Oklahoma State University Athletics
Top-Ranked Minnesota Defeats Cowboys 21-12
December 02, 2001 | Cowboy Wrestling
Dec. 2, 2001
Fourth-ranked Oklahoma State fell to the No. 1 Minnesota Gophers in Gallagher-Iba Arena today in front of 4,253 fans, 21-12.
The afternoon opened up with No. 5 Skylar Holman taking on No. 2 Leroy Vega in the 125 pound weight class. Holman upset undefeated Vega 6-4 with Holman having 1:53 worth of riding time.
There was a total of five upsets on the day that could have gone either way. The Cowboys pulled out three of the five upsets with Holman outlasting Vega, No. 12 Pat Popolizio defeating fourth-ranked Damion Hahn and No. 13 James Huml held off fourth-ranked Garrett Lowney in the heavyweight division.
Popolizio squared off against Hahn in the 184 weight class that showed no wrestler having an advantage until the match was done. Each wrestler had an escape, but the deciding factor was Popolizio having 1:38 riding time that earned him a 2-1 win.
Huml finished the dual with a shocker of his own, defeating olympic bronze medalist Lowney. The match was even at 2-2 going into the third period until Huml got an escape and held on to the 3-2 score until the final buzzer sounded.
Third-ranked Tyrone Lewis squared off against No. 8 John Hardy in a well fought match with Lewis pulling off the win in a squeaker that ended 3-2.
Minnesota earned a couple of upsets themselves. Third-ranked Luke Becker beat No. 2 Shane Roller 13-6, while No. 4 Ryan Lewis shocked fans by pinning top-ranked Johnny Thompson with only nine seconds remaining in the match.
Thompson jumped out to an early start on Lewis, receiving three near fall points at the 1:23 mark in the first period. Lewis battled back, narrowing the margin to 7-5. Lewis' upset was the second of the dual in only the second match.
"You've got a 12 point swing there," said OSU head coach John Smith. "You can't say a whole lot but to finish your match. Johnny looked to get tired in the third, and was dropping his head. He is a warrior and will come off this and be fine."
Some other matches included fourth-ranked Chad Erikson defeating Ronnie Delk in the 141 weight class. Along with Erikson was No. 4 Jared Lawrence sneaking by Jerrod Sanders in a match the ended 7-6 due to Lawrence's 2:04 riding time.
No. 10 Ty Wilcox battled against fourth-ranked Jacob Volkmann in the 174 division. The score was deadlocked at zero going into the second period until Wilcox got an escape point with 49 seconds. The two went into overtime with Volkmann getting the first takedown of the match and winning 3-1.
Willie Gruenwald took on second-ranked Owen Elzen in the 197 spot. Gruenwald scored first only to have Elzen come back and score seven points on him plus one more due to riding time. Elzen won by a score of 8-4.
"I feel better about this team now than I didn't before the dual," said Smith. "I am motivated from what I saw today, a little disappointed, but as a whole I am motivated."
The Cowboys will host the Oklahoma Sooners next Sunday, Dec. 9 at 2 p.m. inside Gallagher-Iba. It will be a No. 2 vs. No. 4 in a matchup that will hopefully pack the house even more than last year's attendance.
Match Results RunningWt. OSU Minn.
125 Holman (OSU) dec. Vega (Minn.), 6-4 3 0 133 Lewis (Minn.) Fall Thompson (OSU), 6:51 3 6 141 Erikson (Minn.) dec. Delk (OSU), 9-5 3 9 149 Lawrence (Minn.) dec. Sanders (OSU), 7-6 3 12 157 Becker (Minn.) dec. Roller (OSU), 13-6 6 15 174 Volkmann (Minn.) dec. Wilcox (OSU), 3-1 (OT) 6 18 184 Popolizio (OSU) dec. Hahn (Minn.), 2-1 9 18 197 Elzen (Minn.) dec. Gruenwald (OSU), 8-4 9 21 Hwt Huml (OSU) dec. Lowney (Minn.), 3-2 12 21
