Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Head to Columbus, Ohio for National Duals
January 17, 2002 | Cowboy Wrestling
Jan. 17, 2002
Oklahoma State's wrestling team heads to Columbus, Ohio, this weekend to compete in the annual NWCA National Duals hosted by Ohio State.
The Cowboys (11-1 overall, 1-0 Big 12) are seeded second in the tournament and will face No. 16 Michigan State in its first dual on Saturday at 11 a.m.
"Michigan State has some good individuals," said head coach John Smith. "It should be a tough match, but we just have to take one match at a time."
OSU is coming off two shutout wins over Cal Poly and Fresno State. The Cowboys rode pins from Johnny Thompson, Ty Wilcox and Jerrod Sanders en route to a 48-0 victory over the Mustangs. Tyrone Lewis and James Huml tallied pins in the 40-0 blanking of the Bulldogs.
As a No. 1 seed, Oklahoma State went 3-1 last year in the NWCA National Duals. The Cowboys started the tournament by knocking off Lehigh, 12-4, in the firstround and ninth-ranked Arizona State, 26-12, in the secondround.
In the semifinals, OSU disposed of fourth-ranked Iowa State, 25-12, to advance to the championship match against No. 2 Minnesota. The Pokes lost a hard-fought battle to the Gophers, 20-12, giving them their first loss of the season.
It was the second National Duals title for Minnesota, the other coming in 1998. The Cowboys have captured the title five times, the last coming in 1999.
"We have to wrestle well and can't afford any mistakes," said Smith. "We can't settle for mediocre, this tournament is as competitive as ever, and probably won't be seeing very many lopsided scores."
Nine of the top 10 teams in the nation will vie for this years title. Also taking part will be No. 11 Arizona State, No. 13 Lock Haven, No. 14 Northern Iowa, No. 15 Edinboro, No. 23 Central Michigan and Fresno State.
