Jordan Oliver (left) scored a victory over Ohio State's Logan Stieber in a highly-anticipated matchup on Sunday in Stillwater (Joe Williamson/Flowrestling Photo).

STILLWATER, Okla. – When the four regions for the inaugural Mat Mayhem were announced, the possibility of Oklahoma State and Ohio State facing off was a tasty pre-tournament morsel.

The top-ranked Cowboys ended Iowa’s unbeaten streak at 84 on Jan. 7 in Iowa City. In Columbus on Jan. 20, Ohio State and its seven freshmen also knocked off the Hawkeyes.

On Sunday in Stillwater, Ohio State rolled through Boise State then got by Nebraska, avenging an early-season loss to the Huskers. Host Oklahoma State beat Wyoming in the other semifinal, setting up a battle between the two OSUs.

But a banged-up Buckeye squad did not have enough in the tank, falling to the Cowboys, 25-6. Oklahoma State (14-0) won 8 of 10 bouts, including the final five.

“A good event to win,” said Oklahoma State head coach John Smith. “But I do feel like our best wrestling is yet to come. The score is a little bit surprising. It was a little closer than that but we won some tough, close matches. I felt like we out-scrambled them in several situations that really determined the match. We set the tempo in several of the matches and I like that.

Jon Morrison opened the dual for the hosts with a 3-1 victory over Johnni DiJulius, the decisive takedown coming in the final 20 seconds. It set up a much-anticipated bout between 2011 NCAA champion Jordan Oliver and talented redshirt freshman Logan Stieber. Oliver (18-1) was in control throughout, using a third-period reversal and takedown for a 7-3 win. Stieber fell to 24-2.

“I focus for every match, for this match especially,” said Oliver. “My goal is to always go out and put points on the board. I know Stieber has a great offense. I have a great offense, so it came down to who wrestled their style better. He’s pretty good on the mat too, so I wanted to take control and get that opening takedown and work on some riding time so that wouldn’t be a factor later in the match.

“These are the most exciting matches for me. You wrestle everyday to wrestle the best. The intensity and tempo of matches raises and I always live by ‘to be the best you’ve got to beat the best.’”

Oliver’s next match should be against Illinois’ B.J. Futrell. If Iowa were to knock off Minnesota then a rematch with Tony Ramos could be in order.

“I’m looking forward to the possibilities,” admitted Oliver.

“A good match,” said Smith of Sunday’s battle. “I think they both have some more to give. It was a good match for the fans to watch.”

The younger Stieber, Hunter, gave the Buckeyes life with an exciting 7-6 win at 141 over Josh Kindig. Stieber improved to 22-3.

At 149 Oklahoma State All-American Jamal Parks remained unbeaten at 24-0 with a down-to-the wire win over freshman Cam Tessari. Tied at 1-1 in the third, Parks used a powerful low-level attack into a bear hug with one minute remaining for a 3-1 lead and eventually a 3-2 victory.

Ohio State’s Josh Demas (19-9) then won what proved to be Ohio State’s final bout of the day, beating Albert White, 3-2.

Dallas Bailey (13-9) edged Derek Garcia, 7-4, at 165 to put the Cowboys up 12-6.
An anticipated matchup between Chris Perry and Nick Heflin never materialized. An injury to 184-pounder C.J. Magrum forced Ohio State coach Tom Ryan’s hand.

“It would have been nice to win tonight but we just didn’t have enough,” said Ryan, whose squad fell to 12-4. “(Magrum) got hurt in the first 10 seconds of his match against Nebraska and we did not want to forfeit in front of a crowd like this. Forfeits are bad for the sport so we threw out a 157-pounder at 174 against (Chris) Perry. We knew it would be tough.

“It’s tough for everybody this time of year. We need some time to get well.”
In Heflin’s place at 174 was 157-pound backup Joe Grandominico, who was on the short end of an 11-1 physical major decision to give the hosts a 16-6 advantage. Heflin moved up to 184 but dropped a 3-2 decision to Chris McNeil.

The final two bouts saw Cayle Byers beat Andrew Campolattano, 3-1, at 197, and Alan Gelogaev (23-0) beat Peter Capone, 6-2, at 285.

Oklahoma State will face Illinois on home mats next Sunday if the projected pairings hold  – the finals site was announced during the 197-pound bout – with Iowa and Minnesota hooking up in the other half.

