Oklahoma State vs NC State Wrestling Dual Preview & Predictions
Oklahoma State vs NC State Wrestling Dual Preview & Predictions
A full preview for the wrestling dual between Oklahoma State and NC State.
The #9 NC State Wolfpack will travel to Stillwater to take on the #3 Oklahoma State Cowboys in what has the potential to be the dual of the weekend. These two top 10 teams will wrestle at 3:00 pm (ET) on Sunday, January 12th. The dual will be streamed live on ESPN + but before the wrestling takes place, check out the below article for a full preview with predictions for every match.
Oklahoma State vs NC State probable matchups:
125: #2 Troy Spratley, OK State vs #16 Vincent Robinson, NC State
133: #18 Reece Witcraft/Cael Hughes, OK State vs #11 Kai Orine, NC State
141: #4 Tagen Jamison, OK State vs Tyler Tracy, NC State
149: #14 Carter Young, OK State vs #23 Koy Buesgens, NC State
157: #14 Caleb Fish, OK State vs #15 Ed Scott, NC State
165: #6 Cam Amine, OK State vs #23 Derek Fields, NC State
174: #3 Dean Hamiti, OK State vs #17 Mattew Singleton, NC State
184: #3 Dustin Plott, OK State vs #14 Dylan Fishback, NC State
197: #8 Luke Surber, OK State vs #24 Christian Knop, NC State
285: #3 Wyatt Hendrickson, OK State vs #5 Isaac Trumble, NC State
125: #2 Troy Spratley, OK State vs #16 Vincent Robinson, NC State
The match at 125 between Troy Spratley and Vincent Robinson is one of the most anticipated matches of the night. Spratley has put together a phenomenal season highlighted by ranked wins over It Eddie Venresca, Antonio Lorenzo, Brendan McCrone, Caleb Smith, Max Renteria, and Jore Volk. Spratley's only loss on the season was a close 5 to 2 decision to Matt Ramos in the CKLV finals.
Vincent Robinson Announced himself as an All-American contender the first two weeks of the season when he won the Journeyman Classic with ranked wins over Diego Sotelo,Max Gallagher, and Sheldon Seymour. However, Robinson injury defaulted out of the sea CKLV after reaching the quarterfinals. Robinson is yet to face a top 10 opponent so his match against Spratley will tell us if he's ready to contend for a national title this year.
Prediction: Robinson by decision
Team score prediction: OK State 0, NC State 3
133: #18 Reece Witcraft/Cael Hughes, OK State vs #11 Kai Orine, NC State
Two-time All-American Kai Orine attempted to move up to 141 lb this season but droppe matches to Hayden Drury and Luke Stanich. Because of those early season losses, Orine has made the move back down to 133 pounds. We can expect Orine to challenge for All-American honors again this year and his match against Witcraft or Hughes will be his first real test back down at 133
Witcraft and Hughes were in a roster battle to start the year but Witcraft has seemingly won the battle after his fourth-place finish at the CKLV where he defeated Derek Cardinal and Jacob Van Dee. However, Witcraft missed Oklahoma State's last duel against Air Force with a minor injury. That means there's a chance we could see Cael Hughes against Orine on Sunday night. Either Hughes or Witcraft will be an underdog in this match but we should expect a close bout regardless of who takes the mat for the Cowboys.
Prediction: Orine by decision
Team score prediction: OK State 0, NC State 6
141: #4 Tagen Jamison, OK State vs Tyler Tracy, NC State
Tagan Jameson has risen to number four in the rankings after a great first half of the season. Jamison's early season was highlighted by wins over All-Americans Sam Latona and Brock Hardy. On top of that Jamison reached the finals of the CKLV where he lost a close match to returning National Champion Jesse Mendez. Jamison will be a huge favorite against NC State’s Tyler Tracy and I expect bonus points out of Jamison in this one.
Prediction: Jamison by tech fall
Team score prediction: OK State 5, NC State 6
149: #14 Carter Young, OK State vs #23 Koy Buesgens, NC State
Koy Buesgens has put together a solid year in his first season starting for the Wolfpack. His ranked win this year over Ethan Fernandez has moved him into the rankings at number 23. However, biscuits has also lost to several wrestlers ranked between 15-25 showing that Buesgens still has a ways to go until he is capable of challenging for All-American honors in March. The potential match against Carter Young will be a great opportunity for Buesgens to make a move up in the rankings at 149. Also, if the Wolfpack hope to have a chance at winning this dual, they’ll need Buesgens to pull off the upset.
