STILLWATER, Okla. — Facing the No. 4 team in the country, Columbia Wrestling (1-3, 1-1 EIWA) came to fight, collecting a pair of hard-earned wins against Oklahoma State (9-0 4-0 BIG12), before falling 35-6 in Sunday's dual meet at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
 
No. 19 Matt Kazimir (141) and No. 22 Joshua Ogunsanya (165) each collected wins in their respective matches, with Kazimir's being over the No. 18 141-pounder in the nation.
 
"There are still places where we obviously need to get better," said Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling Zach Tanelli.  "But we know that we are a tough and physical team, and we continue to prove that to ourselves and others.
 
"We traveled across the country with a purpose, and we are sending a message to everyone back east that we are coming.  I thought that we showed the same fire and passion that we showed against Lehigh and coming off that tough match it was impressive to see the guys bounce back emotionally and bring the same energy.  We are really moving the needle, and our confidence will continue to build as we head towards the second half of the season."
 
Despite the final score, the Lions were not overpowered on the day, and showed fight to keep as many bonus points as they could away from Oklahoma State, as the Cowboys needed points at the end to extend their lead.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: The match opened at 125 pounds, where No. 20 Joe Manchio faced No. 6 Trevor Mastrogiovanni in a ranked matchup.  Manchio worked hard, but eventually fell via major decision, 8-0, to give Oklahoma State an early 4-0 lead in the match.
 
In the next bout, at 133 pounds, a late takedown from Angelo Rini, meant that No. 2 Daton Fix could not earn his victory via technical fall, collecting only a major decision, 13-4, to extend Oklahoma State's lead to 8-0.
 
Columbia got its first win of the dual at 141 pounds, when Kazimir calmly worked a 6-1 decision over No. 18 Carter Young.  It was an experienced and savvy performance from the Lion 141-pounder as from the opening whistle Kazimir dictated the action on his way to giving Columbia three points.
 
With the score at 8-3, Oklahoma State would get a win via technical fall at 149 pounds when No. 14 Kaden Gfeller beat Danny Fongaro, 17-2.  In the next bout, at 157 pounds, Andrew Garr came out of the gate fast, and an early takedown set the tone as he showed real fight, despite falling via decision, 8-5, to No. 13 Wyatt Sheets.
 
After the matches at 149 and 157 pounds, Oklahoma State led, 16-3, with the final five bouts still left to be decided.
 
At 165 pounds, Oklahoma State sent out Jalin Harper, and the 165-pound Cowboy could not handle the strength of Ogunsanya as the Lion grappler out-muscled Harper on his way to the win.  And thanks to the riding time, Ogunsanya would come away with a 3-2 via decision, giving Columbia another three points and putting the score at 16-6.
 
The final four matches would go Oklahoma State's way, but at 174 pounds Nick Fine showed that he came to battle, taking No. 8 Dustin Plott to the wire.  Plott needed a late takedown against the savvy Fine in order to lock up his 4-3 win via decision, giving Oklahoma State three team points, that Fine did not give up easily.
 
"In the weights 125-174 I thought that we did a great job," said Tanelli.  "We put ourselves into the match and scored takedown after takedown against top 10 opponents."
 
At 184 pounds, No. 10 Dakota Geer would win via major decision (17-3) over Brian Bonino, and at 197 pounds and 285 pounds the Cowboys would get wins via pins.  With No. 1 AJ Ferrari winning via fall (6:01) over Sam Wustefeld and No. 30 Luke Surber winning his match over Jalen Stephens via fall (0:58). 
 
The two wins via pins and the major decision at 184 pounds gave Oklahoma State 19 late bonus points to put the final score at 35-6.
 
NO. 4 OKLAHOMA STATE 35, COLUMBIA 6
Stillwater, Okla. (Gallagher-Iba Arena)
 
125 | No. 6 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (OSU) def. No. 20 Joe Manchio (COL) maj. 8-0
133 | No. 2 Daton Fix (OSU) def. Angelo Rini (COL) maj. 13-4
141 | No. 19 Matt Kazimir (COL) def. No. 18 Carter Young (OSU) dec. 6-1
149 | No. 14 Kaden Gfeller (OSU) def. Danny Fongaro (COL) TF 17-2
157 | No. 13 Wyatt Sheets (OSU) def. Andrew Garr (COL) dec. 8-5
165 | No. 22 Joshua Ogunsanya (COL) def. Jalin Harper (OSU) dec. 3-2
174 | No. 8 Dustin Plott (OSU) def. Nick Fine (COL) dec. 4-3
184 | No. 10 Dakota Geer (OSU) def. Brian Bonino (COL) maj. 17-3
197 | No. 1 AJ Ferrari (OSU) def. Sam Wustefeld (COL) F (6:01)
285 | No. 30 Luke Surber (OSU) def. Jalen Stephens (COL) F (0:58)
 
EXHIBITION MATCH
149 | Matt Arciuolo (COL) def. Joey Sanchez (OSU) dec. 7-4
174 | Lennox Wolak (COL) def. Daniel Manibog (OSU) maj. 12-2
 
NEXT UP: Columbia next makes an Ivy League swing, in its first battle against Ivy League opponents, as they first head to No. 18 Princeton on Jan. 22, before wrapping up the weekend at Penn on Jan. 23.  Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
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