Sooners Set to Host Top-20 Bedlam Matchup

NORMAN – The No. 18 Oklahoma wrestling team (4-1) will host No. 11 Oklahoma State (2-0) on Sunday, Dec. 10 at 2 p.m. in McCasland Field House. The contest, which features up to eight bouts between ranked wrestlers, is the first of two Bedlam matchups this season.

Sunday's dual will be available to stream on ESPN+. Chad McKee and legendary OU wrestling coach Jack Spates will be on the call.

LAST TIME OUT

The Oklahoma wrestling team picked up its first ranked win of the season after defeating No. 21 West Virginia 21-19 on Sunday, Dec. 3. The Sooners (4-1 overall, 2-1 Big 12) bounced back from a Friday, Dec. 1 loss at No. 3 Missouri by winning six matches against the Mountaineers, earning bonus points in two bouts.

The Big 12 battle was highlighted by the match winning takedown in the closing seconds of the heavyweight bout for Josh Heindselman and the fifth tech fall victory of the season for Stephen Buchanan.

At 197 pounds, No. 2 Stephen Buchanan (7-0) picked up his fifth tech fall victory of the season by defeating WVU's No. 33 Austin Cooley. Buchanan earned four takedowns to score his team crucial bonus points in a 18-3 win.

Trailing 19-18 heading into the final bout, it was all up to No. 14 Josh Heindselman (7-1) to pull out the match win for OU. The heavyweight delivered in a big way, scoring a takedown with 14 seconds left to defeat No. 26 Michael Wolfgram 9-7 in comeback fashion at 285. The fourth-year starter found himself trailing 7-5 heading into the third period before securing the thrilling victory. It was the fourth career win for the redshirt senior over Wolfgram in their sixth all-time meeting.

PROJECTED OU STARTERS

125: No. 32 Conrad Hendriksen (6-2)
133: No. 27 Jace Koelzer (8-2) or Gabe Vidlak (2-2)
141: No. 10 Mosha Schwartz (4-1) or Carter Schmidt (0-0)
149: No. 22 Willie McDougald (4-4)
157: John Wiley (3-5) or Jared Hill (3-3)
165: No. 16 Cael Carlson (6-3)
174: No. 17 Tate Picklo (5-3) or Gerrit Nijenhuis (2-4)
184: No. 32 Giuseppe Hoose (5-4)
197: No. 2 Stephen Buchanan (8-0)
285: No. 10 Josh Heindselman (8-1)

PROJECTED OSU STARTERS

125: No. 21 Troy Spratley (8-2)
133: No. 3 Daton Fix (1-0) or Reece Witcraft (5-2) or Zach Blankenship (11-0)
141: No. 9 Tagen Jamison (10-2)
149: No. 24 Jordan Williams (7-2)
157: Teague Travis (6-1)
165: No. 2 Izzak Olejnik (11-0)
174: Brayden Thompson (0-3) or AJ Heeg (11-2)
184: No. 3 Dustin Plott (11-1) or Jersey Robb (8-0)
197: No. 12 Luke Surber (8-1) or Kyle Haas (4-1)
285: No. 11 Konner Doucet (7-1)

BEDLAM HISTORY

The two historic programs have met nearly every year since 1920 and were named the greatest (OSU) and fourthgreatest (OU) wrestling programs in history by the NCAA. The term "Bedlam" originated from the rowdy wrestling matches between the two schools and then grew to accompany all sports.

Sunday's dual is the 187th meeting between the programs. OU trails the all-time series with a 27-149-10 career record against the Cowboys.

The two programs have produced a combined 760 All-Americans, 210 individual national champions, 61 Olympians and 41 team national championships - all marks are more than any other rivalry in the country.

SCOUTING THE COWBOYS

OSU comes into the first installment of Bedlam in the 2023-24 season off of a 25-12 win over No. 20 Lehigh on Friday night.

The Cowboys entered the week ranked No. 11 in the NWCA Coaches Poll after competing at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational last weekend, winning one individual title and finishing ninth in a field of 10 with 78.5 team points. The Cowboys defeated Bucknell, 38-6, in their season opener back on Nov. 10.

John Smith's squad is ranked in eight of the ten weight classes, including four inside the top-10.

OUR LAST BATTLE WITH OKLAHOMA STATE

The Sooners last took the mat against the Cowboys in Stillwater on Feb. 16, 2023.

OU (9-8, 2-6 Big 12) won the Bedlam dual's first bout, but Oklahoma State (14-2, 8-1 Big 12) claimed eight of the nine remaining matches to clinch the win in the season finale.

Opening the dual with a win, No. 30 Joey Prata cruised past No. 28 Reece Witcraft 7-2 in the 125-pound battle. After a scoreless first period, Prata racked up four points via near fall followed by a takedown at the end of the second period.

Oklahoma's next win came at 165 pounds as No. 14 Gerrit Nijenhuis jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first to win the bout 10-6. With the win, Nijenhuis earned his second consecutive top-25 victory.

UNFAMILIAR FACES FOR FAMILIAR FOES

Despite the teams facing off two times last season, at least eight of the 10 bouts on Sunday will feature first time matchups between the two sides.

At 197, OU's No. 2 Stephen Buchanan holds a 1-0 career record against No. 12 Luke Surber. Buchanan was awarded the win over Surber via injury default in their previous meeting at the Cowboy Challenge Tournament in Feb. 2021.

The heavyweight matchup between No. 10 Josh Heindselman and No. 11 Konner Doucet will mark the third career meeting between the Oklahoma natives dating back to last season. Heindselman won the first bout in Norman with a 2-1 TB-1 victory. Doucet claimed his revenge in Stillwater, defeating Heindselman in the same manner via 2-1 TB-1.

LEGENDS OF THE GAME

Oklahoma will honor their alumni during the intermission of Sunday's dual.

The Oklahoma wrestling program had six wrestlers named to FloWrestling's Top 100 American Wrestlers of All Time list in 2022.

Sooner legends Dave Schultz (No. 12), Mark Schultz (No. 13), Wayne Wells (No.20), Danny Hodge (No. 26), Melvin Douglas (No. 30) and Andre Metzger (No. 51) all found spots inside the top 100.

Oklahoma's five names inside the top-30 gave them more in that range than any other school in the country. The Sooners sit third among Division I programs in the total number of wrestlers ranked.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma will hit the road to participate in the Reno Tournament of Champions on Sunday, Dec. 17 in the Reno Events Center. Eighteen teams will compete in the annual tournament, which began in 1996. Participants include ranked squads in Stanford (No. 24) and Arizona State (No. 22). Team totals will be kept, with just one competitor per weight class counting toward the team total.