A new Oklahoma State season starts Saturday with a trip usually reserved for mid-December.

A cross-country trip for two duals in one day. But here’s the catch. A two-hour bus trip between the duals. 

Oklahoma State will battle at Lehigh on Saturday afternoon then cruise over to Bucknell for a primetime dual. An efficient way to complete the back end of a home-and-home contract. 

Oklahoma State coach John Smith uses old school methods to begin his 32nd year as the Cowboys’ head man. It’s intended to be tough. That’s how wrestlers develop.

“I think we need to make it a little hard,” he said. “I can’t worry too much about the record. I think we need to develop and develop by wrestling good people. The schedule was a challenge this year. It seemed like it never ended. It was hard for us to get it out because things were changing.”

Here are some other notes as the Cowboys prepare to rebound from a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Championships. 

Wittlake Adjusts To 184

With a torn left ACL at the end of last season, Travis Wittlake figured he was done at 165.

It became hard for him to make weight despite earning All-American honors twice at 165. With his injury keeping him off the mat, he spent the summer in the weight room. Lifting. Bulking.

It shows, too. 

“I got up to about 200 pounds,” he said. “I decided that going back down to ‘65 just wasn’t the best option for me if I was that heavy. It’ll be a lot easier weight to make, and I think I can use my speed to my advantage.”

Wittlake takes over for Dakota Geer, a three-time All-American 184-pounder who’s now a volunteer assistant at Clarion. Ranked 21st at 184, Wittlake battles #13 Tate Samuelson of Lehigh, an opponent Geer struggled against during Samuelson's days in the Big 12. The Wyoming transfer, went 3-0 against Geer.

Wittlake is still adjusting to the heavier feel, drills with teammates Dustin Plott, Luke Surber and Kyle Haas.

“There’s some weight to them, but strength-wise I’m feeling fine,” Wittlake said. “I can hang with them strength-wise. Strength isn’t an issue.”

The Cowboys are still searching for a true starter at 165 with Wittlake’s move. 

“Jalin Harper probably with an edge right now,” Smith said. “… We’ll continue to rank. We’ll rank right after Wyoming.”

If Harper starts, it’ll be a rematch with Lehigh’s Brian Meyer. Meyer won 2-0 when they wrestled in January.

Surber Back To Original Weight

When Luke Surber stepped on the scale, the plan seemed clear. 

After a year of adjusting to heavyweight, he weighed closer to 197. A lineup change made that possible.

With the departure of A.J. Ferrari, Surber reverted to his original weight at 197. The luxury of a national champion is gone. 

All the reasons why Surber transitioned to heavyweight are gone. Konner Doucet, the Cowboys’ closest thing to a natural heavyweight, takes Surber’s part.

All that bulking for Surber didn’t matter. He said it wasn’t a tough cut.

“It was kinda good, honestly,” he said. “I was bulking pretty hard when I decided to go down so a lot of that kinda came off. The first 10 pounds came off pretty easy with not doing much besides just eating and not trying to bulk up. Now in practice, it’s coming off pretty good. I’m eating the same food but just less of it. I feel pretty good.”

It’s a style that Surber is used to. As a lighter heavyweight, he didn’t shoot much against opponents. His preference of heavy attacks and speedy footwork caters more to 197, but the heavyweight experience helped.

“My hand fighting, I can just tell is a lot better wrestling smaller guys,” he said. “It’s not completely different.”

Surber’s skills will be stacked against No. 6 Michael Beard of Lehigh who earned All-American honors in 2021.

“He’s gonna get tested right away with one of the better wrestlers in the country at 97,” Smith said.

Smith Talks Coaching Additions

Cowboy fans will see two familiar faces roaming matside assisting coach John Smith in technical and recruiting efforts.

OSU graduates Gary Wayne Harding and Chandler Rogers recently returned to Stillwater as assistant coaches. 

Rogers, a two-time All-American at 165, serves as a graduate assistant and works with the upperweights. He recently spent two seasons assisting fellow Cowboy Neil Erisman at Little Rock.

Harding spent four seasons with the Cowboys at 133 before he spent his redshirt senior year at North Carolina. He recently assisted Coleman Scott but took the volunteer coach position at OSU.

“Gary has been good,” Smith said. “He’s been really good. That came late. That was an opportunity for us, and we grabbed it pretty quick. Chandler the same thing. It was an opportunity that was brought to us, and I think both of them had a chance to come back here and we made it happen. It just materialized quickly.”