Carter Young has faced a tough schedule this season with 10 of his 14 matches coming against wrestlers ranked in the top 25. Of those matches, Young has recorded ranked wins over Collin Realbuto, Cam Catrabone, Ethan Fernandez, and Sammy Alvarez. Young is slightly more battle tested than Buesgens and should be considered a slight favorite heading into their match on Sunday night.
Prediction: Young by decision
Team score prediction: OK State 8, NC State 6
157: #14 Caleb Fish, OK State vs #15 Ed Scott, NC State
This match is a true toss-up and one that NC State will need if they hope to win this dual. Ed Scott is the more credentialed wrestler as in all American but has struggled this year with surprising losses to Jimmy Harrington and Jude Swisher. Caleb Fish took over the starting job from Teague Travis and has put together a solid year with a third-place finish at the CKLV highlighted by ranked winds over Chase Saldate and Paniro Johnson. Both Fish and Scott are capable of putting up big points and this could be an exciting one on Sunday.
Prediction: Scott by decision
Team score prediction: OK State 8, NC State 9
Hear from Ed Scott on the leadership role he's taking at NC State:
165: #6 Cam Amine, OK State vs #23 Derek Fields, NC State
Three-time All-American Amine will be a big favorite heading into this match on Sunday against Fields. However Fields is just tough enough to keep this match close and it will take some work from I mean to earn bonus points. Fields is currently 8 and 7 on the year but has avoided giving up bonus points in all seven of his losses. I expect I mean to win a one or two takedown match over Fields.
Prediction: Amine by decision
Team score prediction: OK State 11, NC State 9
174: #3 Dean Hamiti, OK State vs #17 Mattew Singleton, NC State
Dean Hamiti has been a man on a mission this year for the Cowboys with a 12-0 record and bonus point wins in 10 of those matches. He'll be a big favorite against Singleton on Sunday and I wouldn't be surprised if Hamiti finishes the match before it reaches 7 minutes. Singleton has been solid this year with ranked wins over Jackson Turley and Simon Ruiz but his major decision loss to Nick Incontrera leads me to believe Himiti will be able to put up big points and win handily against Singleton.
Prediction: Hamiti by tech fall
Team score prediction: OK State 16, NC State 9
184: #3 Dustin Plott, OK State vs #14 Dylan Fishback, NC State
Dustin Plott has firmly established himself as the third-best 184-pounder in the country behind only Carter Starocci and Parker Keckeisen. Plott is returning national runner-up and a three-time All-American. On top of that Plott has a head-to-head win over Fishback in a 13-8 decision during Oklahoma State’s dual win over NC State. In that match, Plott held an 8-4 lead going into the third before Fishback earned an escape and takedown to tie the bout at 8 with a little over a minute to go. However, Plott earned an escape, takedown, and riding time point in the final minute to put Fishback away. I’d expect a similarly close match on Sunday with Plott as the favorite.
Prediction: Plot by decision
Team score prediction: OK State 19, NC State 9
Plott's win over Fishback:
197: #8 Luke Surber, OK State vs #24 Christian Knop, NC State
Luke Surber has vaulted himself into All-American contention this season with ranked wins over Andy Smith, Nick Stemmet, Cam McDanel, Christian Carroll, Joey Novak, and Trey Munoz. Surber’s elite scrambling skills and top work makes him a tough matchup for anyone in the country and I don’t expect Knop to be able to keep up with Surber on Sunday night. Surber should win this one handily and could push for bonus.
Prediction: Surber by major decision
Team score prediction: OK State 23, NC State 9
285: #3 Wyatt Hendrickson, OK State vs #5 Isaac Trumble, NC State
This bout will be a rematch of the CKLV Finals where Hendrickson dominated Trumble with a first-period pin. In that match, Hendrickson earned a takedown in just under a minute before going to work on top. After accumulating over a minute of riding time, Hendrickson hit a variation of a suck-back that ultimately led to the fall.
Despite losing to Hendrickson, Isaac Trumble is still a dangerous heavyweight and has already reversed the result of a match where he lost by fall this year. In November, Trumble was pinned by Cohlton Schultz but came back to avenge that loss less than a month later and majored Schultz at the CKLV. While I don’t expect Trumble to major Hendrickson, I do expect this match to be much closer than their one at the CKLV.
Prediction: Surber by major decision
Team score prediction: OK State 26, NC State 9
Hendrickson's win over Trumble in the 2024 CKLV Finals:
