Third-ranked Minnesota too much for Cowboys, 21-15

Oklahoma State got three major decisions, but it was not enough as third-ranked Minnesota won six matches to claim the dual, 21-15, at the Sports Pavilion on a cold Wednesday night in Minneapolis.

Minnesota improved to 5-1 on the season, while OSU fell to 3-1 on the year. It was the Gophers third consecutive victory over Oklahoma State.

Head coach John Smith acknowledged that Minnesota is a good team and they will be the team they will have to beat in the end. He said his team is not as far along as he thought they were, and they still have to get better in the different positions.

Coleman Scott, Newly McSpadden and Johny Hendricks all recorded major decisions to give OSU an opportunity to win the dual.

McSpadden and Hendricks were both close to falls that, but neither wrestler could hold their opponent down. Hendricks worked on pinning Jeremy Larson for nearly a whole minute at the end of the first period, while McSpadden hit a big move in the closing seconds of the final period.

The Cowboys were also without third-ranked 141-pounder Nathan Morgan who suffered a bruised knee in the Oklahoma dual. Morgan's replacement, Ethan Kyle, could not stay with sixth-ranked Manuel Rivera. Rivera went on to win by a major decision.

The Cowboys also sent out Ryan Freeman who is filling in for B.J. Jackson at 149. Dustin Schlatter had too much muscle for Freeman and wasted no time taking him down. Schlatter went on to an easy technical fall in 4:32.

Oklahoma State needed a victory with Minnesota having a pair of national finalists in two of the last three weights. Gabe Dretsch scored the only takedown of the match in the first period and OSU's Brandon Mason scored his only point on riding time, but the Gophers took the dual lead 15-12.

The lead grew to 18-12 when second-ranked Roger Kish proved to be too strong for Jack Jensen. Kish scored six takedowns in the match and won by a 13-7 decision.

OSU would need a pair of victories in the final two matches to at least tie the dual, including a victory by Jared Rosholt over defending national champion Cole Konrad.

Jared Shelton was strong for the Cowboys and almost exceeded expectations. In the first period, Shelton scored a takedown and took Yura Malamura straight to his back and nearly pinned him. Still, Shelton was working on a major decision, which would have given Rosholt a chance to win the dual. Shelton relaxed as time was running out in the match and Malamura scored a reversal to give Shelton just a 9-2 decision.

Rosholt needed a victory over top-ranked Cole Konrad to tie the Gophers. Konrad scored the only takedown in the first period on the edge of the mat. The two wrestlers traded escapes in the final two periods and Konrad clinched the dual with a 3-1 decision.

The Cowboys have a week off for finals before returning to the mat against Cal Poly at 3 p.m. (CST) on Dec. 18 in San Luis Obispo, Calif. OSU will close out the 2006 season at the Reno Tournament of Champions in Reno, Nev. on Dec. 20.

#3 Minnesota 21, #1 Oklahoma State 15,

Sports Pavilion * Minneapolis, Minn.

125- #8 Jayson Ness (UMN) Dec. Tyler Shinn (OSU); 6-3

133- #4 Coleman Scott (OSU) Maj. Dec. Mike Thorne (UMN); 10-1

141- #6 Manuel Rivera (UMN) Maj. Dec. Ethan Kyle (OSU); 13-3

149- #1 Dustin Schlatter (UMN) Tech. Fall Ryan Freeman (OSU); 15-0; 4:32

157- Newly McSpadden (OSU) Maj. Dec. Tyler Safratowich (UMN); 11-3

165- #1 Johny Hendricks (OSU) Maj. Dec. Jeremy Larson (UMN); 19-6

174- #11 Gabe Dretsch (UMN) Dec. #16 Brandon Mason (OSU); 3-1

184- #2 Roger Kish (UMN) Dec. Jack Jensen (OSU); 13-7

197- Jared Shelton (OSU) Dec. Yura Malamura (UMN); 9-2

285- #1 Cole Konrad (UMN) Dec. #19 Jared Rosholt (OSU); 3-1

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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