On January 13, Oklahoma State Cowboys went on to have their largest margin win since 1996. The Cowboys, under David Taylor, went on to win 34-3 against the #5 ranked NC State. The world saw some great duels on this day. There was #3 Wyatt Hendrickson at 285 lbs, who took down #4 Isaac Trumble with a 10-4 score. And at 197 pounds, #7 Luke Surber won 18-2 over #26 Christian Knop. Despite these wins, Coach Taylor doesn’t seem happy!

For David Taylor, it not just about winning. But about how the Cowboys wrestle. Post winning the duel, Taylor went on to say, “I think there’s things we could do better. We can finish more periods a little stronger.” Evidently, Taylor is not looking to just rack up points, but to create a “reputation that we’re gonna wrestle hard for 7 minutes.” And Taylor’s words have reached his prodigies! In fact, one of his star wrestlers has a plan in mind going ahead!

Taylor’s star wrestler to fix disappointment by giving up points?

One of David Taylor’s star Cowboys wrestlers this season has been none other than Dustin Plott. Plott wrestles in the 184-pound weight class, and as of now, he is on a winning streak! And at the NC State duel? Well, Plott went on to win 5-0 against #11-ranked Dylan Fishback. However, much like his coach, Plott was disappointed! So much so that Plott went on to say, “I feel like I didn’t take a lot of risks. Just kind of disappointed in that.” Well, after the season Plott has had, that comes a huge surprise! In his very first NCAA duel, he went up against Caleb Uhlenhopp from Utah Valley. The results?

Dustin Plott won a 20-4 technical fall in 6:43. Soon after, he went up against TJ McDonnell, from Oregon State. So what happened there? Well, with the Magic Man’s training behind him, Plott went on to win a 24-8 technical fall. This was then followed by the duel against Arizona State, where he went on to score 15-2 over MD Shay Addison. Clearly, Plott has no problem getting points. As Plott himself puts it, “But just the constant push (from Taylor) to be scoring points, it’s (helped me).” However, this is not going to be the case for the upcoming duels!

The David Taylor squad and Dustin Plott are going to be switching up strategies. Next up, is all risks. And as Plott sees it, “We’re gonna give up points trying things and taking risks, and so, I really like that approach.” No more 19-6 wins like the one Plott had over Oklahoma’s #24 DJ Parker. It risks all the way from now. So who will Plott be going up against next?

The road ahead is not easy for Dustin Plott!

Next up, the Oklahoma State Cowboys will be going up against West Virginia on January 19 at the Gallagher-Iba Arena. And Dustin Plott’s next challenge? He will most likely be going head-to-head against West Virginia’s #23-ranked Dennis Robin. Robin has had quite the momentum this season, however can he take Plott down? Let’s look at Robin’s wins this NCAA season.

Dennis Robin took down Appalachian State’s Logan Eller early on with a 14-6 score. Then, Robin went up against the Princeton Tigers. However, he comfortably took down Kole Mulhauser with an 11-8 score. This was followed by a win over Campbell’s Aidan Brenot. Amidst the wins, there were some losses, too! Robin did fall to #16 Evan Bockman and #12 Reece Heller. Nevertheless, it has been quite a season for Robin.

But considering the fact that he couldn’t take down #16 and #12, #3-ranked Dustin Plott might just have a cakewalk. However, since the strategies seem to have changed, the world will have to wait and see what Plott and David Taylor will bring to the mat!