Cowboys Rolling With Hughes and Witcraft for Weekend Duals
Oklahoma State wrestling has been one of the hottest tickets in Stillwater this season. They have been perfect on the season and are currently ranked third in the nation. The Cowboys have been making up ground on the powerhouse programs of collegiate wrestling like Penn State and Iowa.
The Pokes hit the road to Iowa this weekend where they will battle No. 5 Northern Iowa on Friday followed by a Sunday showdown with No. 13 Iowa State. The Cowboys have had major question marks this season at 133 pounds and this weekend could feature both Cael Hughes and Reece Witcraft.
Hughes is a redshirt freshman for the Cowboys who has been a major contributor in his first full season on the mat. He has been perfect on the year with an 8-0 record and won his last two matches for Oklahoma State. Witcraft is a redshirt senior who got off to a fast start this season and is currently ranked No. 19 at 133. He has been banged up of late allowing Hughes to win a pair of crucial matches.
“I think we’re trying to balance both guys’ match counts, but at the same time, we just gotta pick our best guy getting ready for the national tournament and conference tournament,” Taylor said. “We have some time to make that decision. Both guys are working really hard. Both guys are doing a great job when they get the opportunity to go out and wrestle. We’ll just kind of see how that continues to play out.”
Hughes met with the media Wednesday and discussed the positives of having some internal competition.
“I think any opportunity to have a little competition, whether that’s in the room or out on the mat, is beneficial for everyone,” Hughes said. “At the end of the day, we’re both going to come out better wrestlers, better people from it. I don’t see it as a bad thing at all.”
It’s a big opportunity for OSU at the weight, as UNI boasts the No. 20 wrestler in the country at the weight in Cory Land, and Iowa State has No. 5 Evan Frost.
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Taylor Skieens has been an avid sports journalist with the McCurtain Gazette in Idabel, Oklahoma for seven years. He holds the title of Sports Editor for one of the oldest remaining print publications in the state of Oklahoma. Taylor grew up in the small lumber town of Wright City Oklahoma where he played baseball and basketball for the Lumberjax.