Giuseppe Hoose (5-2)
197: No. 2 Stephen Buchanan (6-0)
285: No. 14 Josh Heindselman (7-0)

OUR LAST TANGO WITH THE TIGERS

In Oklahoma's last meeting against Missouri in Feb. 2023, the Tigers came to Norman as the No. 8 team in the country and left with a 33-3 win against the No. 22 Sooners in Lou Rosselli's final season at the OU helm. Missouri started hot and never took its feet off the gas, taking nine of the 10 bouts.

No. 1 Keegan O'Toole (165) got the pin against No. 17 Gerrit Nijenhuis in the second period, extending the sophomore's streak to 40 consecutive wins with his second straight fall, and third bonus-point victory in as many duals.

In Oklahoma's lone bout win, No. 8 Mosha Schwartz toppled No. 7 Allan Hart 6-1. Grabbing the lead early in the top-10 clash, Schwartz dominated the entire 141-pound bout to earn his third straight top-15 victory and 10th straight win overall.

SCOUTING MIZZOU AND SERIES HISTORY

Missouri comes into this dual fresh off of a win in their first dual competition on Nov. 19, against No. 21 Arizona State, 39-6. The 33-point margin was the largest over the Sun Devils in program history.
No. 13 Noah Surtin (125) got the match off to a fast start, pinning his opponent in 1:38. The redshirt junior earned his third fall of the year, all under 2:07. No. 5 Zach Elam (285) picked up a fall in 1:28.

Mizzou succeeded at the Tiger Style Invite on Nov. 11 in Kansas City. The Tigers earned five individual weight titles and won the overall tournament with a team score of 188.5.

Entering the 2023-24 season, junior Keegan O'Toole (165) is a two-time champion, twice. O'Toole won his second consecutive NCAA Championship at 165 pounds in March. The Hartland, Wisconsin native defeated David Carr of Iowa State in the finals, 8-2. Following the national championship, O'Toole traveled to Tirana, Albania, in October, competing in and winning the U23 World Championships at 74 kg. After winning the Junior World Title in 2021 at 74 kg, the championship marks his second.

The Tigers have eight wrestlers ranked in the top 20 of their weight by FloWrestling, Intermat, WIN Magazine and the Open Mat.

Oklahoma is 42-15-0 all-time against Missouri despite the Tigers winning five of the last six duals against the Sooners. Friday's dual will be the 58th meeting between the teams.

OUR LAST BATTLE WITH WEST VIRGINIA

The Sooners last took the mat against the Mountaineers in Norman, Okla., in Jan. 2023.

Powered by last-second victories from sophomores Jared Hill and Tate Picklo, Oklahoma knocked off No. 23 West Virginia, 18-15.

Locked in a 3-3 tie after three periods, Hill seized his opportunity seconds into sudden-victory by clinching a single-leg takedown to win 5-3 and claim his McCasland Field House debut as the 157-pound starter.

Picklo, who weighed in at 174 pounds but was bumped up to 184 pounds before the dual, fought off multiple shots from Anthony Carman, and was locked into a 1-1 battle with a minute remaining the match. The Mustang, Okla., product avoided a shot from Carman and responded with a takedown, securing the match-winning points with three seconds on the clock to give OU an 18-12 lead.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS AND SERIES HISTORY

West Virginia comes into this dual fresh off a title win at the Shorty Hitchcock Classic on Nov. 18.

Four Mountaineers won individual championships to seal the top spot for WVU, including redshirt senior Michael Wolfgram (HWT), seniors Caleb Dowling (157) and Peyton Hall (165), and redshirt freshman Brody Conley (174).

WVU completed its home opener with a sweep of Kent State (44-3), Cleveland State (33-9) and Duke (40-6) at the Mountaineer Quad on Nov. 12. The Mountaineers never trailed at any point, outscoring their opponents by 99 points (117-18) after earning bonus points in at least six matches of each dual.

In its first road dual of the season, WVU delivered a 31-7 performance over Clarion on Nov. 16. WVU opens the season 4-0 for the first time since 1993.

Sunday's dual marks the 14th meeting between the two programs, who first met in 2003. Oklahoma leads the all-time series 11-2, winning the last five matchups.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma returns home to the Sooner state for the 187th edition of Bedlam against No. 11 Oklahoma State on Sunday, Dec. 10 at 2 p.m. The dual will be held at McCasland Field House and will be televised by ESPN+. Tickets are available here.