Oklahoma State University Athletics
Wrestling Team Travels to Iowa State
January 25, 2001 | Cowboy Wrestling
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Jan. 25, 2001
Iowa State Cyclones
The Cyclones (14-3) finished fourth at last weekend's Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals. Iowa State lost to OSU in the semifinal, 25-13, and then lost to Iowa 26-21. ISU has nine wrestlers ranked in Amateur Wrestling News' top-12, including both top-ranked Cael Sanderson (184 pounds) and Joe Heskett (165 pounds). The Cyclones first defeat of this season also came to the third-ranked Hawkeyes, a 23-17 loss in Iowa City. Head coach Bobby Douglas is in his 28th year of coaching and sports a career 354-132-9 record.
The Series:
Oklahoma State is coming off a 25-13 win over ISU at the National Duals. Iowa State won last year's contest 22-10 in Stillwater. The win was the first for the Cyclones since a 17-16 win in Stillwater in 1995. OSU maintains a healthy 40-15-3 lead in the all-time series. The two schools met for the first time during the 1921-22 season with ISU winning 37-9.
Changes for the Big 12 Wrestling Championships
The 2001 Big 12 Wrestling Championships have undergone a few changes. The championship, which is being held in Stillwater, has become a two-day event. Previously scheduled for a one-day championship on Saturday, March 3, it will now be held on Friday and Saturday, March 2 and 3. The first round is scheduled for 6 p.m on Friday with the semifinals at 7 p.m. On Saturday, consolations will start at 10 a.m. with the finals at 2 p.m.
Thompson tearing it up at 133 pounds
Oklahoma State redshirt freshman Johnny Thompson (22-1) is making the country take notice. The Putnam City West product has moved up to No. 2 in this week's AWN poll, behind Iowa's defending national champion Eric Juergens. Thompson won the starting job from senior Charles Walker, who defeated Juergens earlier in the year. Thompson defeated Minnesota's second-ranked Brett Lawrence, 4-1, last Sunday at the National Duals. Over the weekend, Thompson also beat eighth-ranked Matt Azevedo, 8-7, and 14th-ranked David Douglas, 3-1.
Cormier, Mu?oz to wrestle in NWCA All-Start Classic
OSU will send two wrestlers to Lancaster, Pa., for the 34th-annual NWCA All-Star Classic at Franklin and Marshall College on Monday. Daniel Cormier will wrestle Iowa State's all-world Cael Sanderson at 184 pounds. At 197 pounds, Mark Mu?oz will face Nebraska's top-ranked and defending national champion Brad Vering. Mu?oz owns a 6-3 career record against Vering, winning all three matches last season.
He's good!
Iowa State's No. 1-ranked and unbeaten 184-pounder, Cael Sanderson, has reeled off 105-straight victories. The junior has also captured NCAA Championships in both his freshman and sophomore years. Sanderson faced OSU's then-No. 2-ranked Daniel Cormier last Saturday and majored decisioned the previously undefeated Cormier. Sanderson now owns three wins over Cormier, including a major decision in last season's dual in Stillwater and a 8-4 decision at the Big 12 Championships.
Mu?oz gets win No. 100
Oklahoma State senior 197-pounder Mark Mu?oz recorded his 100th career win with a 3-2 decision over OU's Waymon May on Dec. 10th. Mu?oz has improved his career record to 109-29 along with a 14-3 mark this season. Mu?oz's 109 wins moves him into 15th-place on OSU's career victories chart. He is 20 wins away from Alan Fried and Mike Farrell for second and 45 victories short of Cowboy head coach John Smith for first.
Cormier in top form
OSU's 184-pound senior Daniel Cormier continues a strong season. Now 17-2, Cormier is ranked third at 184 pounds behind two-time national champion and undefeated Cael Sanderson of Iowa State and Illinois' Nate Patrick. Cormier may have turned in his most impressive performance against second-ranked Minnesota, picking up a 19-7 major decision over fourth-ranked Damion Hahn. Cormier took the highly-touted redshirt freshman down seven times and just missed a pin at the end of the second period. Cormier also shared Big 12 Wrestler of the Week honors with Sanderson three weeks ago.
OSU finishes second at National Duals
OSU's 2001 National Duals started with 18th-ranked Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks posted an upset at 197 pounds, where then-No. 4 Jon Trenge beat Mark Mu?oz 11-9 in overtime. However, in the end, the Cowboys overwhelmed Lehigh 26-12. In the quarterfinals, OSU drew Arizona State, and proceeded to whip the 10th-ranked Sun Devils, 26-12. The Pokes blew the fourth-ranked Iowa State Cyclones into the consolation bracket, 25-13, in the semifinals. In the finals, Minnesota exacted a little revenge on OSU with a 20-12 win and its second National Duals title.
Cowboys fall from top spot in NWCA
OSU fell from the top spot in the National Wrestling Coaches Association poll for the first time this season. OSU received 312 votes, falling to second, while Minnesota received all 13 first-place votes and 325 votes took over the top spot. Minnesota beat the Pokes in 20-12 in the finals of the National Duals, the win gave the Gophers a split with OSU in the season series. Iowa comes in third this week, while Iowa State is fourth. Minnesota is also ranked atop the Intermat poll following their win.
New addition
Head coach John Smith's wife Toni gave birth to their third child on the morning of Jan. 2 at 1:55 a.m. Cecelia Rene Smith weighed in at six pounds and 11 ounces, she was the first baby born in the new year at Stillwater Medical Center. Cecelia is the Smiths' third child, Joseph is now four and Isabella was born in March of 1999.
