Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys to Compete in the Big 12 Tournament
March 01, 2005 | Cowboy Wrestling
Oklahoma State will try to win its third straight Big 12 wrestling championship when it travels to Omaha, Neb., for the Big 12 Tournament being held at the Qwest Center. The Cowboys are returning just two individual champions from last season. Zack Esposito is the returning Big 12 champion at 149, while Jake Rosholt won the title at 184 last year. OSU has won six of the eight Big 12 Championships, and have won 39 conference championships in school history. Six wrestlers for Oklahoma State will be making their first appearance in the Big 12 Tournament. Two of those wrestlers are prohibitive favorites to take home the Big 12 title at their weight. Freshman Nathan Morgan went undefeated during the Big 12 season at 133, while heavyweight Steve Mocco is a robust 30-0 on the year. Mocco's closest Big 12 match was a 10-3 decision over Oklahoma's Joel Tapler. Freshman Daniel Firshkorn, junior Kevin Ward and freshman Clay Kehrer will all be making their first appearance at the Big 12 Championships at 141, 157 and 184, respectively. Oklahoma State will try to win its 40th conference championship, dating back to when Ed Gallagher was coach. The Cowboys will be shooting for their seventh conference crown since the Big 12 was formed in 1996.
Last Time Out
Oklahoma State won six matches by decision on its way to defeating Bedlam rival Oklahoma 18-13 at Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Cowboys traded the first four matches with Oklahoma to tie the dual at six. That is when OSU began to assert itself winning four consecutive matches to take a 15-6 lead. Zack Esposito had the biggest win of the day defeating fourth-ranked Matt Storniolo. Chris Pendleton avenged his only loss of the season with an 8-3 decision over E.K. Waldhaus in his final match at Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Sooners made the dual interesting by winning the next two matches, including a major decision by Justin Dyer over Clay Kehrer. Joel Flaggert defeated Rusty Blackmon to make the score 15-13 with one match remaining. The Cowboys sent Steve Mocco to the mat to close out the deal. He sealed the fate of the Sooners with a 10-3 decision over Joel Tapler. The dual victory completed a perfect season for OSU with a 21-0 record.
Cowboys on TV
The Cowboys made their fourth appearance on TV against Nebraska, fifth counting the All-Star duals. The Nebraska dual was televised nationally by CSTV and locally in Nebraska by NETV, which the Cowboys prevailed 19-18. In televised duals so far this year the Cowboys are 4-0. OSU defeated Oklahoma 21-16 in a dual televised statewide by Cox Cable. OSU defeated Illinois, 22-15, in the finals of the National Duals in a meet that was televised nationally by CSTV. Less than a week later, Oklahoma State was on Iowa Public Television when they defeated Iowa State 21-14 at Hilton Coliseum.
Cowboys Complete Undefeated Season
Oklahoma State completed a perfect season with a dual victory over Oklahoma. It was the 32nd time in school history that OSU went through a season with no losses or no ties. They have now had 40 totalseasons without a loss.
Steve Mocco Goes Undefeated
Junior heavyweight Steve Mocco completed an undefeated regular season with a 10-3 decision over Joel Tapler. Mocco has recorded 16 falls and 3 tech. falls among his 30 victories. He has now won his last 64 collegiate matches dating back to his sophomore season at Iowa two years ago. Assistant coach Eric Guerrero was the last Oklahoma State wrestler to complete an undefeated season when he went 31-0 in 1999.
Cowboys Win No. 20
Oklahoma State won its 20th dual last Sunday at Lehigh. It was the eighth time in school history the Cowboys have won as many as 20 duals in a season. The last time they won 20 was during the 2001-02 season when they went 20-3. The school record for wins in a season is 23. OSU went 23-0, the best record in school history, during the 1998-99 season.
The Fab 5
The Cowboys have five wrestlers ranked in the top five nationally. Three of them are ranked No. 1 and favored to take home the individual title this March. Zack Esposito, Chris Pendleton and Steve Mocco are all currently ranked No. 1 at their weight, while Jake Rosholt was No. 1 until losing to Lehigh's Jon Trenge on Feb. 13 and falling to No. 2. Johny Hendricks is currently ranked fourth. The five wrestlers have combined to go 133-8 this season, with Steve Mocco leading the way at 30-0. They have propelled the Cowboys to an undefeated dual season with an 90-8 record in dual meets.
Steve Mocco Records Career Win No. 100
Steve Mocco won the 100th match of his collegiate career when he recorded a tech. fall over Lehigh's Paul Weibel. Mocco went 71-3 in two years at the University of Iowa and is 30-0 in his first year at Oklahoma State. Mocco has won his last 64 collegiate matches.
Cowboys Face Stiff Competition
Oklahoma State faces the toughest schedule in the nation. After the Cowboys defeated Lehigh, they had defeated seven teams that currently reside in the top 10. OSU has defeated 12 teams that are ranked in the top 20 this season. Only seven teams on OSU's schedule are not ranked.
