Oklahoma State vs Utah Valley - Top Reasons To Watch
Oklahoma State vs Utah Valley - Top Reasons To Watch
The biggest storylines heading into the dual between Oklahoma State and Utah Valley on Friday, November 15.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys will get their dual season started against Utah Valley on Friday at 9:00 pm (ET). This dual meet will be filled with storylines to follow for both teams and we breakdown the biggest ones in the article below.
The Beginning Of The David Taylor Era
Right off the top, this will be David Taylor’s first dual as the head coach of Oklahoma State. Cowboy fans have big expectations for the team under Taylor’s leadership and this first dual could build the hype even further for Oklahoma State this year. It’s of course only one dual, but Taylor has been vocal about how he wants his team to compete and Utah Valley will be a great test for the Cowboy squad.
David Taylor's most recent press conference:
#4 AMINE VS #7 BARRACLOUGH
The premier matchup of the night will be at 165 pounds between 3-time All-American Cameron Amine and red-hot Terrell Barraclough. Obviously Amine has the advantage when it comes to accolades, but Barraclough looks incredible this season in his wins over Hunter Garvin and Bubba Wilson.
Cam Amine breaks down his transition to Oklahoma State:
Barraclough, who spent the first 5 years of his career at Penn State, looks poised to have an outstanding year for Utah Valley but the matchup against Amine will be a completely different test for him. Amine has some of the best baseline defense of anyone in the country at 165 pounds. The matchup between Amine and Barraclough feels like it could be a preview of a quarterfinal or semifinal match at NCAAs. If Barraclough takes out Amine, he’ll quickly insert himself as a NCAA finals contender.
Barraclough's win in the finals of the 2024 Menlo College Open:
How Do Oklahoma State’s Transfers Look?
The top-ranked transfers for Oklahoma State were some of the biggest stories in college wrestling over the off-season. Along with the aforementioned #6 Cam Amine, #4 Dean Hamiti and #2 Wyatt Hendrickson are new transfers to Stillwater and will make their Cowboy debuts against Utah Valley.
Oklahoma State fans will be eager to get a first look at their new wrestlers and the rest of the country should also be interested to see how these new transfers perform. Have they added anything to their game since arriving in Stillwater? How does Hamiti look up at 174? Can Hendrickson win a title at 285? Will Cam Amine have more offense? Those are all questions to monitor for these big-time transfers this year and Friday night will be the first litmus test for Amine, Hamiti, and Hendrickson.
Hear how Wyatt Hendrickson is adapting to Oklahoma State:
Who Starts At 133 & 197 For Oklahoma State?
The last big storyline to follow on Friday night is the starting spot battles at 133 and 197 for the Cowboys. At 133, Oklahoma State has two solid options between Reece Witcraft and Cael Hughes. Witcraft, a sixth-year senior, is a two-time NCAA qualifier and started for the Cowboys in 2020 and 2023. Cael Hughes is a redshirt freshman and was the #9 ranked overall recruit coming out of the class of 2023. Hughes is also just coming off winning a title at the Michigan State open where he went 4-0 while recording 3 bonus point wins. Utah Valley’s Kase Mauger will likely take the mat at 133 for the Wolverines and will be a good challenge for either Witcraft or Hughes.
Cael Hughes' win in the finals of the 2024 Michigan State Open:
The other roster battle to monitor for the Cowboys is at 197 pounds between Cody Merrill and Luke Surber. Similar to 133, this is a battle between an established vet and a newcomer. In this case, #20 Surber is a fifth-year senior and a three-time NCAA qualifier. Surber has never broken through for All-American honors but he’s been knocking on the door over the past few years and will be a contender again this year. However, Cody Merrill was the #12 overall recruit in the class of 2024 and is coming off a title at the Michigan State Open. Merrill notably defeated #25 Evan Bates and #27 Remy Cotton. Merrill is an incredibly dynamic neutral wrestler but is only a true freshman. This will be an interesting roster battle to monitor throughout the season and Friday night could tell us who is the clubhouse leader to man the starting spot for Oklahoma State.
Oklahoma State vs Utah Valley Projected Lineups
125: #6 Troy Spratley, Oklahoma State vs Bridger Ricks, Utah Valley
133: #33 Cael Hughes/Reece Witcraft, Oklahoma State vs Kase Mauger, Utah Valley
141: #12 Tagen Jamison, Oklahoma State vs Haiden Drury, Utah Valley
149: #21 Carter Young, Oklahoma State vs Q'veli Quintanilla, Utah Valley
157: #12 Teague Travis, Oklahoma State vs Ryker Fullmer, Utah Valley
165: #6 Cameron Amine, Oklahoma State vs #7 Terrell Barraclough, Utah Valley
174: #4 Dean Hamiti, Oklahoma State vs Mark Takara, Utah Valley
184: #3 Dustin Plott, Oklahoma State vs Caleb Uhlenhopp, Utah Valley
197: #20 Luke Surber/Cody Merrill, Oklahoma State vs Kael Bennie, Utah Valley
285: #2 Wyatt Hendrickson, Oklahoma State vs #33 Jack Forbes, Utah Valley