Head coach John Smith
In his ninth season on the OSU bench, John Smith owns a career record of 132-20-3.
Smith's Cowboys claimed the national title in 1994 and have captured five conference championships during his tenure, including the Big 12 title last season. Smith also wrestled for the Cowboys from 1984-88, posting a 154-7-2 record and capturing two national championships. On the international stage, Smith won Olympic Freestyle Gold in 1988 and 1992 along with World Championships in 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1991. In 1990, Smith was honored as the only wrestler ever to win the James E. Sullivan Award, honoring the nation's top amateur athlete for the previous year.
Tyrone Lewis gets hot
Redshirt freshman Tyrone Lewis is beginning to show why he is considered one of the top freshman in the country. Now 19-3, he has won 13-straight matches, pinning 5 opponents and picking up a 21-6 technical fall in the another, during his string. Lewis has posted nine pins and two technical fall on the season.
Gallagher-Iba Arena opening
The Cowboy wrestling team christened the OSU Athletic Center, home of Gallagher-Iba Arena, with a 33-3 thrashing of the 16th-ranked Oregon Ducks. Senior All-American Reggie Wright picked up the first win in OSU's new digs with a 15-8 decision of Tony Overstake. The first pin came at 174 pounds, redshirt freshman Tyrone Lewis stuck Oregon's Luke Larwin in 1:03. The evening's estimated attendance of 3,047 was the largest crowd for an OSU dual this season.
Pokes thrash Spartans
OSU took care of business early, jumping out to a 10-0 lead and never looking back in a 31-3 thrashing of the Spartans. The Cowboys picked up bonus points at 197, 157 and 174. The highlight match at 133 pounds looked like a first-period route, redshirt freshman Johnny Thompson took seventh-ranked Pat McNamara down four times and then held on for a 11-9 win.
Cowboys bag sixth-straight Reno title
The Cowboys dominated enroute to their sixth-straight Reno Tournament of Champions title. The Pokes scored 192.5 points and crowned six individual champions. Arizona State finished second with 120.5 points and two titlest. Matt Brown (125), Johnny Thompson (133), Jerrod Sanders (141), Reggie Wright (149), Tyrone Lewis (174) and Daniel Cormier (184) finished first, while Ty Wilcox lost a heartbreaker, 6-5, to ASU's third-ranked Steve Blackford.
Pokes romp over second-ranked Golden Gophers
Top-ranked Oklahoma State won six of 10 matches and cruised past second-ranked Minnesota in front of 9,625 fans at the Williams Arena. OSU picked up bonus points at 184, 197 and 285 pounds, including falls from Mark Mu?oz (197) and James Huml (285). At 125 pounds, OSU's No. 9-ranked Matt Brown pulled the upset of the day with a 4-3 win over third-ranked Leroy Vega.
Cowboys Upend Hawkeyes
OSU derailed the mighty Iowa Hawkeyes 21-14 at the Myriad Convention Center in Oklahoma City. Sparked by bonus-point wins at 197 and 285 pounds, OSU's 133-pounder Charles Walker capped off the afternoon with a 3-2 upset win over Iowa's No. 1-ranked Eric Juergens. Walker scored the decisive takedown in the final 30 seconds to seal the match and the dual. OSU also picked up wins at 149, 165 and 184 pounds in the win.
Mu?oz, Wright headline Cowboy lineup
Mark Mu?oz and Reggie Wright highlight the OSU lineup, wrestling at 197 and 149 pounds, respectively. Mu?oz captured All-America honors for the first time in 2000, placing third. He is currently ranked second by Amateur Wrestling News and Intermat. Wright earned All-America honors for the second time, finishing fourth for the second-straight year. Amateur Wrestling News and Intermat have Wright ranked second.
New assistant
Mark Cody joined the Oklahoma State staff during the offseason. Cody comes to the Cowboys after spending 12 years coaching the upper-weights for Nebraska. At Nebraska, Cody coached two national champions, Brad Vering and Tolly Thompson, along with 23 All-Americans.
Longtime Cowboys depart
All-American Jeff Ragan, Dave Anderton and Jamill Kelly said goodbye to the Cowboy program in 2000. Ragan spent five years in Stillwater, toiling behind national champions Eric Guerrero and Teague Moore, before placing sixth in 2000. Kelly spent two years in the starting lineup at 141 pounds, while Anderton, a junior college transfer, started at heavyweight for two seasons.
OSU tradition
It ranks right up there with Notre Dame football or UCLA basketball. Few schools in the nation have a tradition in any sport as strong as the one Oklahoma State has built in wrestling. OSU won the first NCAA wrestling championship in 1928 and have won a total of 30 -- more than any other school in the country. The Cowboys all-time record is 833-86-20 (.897) in 81 years of varsity wrestling. The Pokes claimed six Southwest Conference title, 25 of a possible 38 Big Eight titles and three of four Big 12 titles. Seventy-four Oklahoma State wrestlers have won 120 individual NCAA Champions, including the only four-time NCAA Champion Pat Smith.
On the air
Oklahoma State Cowboy wrestling will once again be carried live by Stillwater Radio KSPI 93.7 FM. J. Carl Guymon will be the play-by-play voice of the Cowboys in 2000-01 Fans unable to pick up the over-the-air broadcast will be able to listen to the games via the internet at www.okstate.com. You can also catch the John Smith Show on KSPI 93.7 FM every Monday night at 6 p.m.