In the meantime, Oklahoma State must travel to Norman to face rival Oklahoma on Sunday.

“It’s another match, a tough match,” said Smith. “It’s not a disadvantage to us; it’s just another tough match against a good team. It’s a short week, and then we get two more tough ones next weekend.”

In Sunday’s semifinals, Oklahoma State won 8 of 10 bouts in beating Mark Branch-coached Wyoming, 28-7. The host Cowboys got overtime wins at 125 with Morrison beating Michael Martinez, 3-1, and at 157 where White edged Andy McCulley, 4-2.

“It’s important for me to go out and set the tone,” said Morrison (17-5). “I’m still not wrestling to the level I feel like I can but I’m getting closer. I had tough matches (Sunday) and I didn’t wrestle as well as I would have liked but I found a way to win.
“I will have an opportunity to see some tough competition next week and I’m looking forward to it.”

At 197 Byers trailed Alfonso Hernandez, 4-2, entering the final period. But a penalty point and a takedown at the buzzer gave Byers a tough two-point victory. It was Hernandez’s fifth loss in 36 matches this season. Hernandez beat Byers in the January meeting.

Top-ranked 184-pounder Joe LeBlanc (25-1) had a major decision against OSU after a fall against Chattanooga earlier. 

Nebraska beat Ohio State, 18-16, on Jan. 6 in Lincoln. In meeting No. 2, the other semifinal on Sunday, the Buckeyes jumped out to an 18-0 lead thanks to a technical fall by rookie Johnni Dijulius at 125 and a pin by another of Ryan’s talented first-year starters, Tessari at 149. Four straight decisions by the Huskers, including Tyler Koehn’s 3-1 win over Heflin at 174, cut the deficit to 18-12. However, Campolattano beat Spencer Johnson, 4-3, at 197 and the dual was clinched. In the January meeting NU’s Nick Sueflohn picked up a major against Hunter Stieber. On Sunday it was Stieber with an 8-7 decision.

The opening session saw Wyoming hammer Chattanooga, 38-6, the only points for the Mocs coming thanks to a Kevin Malone pin at 285 pounds. UW’s Zach Zehner won a battle of talented freshmen 133-pounders, pinning Nick Soto in the third period.
Ohio State opened the day with a 26-9 win over Boise State.

NWCA/CLIFF KEEN NATIONAL DUALS – OKLAHOMA STATE REGIONAL
STILLWATER, OKLA.
FINALS
#1 OKLAHOMA STATE 25, OHIO STATE 6
125 - Jonathon Morrison (Oklahoma State) over Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State) Dec 3-1
133 - Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) over Logan Stieber (Ohio State) Dec 7-3
141 - Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) over Joshua Kindig (Oklahoma State) Dec 7-6
149 - Jamal Parks (Oklahoma State) over Cam Tessari (Ohio State) Dec 3-2
157 - Josh Demas (Ohio State) over Albert White (Oklahoma State) Dec 3-2
165 - Dallas Bailey (Oklahoma State) over Derek Garcia (Ohio State) Dec 7-4
174 - Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) over Joe Grandominico (Ohio State) Maj 11-1
184 - Christopher McNeil (Oklahoma State) over Nick Heflin (Ohio State) Dec 3-2
197 - Cayle Byers (Oklahoma State) over Andrew Campolattano (Ohio State) Dec 3-1
285 - Alan Gelogaev (Oklahoma State) over Peter Capone (Ohio State) Dec 6-2

SEMIFINALS
#3 OHIO STATE 21, #2 NEBRASKA 18
125 - Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State) over Shawn Nagel (Nebraska) TF 20-5
133 - Logan Stieber (Ohio State) over Ridge Kiley (Nebraska) Maj 16-3
141 - Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) over Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) Dec 8-7
149 - Cam Tessari (Ohio State) over Brandon Wilbourn (Nebraska) Pin 4:33
157 - James Green (Nebraska) over Josh Demas (Ohio State) Dec 5-3
165 - Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) over Derek Garcia (Ohio State) Dec 7-2
174 - Tyler Koehn (Nebraska) over Nick Heflin (Ohio State) Dec 3-1
184 - Josh Ihnen (Nebraska) over Cody Magrum (Ohio State) Dec 5-0
197 - Andrew Campolattano (Ohio State) over Spencer Johnson (Nebraska) Dec 4-3
285 - Tucker Lane (Nebraska) over Peter Capone (Ohio State) Pin 2:02

