Cowboys Wrestling Beats No. 5 NC State 34-3 For Largest Top-Five Win Since 1996

The No. 3 Oklahoma State wrestling team defeated No. 5 NC State, 34-3, at Gallagher-Iba Arena on Monday night to improve to 8-0 on the season. It was the Wolfpack's first loss of the year, dropping to 7-1.

"It's a reflection of the work that we are putting in and the standard that we're trying to wrestle as a program," head coach David Taylor said. "We want our guys to have the reputation that we're going to wrestle hard for seven minutes or whatever it takes."

As they've done all season, the Cowboys dominated through three bonus-point victories and several late match surges. The 31-point win on Monday marked OSU's largest margin of victory over a top-five opponent since it beat No. 3 Michigan State, 39-0, on December 14, 1996, and the third biggest in program history. With another 30-point team performance, the Cowboys have also now surpassed 30 points in each of the first eight duals of a season for the second time in the program's 111-year history, with the other being the first 10 duals in 1987-88.

Now over halfway through the regular season, the scorching Cowboys have beaten their opponents by an average of 30.4, which would rank third best in program history if the season ended today. Meanwhile, the Pokes also handed NC State its worst loss since January 20, 2013.

The dual was originally scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sunday, but due to travel delays caused by inclement weather, the match was rescheduled for a day later. Despite the late time change, 8,212 fans piled into Gallagher-Iba Arena for its biggest crowd of the season.

NC State got out to a quick lead following No. 11 Vince Robinson's upset over Troy Spratley at 125 pounds, but it didn't take long for the Cowboys to bounce back as 133-pounder Cael Hughes took on two-time All-American and seventh-ranked Kai Orine in just his third career dual start. The match was scoreless heading into the third period when the Stillwater native secured a reversal and put Orine on his back for the pin, sending OSU out front and giving Hughes the highest-ranked win of his young career. 

Tagen Jamison followed suit by earning a 21-5 technical fall over Tyler Tracy at 141 pounds. With just four seconds remaining in the bout, Jamison threw Tracy to the mat and clinched five more points for the Cowboys. The win improved Jamison's record to 14-1 on the year, with 10 of those victories coming in bonus-point fashion. Carter Young then earned his fourth ranked win of the season as he defeated No. 33 Koy Buesgens, 5-2.

Caleb Fish took on 2023 All-American Ed Scott at 157 pounds in the tightest match of the night. Down 5-4 with under a minute remaining, Fish escaped and pulled off a seven-point move in the match's final seconds, clinching a 12-5 decision and sending OSU into the break with a firm 17-3 lead.

Coming out of intermission, Cameron Amine recorded the seventh win in his last eight matches as he handled No. 32 Derek Fields, 5-2. At 174 pounds, Dean Hamiti Jr. put a stamp on the dual as he scored a takedown late in the third period to ice an 8-4 win over No. 19 Matty Singleton and clinch the team victory.

Dustin Plott kept the pressure on the Wolfpack at 184 pounds and shut out No. 11 Dylan Fishback with a 5-0 decision. In the 197-pound match, Luke Surber raced out to a quick 6-1 lead in the first period against No. 26 Christian Knop. Surber then kept working as the match went on, grossing 18 points en route to another technical fall.

The night ended with the dual's marquee match between Wyatt Hendrickson and fourth-ranked heavyweight Isaac Trumble, a rematch of the CKLV Invitational finals back in December. Hendrickson got out to an early lead that he would never surrender, as he took the 10-4 decision to keep his perfect season intact and notch the fourth top-five win of his career.

Oklahoma State returns to action this weekend as it hosts No. 22 West Virginia at Gallagher-Iba Arena at 2 p.m.