Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Iowa St
Cowboys grapplers hammer No. 4 ISU, 25-14
January 26, 2001 | Cowboy Wrestling
Jan. 26, 2001
AMES, Iowa -- Redshirt freshman Johnny Thompson decided to throw the second-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys on his back and help carry them to a 25-14 win over fourth-ranked Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum in front of 2,503 fans.
Thompson whipped Iowa State's ninth-ranked Matt Azevedo over to his back and stuck him 4:11 into their 133-pound match. With the dual tied at 11-11, the six team points provided the fuel the Pokes needed to pull away from the Cyclones.
"No question, it makes you sit in your chair a little bit easier when you stretch that score out a little bit," said head coach John Smith, referring to Thompson pin. "It was a good hard snake, up underneath the arm and over the head, he was real aggressive with it. It was kind of do-or-die for him ... but I don't fault anyone for being aggressive, and I told him that."
At 141 pounds, former 133-pound starter Charles Walker made the jump up and decisioned eighth-ranked Zach Roberson, 7-5, with takedown in overtime.
Reggie Wright put the match completely out of reach with a 20-4 technical fall over Benjie Winegarden.
"I feel really good about our win," said Smith. "the guys wrestled really well. Under a little adversity our team came out and made things happen. This dual meet concerned me all week, but the bottom line is we wrestled hard tonight."
The Cowboy (12-1) fell behind early when ISU's top-ranked 165-pounder, Joe Heskett, picked up a 18-3 technical fall against true freshman Chris Pendleton. Pendleton was pulled from reshirt due to the knee injury to three-year starter and eighth-ranked Ty Wilcox.
Tyrone Lewis, who is up to eighth in this week's Amateur Wrestling News' poll, got OSU on the board at 174 pounds with a 8-3 decision over ninth-ranked Perry Parks.
At 184 pounds, Iowa State sent top-ranked and unbeaten (26-0, 106-0) Cael Sanderson to the mat to face third-ranked Daniel Cormier. Sanderson controlled the match and won a 10-3 decision.
OSU's 197-pounder Mark Mu?oz was unable to break his hex against second-ranked Zach Thompson, losing 2-1. The referee gave Thompson the edge this time by hitting Mu?oz with a stalling penalty late in the third period.
OSU's 16th-ranked James Huml started the Cowboys' comeback at heavyweight with a 12-9 win over ISU's 17th-ranked Mark Knauer. Matt Brown continued the comeback with a 24-8 technical fall in 5:55.
Billy Gabel subbed for Shane Roller at 157 pounds and lost a tough 8-6 decision to the Cyclones' seventh-ranked Cole Sanderson.
OSU returns to action tomorrow at 7 p.m. against the Northern Iowa Panthers in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Pokes throttled UNI last season in Stillwater, 29-3.
OSU 25, ISU 14
165: Joe Heskett (ISU) tech. fall Chris Pendleton, 19-2 (4:52)
174: Tyrone Lewis (OSU) dec. Perry Parks, 8-3
184: Cael Sanderson (ISU) dec. Daniel Cormier, 10-3
197: Zach Thompson (ISU) dec. Mark Mu?oz, 2-1
285: James Huml (OSU) dec. Mark Knauer, 12-9
125: Matt Brown (OSU) dec. Jacob Moore, 24-8 (5:55)
133: Johnny Thompson (OSU) pins Matt Azevedo, 4:11
141: Charles Walker (OSU) dec. Zach Roberson, 7-5, ot
149: Reggie Wright (OSU) tech. fall Benjie Winegarden, 20-4 (5:57)
157: Cole Sanderson (ISU) dec. Billy Gabel, 8-6
