Oklahoma State University Athletics
Wrestling Wins Big 12 Title
June 21, 1999 | Cowboy Wrestling
March 8, 1998
NORMAN, Okla. - Oklahoma State's top-ranked wrestling team dominated the second Big 12 Wrestling Championships to garner their third straight conference title Saturday in front of 3,177 fans at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla. The Cowboys crowned six champions in nine matches in the finals. Their total of 98 points was a Big 12 record for points scored in a championship, surpassing last year's mark of 92.5 points. The win was the Cowboys' 25th conference title. Hardell Moore shook off a career 0-4 record against Temoer Terry to defeat the Cornhusker, 6-2, and earn his second straight Big 12 title. Moore, a senior from Coweta, defeated the top-ranked wrestler (Terry) and the third-ranked wrestler (Oklahoma's Byron Tucker) in the country. He earned the Outstanding Wrestler award for the tournament. "It feels good," said Moore. "I wanted to be more relaxed against Temoer than I was last time. I knew he was a great defensive and offensive wrestler and he is so powerful. He can strike quick like a cobra. I wrestled relaxed and things opened up for me." Tuttle senior Steven Schmidt continued his undefeated season with his third conference title this time at 142 pounds (the previous two were at 134 pounds). In the finals, he defeated Mike Harp of Missouri , 8-3. He improved his season record to 29-0 and will be the top-seed at the national tournament. Ben Lee won his first Big 12 title with a win over Nebraska's J.R. Pleinis in the 275-pound class. Lee placed fifth in the event last year. All three Cowboy seniors won their weight class. Schmidt, Lee and Moore, the seniors, serve as tri-captains.Mark Smith picked up his second straight conference title with a 3-0 win over Ben Perkins of Iowa State. He won the 177-pound title last year but this season he wrestled at 167 pounds. He is ranked second in the country. Teague Moore, a junior from Pittsburgh, Pa., won the 118 pound title for his second straight Big 12 crown. In the finals, he won a 3-1 overtime decision over Oklahoma's Shane Valdez. The win avenged an earlier loss to Valdez. In the 150-pound final, Jimmy Arias won his 20th straight match and in the process won his first conference title. Arias, a junior from Okmulgee, defeated David Maldanado of Iowa State, 7-1, for the crown. Dwight Hinson continued his dominance of the Cowboys' Eric Guerrero. The Iowa State senior owns a 6-1 career record over Guerrero. He won his second straight Big 12 title over Guerrero and the third conference title of his career with his 2-0 win.
Mark Munoz dropped a 4-2 decision to Brad Vering of Nebraska. Both wrestlers are freshmen and should battle for years to come in the 177-pound class. Pat Popolizio dropped a 12-3 decision to top-seeded Ryan Tobin in the 190-pound final. Michael Lightner of Oklahoma won the 134-pound title with a 10-3 win over Brad Canoyer of Iowa State. The only Cowboy who was not in the finals was Jamill Kelly. The sophomore from Atwater, Calif., finished third in his first Big 12 conference tournament. He lost a 3-1 overtime decision to Lightner in the semifinals. That was the only match the Cowboys lost before the finals. The Cowboys will next be in action at the NCAA Championships in Cleveland, Ohio, on March 19-21. Team Results 1. Oklahoma State 98, 2. Oklahoma 55.5, 3. Nebraska 54, 4. Iowa State 47, 5. Missouri 15 First Round Results 126-Jeramie Welder (UN) dec. Matt Smith (MU), 3-1 134-Jeff Urban (MU) dec. Frank Kisley (ISU), 8-6 ot 142-Allen Hankins (UN) dec. Cole Sanderson (ISU), 10-5 150-Matt Webster (MU) dec. Ryan Bauer (UN), 12-8 158-Jared Sears (MU) dec. Perry Parks (ISU), 10-5 167-Jason Moore (MU) dec. Brad Cooper (UN), 8-5 177-Matt Mulvihill (ISU) m. dec. Kevin Stroh (MU), 12-4 190-Orville Palmer (OU) m. dec. Brad Lynde (MU), 20-7 275-J.R. Plienis (UN) pinned Thomas Patterson (MU), 1:08 Semifinal Results 118-Teague Moore (OSU) dec. Paul Gomez (UN), 11-5 118-Shane Valdez (OU) dec. Cody Sanderson (ISU), 9-5 126-Dwight Hinson (ISU) dec. Welder, 5-1 126-Eric Guerrero (OSU) dec. Dane Valdez (OU), 7-2 134-Brad Canoyer (UN) dec. Urban, 3-2 134-Michael Lightner (OU) dec. Jamill Kelly (OSU), 3-1 ot 150-Jimmy Arias (OSU) dec. Webster, 17-6 150-David Maldanado (ISU) dec. Rodney Jones (OU), 5-2 158-Temoer Terry (UN) dec. Sears, 15-6 158-Hardell Moore (OSU)dec. Tucker (OU), 2-2 tb 167-Mark Smith (OSU) dec. Moore (MU), 10-3 167-Ben Perkins (ISU) dec. Michael Roller (OU), 3-1 ot 177-Mark Munoz (OSU) dec. Mulvihill, 5-4 177-Brad Vering (UN) dec. Jason Street (OU), 1-1 tb 190-Ryan Tobin (UN) dec. Palmer, 11-4 190-Pat Popolizio (OSU) dec. Zach Thompson (ISU), 2-2 tb 275-Plienis dec. John Henry Ward (OU), 8-2 275-Ben Lee (OSU) dec. Trent Hynek (ISU), 2-2 tb Consolation Semifinals Consolation Finals 134-Kelly m. dec. Kisley, 15-3 118-Cody Sanderson dec. Paul Gomez, 6-3 142-Cole Sanderson dec. Kjeldgaard, 4-2 126-D.Valdez dec. Welder, 6-1 150-Jones m. dec. Bauer, 16-6 134-Kelly dec. Urban, 9-2 158-Tucker dec. Parks, 12-2 150-Jones tech. fall Webster, 21-6 (6:30) 167-Roller pinned Cooper, 2:09 142-Cole Sanderson dec. Hankins, 3-1 ot 177-Street m. dec. Stroh, 12-4 158-Tucker dec. Sears, 11-5 190-Thompson wins by forfiet 167-Roller dec. Moore, 11-3 275-Hynek m. dec. Patterson, 9-1 177-Street dec. Mulvihill, 6-5 190-Palmer dec. Thompson, 4-3 275-Hynek dec.Ward, 3-1 4th Place Challenge 142-Kjeldgaard pinned Hankins, 2:19 275-Ward dec. Patterson, 13-6 Championship Results 118-Moore dec. S. Valdez, 3-1 ot 126-Hinson dec. Guerrero, 2-0 134-Lightner dec. Canoyer, 10-3 142-Schmidt dec. Harp, 8-3 150-Arias dec. Maldanado, 7-1 158-Moore dec. Terry, 6-2 167-Smith dec. Perkins, 3-0 177-Vering dec. Munoz, 4-2 190-Tobin dec. Popolizio 275-Lee dec. Pleinis, 3-2NCAA Qualifiers By Team Oklahoma State 10, Oklahoma 9, Iowa State 8, Nebraska 7 and Missouri 2 Outstanding Wrestler Hardell Moore, Oklahoma State Most Falls/Least Time J.R. Pleinis, Nebraska 1/1:09 NCAA Wildcards Paul Gomez and Jeramie Welder (Nebraska), Zach Thompson and Matt Mulvihill (Iowa State), Jason Moore (Missouri) and John Henry Ward (Oklahoma)