#1 OKLAHOMA STATE 28, WYOMING 7
125 - Jonathon Morrison (Oklahoma State) over Michael Martinez (Wyoming) OT 3-1
133 - Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) over Zach Zehner (Wyoming) Maj 17-4
141 - Joshua Kindig (Oklahoma State) over Chase Smith (Wyoming) Maj 11-3
149 - Jamal Parks (Oklahoma State) over McCade Ford (Wyoming) Dec 12-5
157 - Albert White (Oklahoma State) over Andy McCulley (Wyoming) OT 4-2
165 - Shane Onufer (Wyoming) over Dallas Bailey (Oklahoma State) Dec 7-1
174 - Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) over Patrick Martinez (Wyoming) OT 7-1
184 - Joe LeBlanc (Wyoming) over Christopher McNeil (Oklahoma State) Maj 14-2
197 - Cayle Byers (Oklahoma State) over Alfonso Hernandez (Wyoming) Dec 5-4
285 - Alan Gelogaev (Oklahoma State) over LJ Helbig (Wyoming) TF 18-3

QUARTERFINALS
#4 WYOMING 38, #5 CHATTANOOGA 6
125 - Michael Martinez (Wyoming) over Manuel Ramirez (Chattanooga) OT 5-4
133 - Zach Zehner (Wyoming) over Nick Soto (Chattanooga) Pin 5:34
141 - Chase Smith (Wyoming) over Shawn Greevy (Chattanooga) Maj 15-1
149 - McCade Ford (Wyoming) over Kelly Felix (Chattanooga) Dec 3-2
157 - Andy McCulley (Wyoming) over Daniel Waddell (Chattanooga) Dec 7-3
165 - Shane Onufer (Wyoming) over Brandon Wright (Chattanooga) Maj 8-0
174 - Patrick Martinez (Wyoming) over Levi Clemons (Chattanooga) Maj 12-4
184 - Joe LeBlanc (Wyoming) over Robert Prigmore (Chattanooga) Pin 5:41
197 - Alfonso Hernandez (Wyoming) over Cory Canada (Chattanooga) TF 15-0
285 - Kevin Malone (Chattanooga) over LJ Helbig (Wyoming) Pin 6:33

#3 OHIO STATE 26, #6 BOISE STATE 9
125 - Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State) over Landon Hartley (Boise State) Maj 14-4
133 - Logan Stieber (Ohio State) over Brian Owen (Boise State) Dec 4-0
141 - Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) over Shawn Jones (Boise State) Maj 13-4
149 - Cam Tessari (Ohio State) over Josh Strait (Boise State) Dec 10-5
157 - Georgi Ivanov (Boise State) over Josh Demas (Ohio State) Dec 5-3
165 - Derek Garcia (Ohio State) over Michael Cuthbertson (Boise State) Inj
174 - Nick Heflin (Ohio State) over Scotty Bacon (Boise State) Dec 3-2
184 - Cody Magrum (Ohio State) over Jacob Swartz (Boise State) Dec 3-2
197 - Brent Chriswell (Boise State) over Andrew Campolattano (Ohio State) Dec 7-3
285 - J.T Felix (Boise State) over Kosta Karageorge (Ohio State) Dec 4-2

CONSOLATION
#6 BOISE STATE 25, #5 CHATTANOOGA 17
125 - Manuel Ramirez (Chattanooga) over Landon Hartley (Boise State) Maj 14-6
133 - Brian Owen (Boise State) over Nick Soto (Chattanooga) Pin 1:26
141 - Shawn Greevy (Chattanooga) over Shawn Jones (Boise State) Maj 11-3
149 - Kelly Felix (Chattanooga) over Josh Strait (Boise State) Dec 11-5
157 - Georgi Ivanov (Boise State) over Daniel Waddell (Chattanooga) Maj 14-4
165 - Brandon Wright (Chattanooga) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
174 - Scotty Bacon (Boise State) over Levi Clemons (Chattanooga) Dec 8-4
184 - Jacob Swartz (Boise State) over Robert Prigmore (Chattanooga) Dec 9-5
197 - Brent Chriswell (Boise State) over Cory Canada (Chattanooga) Pin 1:06
285 - J.T Felix (Boise State) over Kevin Malone (Chattanooga) Dec 6-4