Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys move up to second after the quarterfinals
March 16, 2001 | Cowboy Wrestling
March 16, 2001
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Shane Roller has been second-ranked Oklahoma State's Cinderella.
The 157-pound junior from Bixby advanced to the semifinals and locked up All-America honors with a 6-5 win over fourth-seeded Eric Jorgensen of Oregon State. The win advances Roller to a showdown with top-ranked T.J. Williams of Iowa tonight at 5:30 p.m.
The Cowboys are sitting in second place after the morning session with 76 points. Minnesota has taken a commanding lead with 89.5 points, while Iowa is in third with 65.5 points.
OSU sent its fifth semifinalist through at 197 pounds as top-seeded Mark Mu?oz beat Ohio State's Nick Preston, 4-3. Mu?oz will go head-to-head with fifth-seeded Owen Elzen of Minnesota, Mu?oz is 3-0 all-time against Elzen.
"We climbed a bit of a hump Friday morning," said head coach John Smith. "We gave ourselves a chance to stay in this race. We have had some bad experiences in the quarterfinal round over the last couple of years. But, I really don't think this team is satisfied with where they are right now.
"Guys like Shane Roller and Tyrone Lewis came out strong and wrestled well to give themselves and this team a chance. The way rallied back is a sign that this team won't quit."
Redshirt freshman Tyone Lewis is making believers out of the 174-pound weight class. Lewis avenged a early season loss and handed Iowa's Gabe McMahan a 6-5 loss. Lewis will face top-seeded Josh Koscheck in the semifinals.
Another freshman, second-ranked Johnny Thompson received quite a scare from No. 6-seeded Matt Azevedo of Iowa State. The 6-5 win was the fourth win of the year for Thompson over Azevedo.
Thompson will face Big 12 Conference foe Todd Beckerman in the semifinals. He beat Beckerman for the Big 12 Championship two weeks ago in Stillwater.
At 141 pounds, eighth-seeded Charles Walker almost pulled the upset of the tournament. But the top-seeded and undefeated Doug Schwab of Iowa scored a late third period takedown for a 3-1 win.
In the wrestlebacks, top-seeded Reggie Wright came back strong, picking up a major decision over Harvard freshman Jesse Jantzen, 14-6 and a 5-0 decision of John Mark Bentley of North Carolina.
Sixth-seeded Matt Brown advanced to this evening with two wins in the wrestlebacks.
OSU's first wrestler was eliminated from the tournament at 165 pounds when freshman Chris Pendleton lost to Lehigh's Chris Vitale, 9-3. James Huml followed Pendleton out of the tournament, being pinned by 12th-seeded Ryan Kehler of West Virginia in the third round of wrestlebacks.
The Pokes' five semifinalists return to the mat at 5:30 p.m. with the three wrestlers still alive in the consolation bracket wrestling at the same time.
Team Scores:
1. Minnesota 89.5
2. Oklahoma State 76.0
3. Iowa 65.5
4. Illinois 55.5
5. Iowa State 47.5
6. Oklahoma 46.5
Quarterfinals
133: No. 2 Johnny Thompson (OSU) dec. No. 6 Matt Azevedo (ISU), 6-5
141: No. 1 Doug Schwab (Iowa) dec. No. 8 Charles Walker (OSU), 3-1
157: No. 12 Shane Roller (OSU) dec. No. 4 Eric Jorgensen (Ore. St.), 6-5
174: No. 4 Tyrone Lewis (OSU) dec. No. 5 Gabe McMahan (Iowa), 6-5
184: No. 3 Daniel Cormier (OSU) m. dec. Josh Lambrecht (OU), 16-4
197: No. 1 Mark Mu?oz (OSU) dec. No. 9 Nick Preston (Ohio State), 4-3
Wrestlebacks
125: No. 6 Matt Brown (OSU) dec. Trap McCormack (Lock Haven), 4-3
125: No. 6 Matt Brown (OSU) dec. Justin Spates (Missouri), 9-8
149: No. 1 Reggie Wright (OSU) m. dec. Jesse Jantzen (Harvard), 14-6
149: No. 1 Reggie Wright (OSU) dec. John Mark Bently (UNC) 5-0
165: Chris Vitale (Lehigh) dec. Chris Pendleton (OSU), 9-3
285: James Huml (OSU) dec. Kellan Fluckiger (ASU), 5-3
285: No. 12 Ryan Kehler (W. Virginia) pins James Huml (OSU), 5:11
