Oklahoma State will host Virginia Tech in a much anticipated dual meet on December 19 in the first semester, according to OWrestle.com’s Seth Duckworth.
“Virginia Tech-Oklahoma State on December (19th),” Duckworth wrote on Twitter. “Big time dual in Stillwater just in time for Christmas.”
That’ll be a Thursday night dual just before the holidays and it’ll be a great test for new head coach David Taylor.
Virginia Tech, led by 2024 NCAA champion Caleb Henson (149), will bring a lot of firepower to Stillwater. All-Americans Eddie Ventresca (125), Lennox Wolak (174) and TJ Stewart (184) are some of the other big names in next year’s projected starting lineup.
Oklahoma State reloaded despite losing four-time NCAA finalist Daton Fix to graduation. The Cowboys added Cam Amine (Michigan), Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin), Caleb Fish (Michigan State) and Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) in the transfer portal.
Although the first three names were all 165 pounds last year, there’s expectation one of Fish or Hamiti will redshirt while the other bumps up to 174, based on projections.
So if you’re a Virginia Tech plan, start planning your holiday travel now. As for Oklahoma State fans, an early Christmas present is coming, as Duckworth alluded to.
David Taylor assess first month at Oklahoma State
It’s no secret Taylor’s been molding the program in his own vision and learning on the fly.
“It’s good, really good,” Taylor told FloWrestling. “Yeah, it’s a new challenge, it’s fun. You know? It’s been great to build relationships with the guys we have on the team and now we’re just trying to get a little better.
“It’s new. So there’s lots of things that you know, just like anything else, like you just ask a lot of questions and I’m learning. I got a great team around me, our administration is amazing. Our coaching staff is amazing, you know, so we just complement each other really well, you know, and everyone has different levels of experience and you know, just figuring it out.”
Taylor made sure to recognize the Oklahoma State administration which took a big risk with a historic program. But Taylor surrounded himself with a talented staff, even if they’re raw.
“We have a great relationship with our administration,” Taylor said. “So I’m talking to them very frequently, you know, obviously, just the support that we get from them, you don’t have success about that. And Tyler Caldwell has been great. You know, he’s been around the program for a long time so he knows the ins and the outs. I rely on my brother in law Jimmy (Kennedy). He’s got a lot of coaching experience.
“Thomas, you know, we’ve been competing together and Bryan Pearsall has had great administrative experience, coaching experience. So, I just think every one of them … we very much have a good flow of how we’re doing things, attacking every day.”
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