Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys and Sooners Tied After Semifinal Round
March 09, 2002 | Cowboy Wrestling
March 9, 2002
Oklahoma State's wrestling team advanced seven wrestlers into the finals at the Big 12 Championships today in Norman, Okla., at the Lloyd Noble Center.
OSU and OU head into the finals with 57.5 points each, while Iowa State is in third with 33 points. Missouri and Nebraska round out the top four with 19 and nine points, respectively.
In the Cowboys seven final-round matches, five of them will come against OU wrestlers.
Junior Skyler Holman used two takedowns to defeat Mark Bader in the semifinals to advance to the finals against Matt Ridings.
Sophomore Johnny Thompson will face OU's Witt Durden for the fourth time this year. Thompson recorded three takedowns en route to a 10-5 decision over Nebraska's Joey Malia.
Freshman Ronnie Delk advanced to the semifinals after picking up a 4-2 decision in sudden victory over NU's Dusty Spaulding in the pigtail round, before falling short to Missouri's J.P. Reese, 10-4, in the semifinals.
Delk will face the winner of Dusty Spaulding and Parker for third place.
Junior Shane Roller recorded two takedowns and two three-point near falls before notching the technical fall over Iowa State's Matt Veach. Roller will face Nebraska's top-ranked Bryan Snyder in the finals. Snyder picked up a 15-4 decision over Kenny Burleson of Missouri to advance.
Tyrone Lewis advanced to the finals and will battle Iowa State's top-ranked Joe Heskett. Lewis won a 1-1 tiebreaker against OU's Robbie Waller, while decisioned Tyrone Woodley 6-3 to advance.
After recording a decision over Iowa State's Nick Passolano in the pigtail round, Ty Wilcox battled Missouri's John Kopnisky in the semifinals.
Wilcox took an early 1-0 lead heading into the third period, before Kopnisky knotted the score at 1-1. Wilcox then scored a takedown with seconds remaining to knock off top-seeded Kopnisky, 3-1, to advance to the finals aginst OU's Michael Barger in the finals.
Senior Pat Popolizio avenged a loss to Nebraska's Travis Pascoe, picking up the 4-3 decision. Popolizio recorded a takedown and an escape before using his 2:35 of riding time to notch the win.
Popolizio will face OU's Josh Lambrecht, who picked up a technical fall against Missouri's Dante Stone, in the finals.
In the heavyweights, OSU's James Huml and OU's Leonce Crump will battle for the title. Huml advanced by recording a 5-2 decision over Iowa State's Mark Knauer, while Crump pinned Kevin Herron in 1:23 to advance.
The consolation finals are slated to start at 4 p.m., with the finals starting at 7 p.m.
ResultsPigtail 141- Ronnie Delk (OSU) dec. Dusty Spaulding (NU) 4-2 s.v. 174- Ty WIlcox (OSU) dec. Nick Passolano (ISU), 5-2 197- Tom Grossman (OU) dec. Willie Gruenwald (OSU), 5-3
Semifinals 125- Skyler Holman (OSU) dec. Mark Bader (MU), 6-1 133-Johnny Thompson (OSU) dec. Joey Malia (NU), 10-5 141- J.P. Reese (MU) dec. Ronnie Delk (OSU), 10-4 149- Billy Maldonado (ISU) dec. Jerrod Sanders (OSU), 6-3 157- Shane Roller (OSU) t.f. Matt Veach (ISU), 16-0 165- Tyrone Lewis (OSU) dec. Robbie Waller (ISU), 1-1 t.b. 174- Ty Wilcox (OSU) dec. John Kopnisky (MU), 3-1 184- Pat Popolizio (OSU) dec. Travis Pascoe (NU), 4-3 285- James Huml (OSU) dec. Mark Knauer (ISU), 5-2
