Seth Gross came up with a pin in the final bout of the night to lift 19th-ranked South Dakota State to a 20-19 win on criteria over No. 15 Oklahoma in a Big 12 Conference wrestling dual Friday night before a crowd of 1,757 fans at Frost Arena.
The Jackrabbits improved to 11-3 overall and 5-1 in Big 12 duals, while Oklahoma fell to 8-5 overall and 4-2 in conference action.
Trailing 19-13 heading into the 133-pound match, the second-ranked Gross delivered. The sophomore from Apple Valley, Minnesota, recorded two takedowns of Trae Blackwell in the first two minutes of the match before turning his opponent on his back for a pin in 2 minutes and 24 seconds. Gross recorded his ninth pin of the season – and fourth in a Big 12 dual – in upping his season record to 22-1.
With the dual starting at 141 pounds, Oklahoma claimed three of the first four matches of the night to take an early 10-3 lead, highlighted by decisions from ranked wrestlers Clark Glass at 157 pounds and 165-pounder Yoanse Mejias. Alex Kocer, ranked 19th at 149 pounds, claimed the first of two matches between ranked opponents, as he knocked off 13th-ranked Davion Jeffries, 11-9. Kocer turned a reversal into a four-point near-fall for the decisive margin in a wild second period.
David Kocer, ranked 15th at 174 pounds, continued the Jackrabbits on the comeback trail with a 6-1 decision over Matt Reed, and Martin Mueller followed with a 7-5 decision over Andrew Dixon to pull SDSU to within 10-9.
Rotert’s major decision at 197 pounds was his eighth consecutive victory and gave the Jackrabbits a short-lived 13-10 lead as Oklahoma responded with Larson’s pin and an 8-5 decision by Christian Moody at 125 pounds.
SDSU concludes the weekend homestand with a Big 12 dual against Utah Valley, a 22-16 winner at North Dakota State on Friday. The Jackrabbit-Utah Valley dual is slated for a 7 p.m. start Saturday at Frost Arena.
South Dakota State 20 Oklahoma 19
141: Mike Longo (OKLA) over Henry Pohlmeyer (SDS) (MD 9-1)
149: Alex Kocer (SDS) over Davion Jeffries (OKLA) (Dec 11-9)
157: Clark Glass (OKLA) over Logan Peterson (SDS) (Dec 5-3)
165: Yoanse Mejias (OKLA) over Luke Zilverberg (SDS) (Dec 5-3)
174: David Kocer (SDS) over Matt Reed (OKLA) (Dec 6-1)
184: Martin Mueller (SDS) over Andrew Dixon (OKLA) (Dec 7-5)
197: Nate Rotert (SDS) over Brad Johnson (OKLA) (MD 14-5)
285: Ross Larson (OKLA) over Alex Macki (SDS) (Fall 0:48)
125: Christian Moody (OKLA) over Ben Gillette (SDS) (Dec 8-5)
133: Seth Gross (SDS) over Trae Blackwell (OKLA) (Fall 2:24)
Note: SDSU awarded final team point on criteria (team points, 50-47)