Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys to Host Oregon
January 21, 2007 | Cowboy Wrestling
Last Time Out
The Cowboys outlasted fifth-ranked Iowa, 21-11, in front 4,233 fans inside Gallagher-Iba Arena and an ESPNU national television audience. A total of six matches swung to the other side from the previous meeting on Jan. 13 at National Duals. The first such match was at 125 where Charlie Falck was working on a major decision but gave up an escape to Tyler Shinn as time expired. The 9-2 decision was the most lopsided match of the night. Half of the matches were decided by one takedown. The Cowboys were victorious in three of those matches with Johny Hendricks and Jack Jensen both recording third period takedowns to win by a point. Newly McSpadden rode 15th-ranked Ryan Morningstar for the third period to win, 2-0. Coleman Scott and Nathan Morgan both defeated nationally ranked opponents to help steer the Pokes to a victory. The dual ended on a sour note when Iowa defaulted at 197. Dan Erekson suffered an injury and could not continue giving Jared Shelton a six-point victory and putting the Hawkeyes out of reach. Matt Fields closed out the dual with a win over OSU's Jared Rosholt.
Scouting the Ducks
Oregon is 5-5 on the season, and is starting a young lineup that could see as many as six freshmen take the mat. The Ducks are missing national champion Shane Webster and All-American Joey Bracamonte who both graduated after last season. The Ducks do boast three wrestlers ranked among the top five in the Pacific-10 Conference. Oregon defeated No. 20 Cal Poly back on Jan. 5 for its marquee win of the season, but lost to Cal State Fullerton in its last dual on Jan. 12. Senior Justin Perch currently leads the team in wins with 16.
Simpson Makes Debut
True freshman Dakotah Simpson was pulled out of redshirt to face rival Iowa in the quarterfinals of the National Duals. Simpson made an immediate impact in the dual, pinning fifth-year senior Alex Grunder to put the Pokes up 15-0 and all but sealing the Cowboy victory. Simpson is currently 6-3 on the season and won an open title at the Oklahoma Open.
Young Guns
Oklahoma State graduated five starters and three All-Americans off of the 2006 national championship squad. Head coach John Smith has had to fill those holes the best that he could and that has come in the forms of a pair of redshirt freshmen and now the possible addition of true freshman Dakotah Simpson. Tyler Shinn has jumped into the rankings and is ranked as high as 14th, while his high school teammate, Jared Rosholt, has been ranked as high as 10th this season. Simpson was pulled out of redshirt at National Duals and is now in position to compete for the starting spot at 149 pounds. In addition, the Cowboys added a pair of sophomores to the lineup in Newly McSpadden and Jared Shelton at 157 and 197, respectiviely.
