Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Wrestling Leads NCAA Tournament Heading into Semifinals
April 19, 2003 | Cowboy Wrestling
The Cowboys remain in the lead heading into tonight's semifinals with 78 points. Minnesota is in second with 56 points, while Oklahoma is in third with 51.5. Lehigh rounds out the top four with 50 points.
Jake Rosholt electrified the Cowboy fans after storming out to a 5-0 lead before pinning Princeton's second-seeded Greg Parker. Rosholt avenged his loss to Parker earlier in the year at the Reno Tournament of Champions.
Rosholt will face Oklahoma's Josh Lambrecht in the semifinals.
Tyrone Lewis started off slow but blew open the scoring in the third period, recording four takedowns en route to an 11-5 decision. Lewis will face second-seeded Troy Letters of Lehigh in the semifinals.
The Cowboys had a pair of 3-2 wins beginning with Johnny Thompson's decision over Illinois' Mark Jayne and Jerrod Sanders recorded the second 3-2 win with his decision over Jake Percival of Ohio. Sanders handed Percival his first loss of the year.
Thompson will battle Clarion's Rad Martinez in the semifinals, while Sanders will face Arizona State's top-ranked Eric Larkin.
Shane Roller and Chris Pendleton both dropped their quarterfinals match and will move down to the consolations.
In the consolations, Zack Esposito dropped Michigan's Clark Forward on his back for two before recording the fall at 3:26, while Willie Gruenwald won by injury default over Minnesota's Garrett Lowney.
Esposito then faced off with Edinboro's Cory Ace in the second match of the consolations Friday morning.
The Three Bridges, N.J., native recorded a pair of takedowns in the first period to take a 4-2 lead heading into the second frame. Ace then cut the lead to 4-3 with an escape in the second.
Esposito extended his lead to 5-3 only to see Ace tie the score after recording a takedown.
Esposito regained the lead with an escape and clinched the win with a takedown late in the third to grab the victory. He will face Arizona State's Dana Holland tonight.
In Gruenwald's second match of the morning, he sent it into sudden victory after scoring a reversal on Wisconsin's Justin Staebler. In sudden victory, Staebler recorded a takedown to secure the win.
Results
Team Scores 1. Oklahoma State 78 2. Minnesota 56 3. Oklahoma 51.5 4. Lehigh 50
Quarterfinals 133- Johnny Thompson (OSU) dec. Mark Jayne (Illinois), 3-2 149- Jerrod Sanders (OSU) dec. Jake Percival (Ohio), 3-2 157- Ryan Bertin (Michigan) dec. Shane Roller (OSU), 2-1 165- Tyrone Lewis (OSU) dec. John Clark (Ohio State), 11-5 174- Brad Dillon (Lehigh) dec. Chris Pendleton (OSU), 3-2 184- Jake Rosholt (OSU) fall Greg Parker (Princeton), 2:20 197- Muhammed Lawal (OSU) dec. Sean Stender (Northern Iowa), 7-3
Consolations 141- Zack Esposito (OSU) fall Clark Forward (Michigan), 3:24 285- Willie Gruenwald (OSU) inj. def. Garrett Lowney (Minnesota)
141- Zack Esposito (OSU) dec. Cory Ace (Edinboro), 8-6 285- Justin Staebler (Wisconsin) dec. Willie Gruenwald (OSU), 4-2 s.v.
