Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Advance One inot Finals
March 22, 2002 | Cowboy Wrestling
March 22, 2002
Oklahoma State's wrestling team dropped to fifth place after the evening session of the NCAA Championships at the Pepsi Arena.
OSU entered the semifinals in third but after losing three ou t of the four bouts, OSU dropped to fifth. Minnesota took a commanding 17-point lead heading into the finals tomorrow. Iowa State and Iowa round out the top four with 88 and 83.5 points, respectively.
"We started the day and showed a lot of grit," head coach John Smith said. "We came back and won eight in a row, but we didn't end the day the way I had hoped. I felt like we got beat on three of the matches on top."
Sophomore Johnny Thompson was the only Cowboy to emerge from the semifinal round. Thompson scored a takedown in the third period before recording the 3-1 decision over OU's Witt Durden. Thompson improved his all-time series lead against Durden to 7-0.
"It is the fifth time we wrestled all season and every match has been a little different," Thompson said. "This time there wasn't a takedown scored until late in the third. It is tough to wrestle someone that many times in a season because you know what they are going to do and they know what you are capable of."
Junior Skyler Holman lost a 3-2 decision against Iowa's Luke Eustice, while junior Shane Roller fell to nemesis Bryan Snyder, 5-2. Sophomore Tyrone Lewis fell to Illinois' Matt Lackey, 6-4, in sudden victory.
"I felt like we weren't ready for Eustice on top," Smith said. "I felt like we underestimated his ability on top. That was really the difference in the match.
Junior Jerrod Sanders and senior Pat Popolizio each lost decisions in the fourth round of the consolation matches. Sanders fell to Harvard's Jesse Jantzen, 6-3, while Popolizio lost to Northern Iowa's Kyle Hensen, 6-2.
The consolation semifinals are slated to start at 7 a.m. (CST) with the medal rounds beginning after the consolation semifinals. The finals will begin at 2 p.m.
Team Results (Top 5) Minnesota 112 Oklahoma 95 Iowa State 88 Iowa 83.5 Oklahoma State 66.5Results Semifinals 125: Luke Eustice (Iowa) dec. Skyler Holman (OSU), 3-2 133: Johnny Thompson (OSU) dec. Witt Durden (OU), 3-1 157: Bryan Snyder (NU) dec. Shane Roller (OSU), 5-2 165: Matt Lackey (Illinois) dec. Tyrone Lewis (OSU), 6-4 s.v.
Consolations- Fourth Round 149: Jessie Jantzen (Harvard) dec. Jerrod Sanders (OSU), 6-3 184: Kyle Hansen (Northern Iowa) dec. Pat Popolizio (OSU), 6-2
