Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Big 12 Tournament
Cowboys Regain Big 12 Wrestling Title
March 05, 2000 | Cowboy Wrestling
March 5, 2000
LINCOLN, Neb. - Oklahoma State rode upsets by Jeff Ragan and Ty Wilcox and a last-gasp victory by Mark Munoz to its third Big 12 Wrestling title in four years Saturday night before 2,127 fans in the Devaney Center.
The Cowboys finished with 84 points. Iowa State was second with 68, followed by Oklahoma at 65, Nebraska 49.5 and Missouri 14.5.
Ragan used a late five-point move to stun No. 1 Quantres Bates of Oklahoma in the 125-pound final 12-7. Wilcox won on a locked hands penalty 3-2 over No. 1-ranked Joe Heskett of Iowa State.
Munoz reversed Nebraska's Brad Vering with two seconds left in the 30-second tiebreaker for a 3-1 victory. The Cowboy's third of the season over the No. 1-ranked Husker.
"Brad Vering and I are pretty evenly matched," said Mu-oz. "He's obviously a great competitor, and we've gone back and forth in the past. I just wanted to stay intense the entire match. I knew it would be a hard-fought battle. Vering and I will see each other again, I'm sure of that."
Reggie Wright used a late takedown on Nebraska's Joe Henson to claim a 4-2 victory and his second straight conference title.
Two other Cowboys -- Daniel Cormier and Dave Anderton -- pushed highly favored wrestlers in defeat.
Cormier lost an 8-4 tussle to unbeaten and No. 1-ranked 184-pound Cael Sanderson of Iowa State. Anderton narrowly missed a tying takedown at the buzzer and fell to No. 2 heavyweight Trent Hynek of Iowa State, 8-6. Jamill Kelly was the Cowboys' other runner-up. He lost a 4-1 decision to Oklahoma's Michael Lightner.
Unranked Tony Gansen and second seed Charles Walker finished third for OSU, while Shane Roller was fourth. Big 12 coaches awarded Roller with a wildcard into the NCAA Championships on March 16-18. The wildcard enabled Oklahoma State to qualify all 10 wrestlers.
Team Scoring
1. Oklahoma State 84 2. Iowa State 68 3. Oklahoma 65 4. Nebraska 49 1/2 5. Missouri 14 1/2
Championships
125: Jeff Ragan (6), OSU, dec. Quantres Bates (3), OU, 12-7.
133: Cody Sanderson (2), ISU, pinned Todd Beckerman (9), Neb., 3:26.
141: Michael Lightner (2), OU, dec. Jamill Kelly (5), OSU, 4-1.
149: Reggie Wright (3), OSU, dec. Joe Henson, Neb., 4-2.
157: Bryan Snyder (3), Neb., by forfeit over David Kjeldgaard (6), OU.
165: Ty Wilcox (8), OSU, dec. Joe Heskett (1), ISU, 3-2.
174: Byron Tucker (1), OU, maj. dec. John Kopnisky (13), Mo., 13-3.
184: Cael Sanderson (1), ISU, dec. Daniel Cormier (4), OSU, 8-4.
197: Mark Munoz (2), OSU, dec. Brad Vering (1), Neb., 3-1 tb, 9:28.
Hwt: Tren Hynek (2), ISU, dec. Dave Anderton (20), OSU, 8-6.
