2011 NCAA champion Jordan Oliver scored a pin at 133, helping lead OSU over Oklahoma in the first Bedlam Dual of the season. Larry Slater photo

STILLWATER, Okla. - It was a bit of the good, the bad, and the ugly for second-ranked Oklahoma State on Sunday afternoon.

The good: The Cowboys improved to 3-0 with a 25-13 victory over No. 11 Oklahoma in front of 4,211 inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. Pins by reigning national champion Jordan Oliver, senior Cale Byers and a major decision by highlight-reel heavyweight Alan Gelogaev provided more "goods."

The bad and the ugly came thanks to solid Sooner performances at 141, 157 and 165.

"I thought this could be a tough match with some battle-type matches. (OU) has some guys in the middle of the road that are pretty competitive," said Oklahoma State head coach John Smith, who is now 38-5-3 against the Bedlam rival. "If you would have told me we'd win 25-13 I would probably think it was a pretty good match on our part.

"But after watching it, it exposed a couple areas. I had two guys that had no pop in their step, at 141, Kindig, and at 165 it looked like we didn't have any kind of fire, like we didn't want to really compete. But you look at Oliver, Byers, Z, Chris Perry. When you have these matches you are going to have some good with the bad."

All-American Jamal Parks (8-0) gave the hosts an early 3-0 lead with a 4-3 decision of Nick Lester at 149 pounds. But the Sooners, under former OSU assistant coach Mark Cody, jumped in front with a pair of decisions at 157 and 165.

Matt Lester (6-1) put together a pair of 3-point near falls in the second period to pull away from Albert White in an 8-3 victory, while Bubby Graham (4-4) used two slick duck-unders in beating Dallas Bailey, 6-2, at 165. Bailey (4-4) has failed to score an offensive point in three consecutive matches.

OSU, who competes at the Reno Tournament of Champions, Dec. 18, then took control of the dual meet, the 165th meeting in the series.

Chris McNeil (7-1) secured a 5-3 win at 174 thanks in part to a third period reversal against Nolan McBryde. Chris Perry (7-0) remained unbeaten with a tough 7-1 decision over Erich Schmidtke at 184 that put OSU up 9-6 after five bouts.

Byers (9-1) then waited on Keldrick Hall's gas tank to expire before locking up an old fashioned chicken wing and turning the Sooner for a pin at 6:41. It gave the Cowboys a 15-6 advantage and was a nice rebound after a last-second loss to Minnesota's Sonny Yohn a week ago.

"I just put that behind me," said Byers. "I feel like I wrestled well but just made a mental error at the end. I wanted to score in the first period (today) but I just wasn’t creating angles. I figured if I kept putting pressure on him the conditioning would do the rest."

Gelogaev (7-0) continued to impress, dominating Kyle Colling, 15-2, at 285 pounds. Colling, a redshirt-freshman, was filling in for Elijah Madison, out due to illness. Cody was also without 174-pounder Chase Nelson (suspended for violating team rules) and 133-pounder Jordan Keller (injured).

Sooner All-American Jarrod Patterson (8-0) gave the visitors life with a 4-0 decision over Jon Morrison at 125 pounds, but Oliver (3-0) needed just 1:30 to cradle and pin Derek Geiges at 133. It was Oliver's third pin in three starts this season.

"I’m just trying to get out there and get bonus points for the team," said Oliver. "I want to put points on the board and make guys wrestle, not letting them just stand around. I’m just feeling a lot more comfortable getting on top of guys. If a cradle or pin is there, I’m going to take it."

OU (3-1) left town on a good note, getting a dominating 13-3 major decision by Kendric Maple over Josh Kindig in the finale at 141. Maple, a sophomore from Wichita, Kan., improved to 7-0.

"We've been preparing and came in with a game plan," said Maple. "I wanted to sting him early and then try and wear (Kindig) out. 

"I've been working towards the top four guys (at 141) but that has changed up a little bit. I believe in myself and my coaches right now. Rankings are what they are, and I'm just looking for that top spot." 

2011 NCAA champion Kellen Russell of Michigan and Cal Poly's Borislav Novachkov, last season's runner-up, both took losses in Las Vegas last weekend.

Cody had two stints in Stillwater as an assistant (1986-87 and 2000-02) and took over in Norman after leading American University to a fifth place finish at the 2011 NCAA Championships. Obviously, the feelings were mixed on Sunday.

"It's nice to be back in Oklahoma, probably until this point," Cody said with a laugh. "I felt like we wrestled pretty good in several matches, but there is a lot we have to work on. With us, my coaching style, my coaching philosophy, I'm pretty much trying to slow down the process as far as things we need to work on. If we throw too much at them early then they are not going to get anything out of it. I think technically we are about where we need to be at this point. Shape-wise we are pretty good.

"I didn't really hear anything from the fans ... and I can remember being on the other side and hearing a lot of fans yelling at the other coaches. I used to get a kick out of it. (Tyrone Lewis) said that he'd never even seen the visitor's locker room before. I don't think I had either. It was weird."

Oklahoma State now leads the overall series, 129-26-10 with the Sooners still looking for a first victory in Stillwater since 1995.

OU will compete in the Midlands Championships, Dec. 29-30. O-State heads to Reno and breaks in the New Year with a trip to Boise State and Wyoming, Dec. 30 and Jan. 1, respectively.

OKLAHOMA STATE 25, OKLAHOMA 13
Dual started at 149 pounds
149: No. 2 Jamal Parks (OSU) dec. No. 11 Nick Lester (OU); 4-3
157: No. 11 Matt Lester (OU) dec. No. 9 Albert White (OSU); 8-3
165: Bubby Graham (OU) dec. No. 16 Dallas Bailey (OSU); 6-2
174: Chris McNeil (OSU) dec. Nolan McBryde (OU); 5-3
184: No. 6 Chris Perry (OSU) dec. No. 13 Erich Schmidtke (OU); 7-1
197: No. 4 Cayle Byers (OSU) fall Keldrick Hall (OU); 6:41
285: No. 3 Alan Gelogaev (OSU) MD Kyle Colling (OU); 15-2
125: No. 4 Jarrod Patterson (OU) dec. Jon Morrison (OSU); 4-0
133: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (OSU) fall Derek Geiges (OU); 1:30
141: No. 6 Kendric Maple (OU) MD No. 9 Josh Kindig (OSU); 13-3