Cowboys announce 2023-24 wrestling schedule

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State wrestling coach John Smith and the OSU wrestling program released its schedule for the 2023-24 season, which features 16 duals and an overseas trip to Italy with a challenging Atlantic Coast Conference opponent.

Of the Cowboys’ 16 duals, a whopping 14 of their opponents are currently ranked inside Intermat’s preseason dual meet rankings. Eight of those ranked match-ups will be held inside Gallagher-Iba Arena as part of a nine-match home slate.

The Cowboys will open their season Nov. 10 at home against Bucknell, who fell to OSU last season in Lewisburg, Pa., 30-6. After a trip to the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational to begin December, OSU will play host to No. 24 Lehigh on Dec. 8. OSU downed the Mountain Hawks 25-6 in the 2022-23 season opener.

A trip down Interstate 35 to face No. 13 Oklahoma on Dec. 10 marks the first of six straight duals on the road. Last season, OSU edged out the Sooners 21–15 in wild fashion behind a final bout pin from Luke Surber to claim the dual.

On a date still to be announced, the Cowboys will head to Minneapolis to square off with No. 16 Minnesota, who was the only team to defeat the Cowboys inside Gallagher-Iba Arena last season. The Cowboys will then head west on Dec. 19 for a dual with Wyoming. OSU has never lost to Wyoming, owning a 26-0-1 record in the all-time series.

OSU will then travel overseas to Sicily, Italy, where the Cowboys will take on No. 6 North Carolina State. The dual is set to take place just outside of Catania at Naval Air Station Sigonella. The Cowboys and Wolfpack made history in 2018 when they competed in Naples, Italy, which was the first NCAA dual to ever be held outside of North America.

Upon return from Italy, OSU will hit the road once again for a dual with No. 15 Pittsburgh on Jan. 12. Just two days later, the Cowboys will look to improve their all-time record to 17-0 against No. 27 West Virginia in Morgantown, W.V.

OSU is set to host No. 21 Oregon State on Jan. 21 in the first home dual of the 2024 calendar year. Last season, the Cowboys rattled off four straight matches to complete a 20-12 comeback in Corvallis, Ore. The Cowboys are undefeated in the all-time series against the Beavers with an impressive 22-0 record.

No. 20 Northern Iowa will visit Stillwater on Jan. 26 looking for back-to-back wins in Gallagher-Iba Arena following their 19-15 victory in 2022. The two teams have split their four match-ups since 2020, including last season’s tight 19-17 Cowboy win in Cedar Falls, Iowa. A day later, the Cowboys will look to return the favor against No. 10 Iowa State, who claimed victories over OSU in both 2022 and 2023.

On Feb. 2, OSU will host incoming Big 12-member No. 11 Arizona State. This will mark their first match-up since 2014, with the Cowboys posting a record of 39-4 in the all-time series.

In the final road trip of the regular season, OSU will take on No. 3 Missouri, the Cowboys’ highest-ranked opponent, on Feb. 4. Each of their past two matchups have been decided by a single point, as OSU downed the Tigers 17-16 through tiebreakers in Stillwater last season.

OSU will face No. 17 South Dakota State on February 10 before hosting a pair of rivalry duals to end the regular season.

No. 13 OU will make a return trip on Feb. 18 for the 96th Stillwater rendition of the Bedlam rivalry. Dating back to 1995, the Cowboys have won 26 consecutive home Bedlam duals, including a lopsided 26-6 last season.

To close out the regular season, OSU and No. 8 Iowa will write another chapter in one of college wrestling’s greatest rivalries on Feb. 25. The Hawkeyes have won back-to-back match-ups, but OSU took the most recent dual in Stillwater with a dominant 27-12 win in 2019. The Cowboys currently lead the all-time series 29-25-2 with a 14-7-2 mark in Stillwater.

Postseason action begins with the Big 12 Championships which will be March 9-10 at the BOK Center in Tulsa as the Pokes look to capture their 20th Big 12 Tournament title. Two weeks later, OSU will conclude its season with the NCAA Championships from March 21-23 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.