No. 20 WVU Wrestling Faces Toughest Test of Season in No. 5 Oklahoma State

Tim Flynn’s WVU wrestling team is off to its best start through nine matches in 34 years.

The group that Flynn and multiple Mountaineer wrestlers called “special” at the start of the season is living up to fruition, sitting with a record of 8-1 and having won four straight dual meets after a heartbreaking loss to No. 18 Oklahoma on Dec. 3.

Now, No. 20 ranked West Virginia is set to square off against No. 5 Oklahoma State in a battle of two of the Big 12’s top contenders at 1 p.m. Sunday inside the WVU Coliseum.

⛰️ Top-20 Matchup ⛰️

🤼 No. 5 Oklahoma State
📍 Morgantown, https://t.co/EoL3yMsT0N.
🏟️ WVU Coliseum
⏰ 1:00 p.m. ET
📺 Big 12 Now on ESPN+
📊 Trackwrestling
🔗https://t.co/vwX8rxldgO
🎟️ https://t.co/awNduocSOc
🪙 Gold Rush,💲 Dollar Day and More…

👊 #HailWV pic.twitter.com/v130EJHY22

— WVU Wrestling (@WVUWrestling) January 14, 2024

“We want to see our guys fight hard and battle,” Flynn said in a release. “This next month is a great test with three top-five teams, so I want to see them go out there and make a name for themselves.”

West Virginia is in search of the program’s first-ever victory over Oklahoma State. The Cowboys hold a 16-0 all-time record against the Mountaineers since the two teams first met in 1927.

Oklahoma State, which is led by 33rd-year coach John Smith, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and the second-winningest coach in Division I wrestling history with 476 victories, comes in with a perfect 6-0 record and a 2-0 mark in the Big 12.

All 10 starters in the Cowboys lineup are currently a part of FloWrestling’s latest rankings, including four wrestlers sitting within the top six of their respective weight classes.

Possible key matchups in Sunday’s meet include:

141 pounds: No. 6 Tagen Jamison (OSU) vs. No. 14 Jordan Titus (WVU) – Titus enters with an unblemished record of 17-0, including being one of two Mountaineers with an undefeated mark in dual meets (8-0). The redshirt sophomore is 5-0 against ranked opponents.

149 pounds: No. 20 Jordan Williams (OSU) vs. No. 10 Ty Watters (WVU) – Watters, a true freshman, holds a record of 16-3, with two of his losses coming against ranked opponents. He leads West Virginia with 10 pinfall victories this season.

165 pounds: No. 3 Izzak Olejnik (OSU) vs. No. 11 Peyton Hall (WVU) – A matchup of All-Americans, Hall is the lone Mountaineer with 20-plus wins on the year. The senior has compiled eight technical falls and seven pins out of his 20 victories.

285 pounds: No. 12 Konner Doucet (OSU) vs. Michael Wolfgram (WVU) – Though Wolfgram is currently unranked, this matchup has the potential to be one of the most competitive. The two squared off in last year’s meet, with Doucet claiming a 3-1 decision. Wolfgram is no stranger to high-stakes matches, with his technical fall victory giving the Mountaineers a come-from-behind 22-21 win over Columbia this past Sunday.

Also of note, West Virginia’s 125-pound starter Jett Strickenberger, a junior transfer and a former junior college national champion, wrestled up a weight class at 133 pounds against Columbia. Strickenberger picked up a pinfall victory over Yanni Inves in 4:46 to improve to 9-3 on the season.

If Strickenberger wrestles at 133 again on Sunday, he will likely take on No. 3 ranked Daton Fix, a four-time All-American.

The match can be streamed live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and live stats will be posted on Trackwrestling.