Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Seeking Fifth Straight NCAA Title
March 12, 2007 | Cowboy Wrestling
Oklahoma State came within one point in the heavyweight match from winning its fifth straight Big 12 title, but the match and the team title went to Iowa State as the Cowboys fell to third. The Cyclones won its first Big 12 Championship with 66.5 points, while Missouri took second with 61.5 points and OSU was third just a half point back of the Tigers. The Cowboys crowned three individual champions, their fewest since 2002. Coleman Scott had to fight off a cradle and held on to defeat Missouri's Tyler McCormick. Nathan Morgan defeated Nebraska's Dominick Moyer and Johny Hendricks scored a late takedown. The Cowboys lost two finals matches when Brandon Mason lost to top-seeded Ben Askren and Rosholt lost the critical match to Iowa State's David Zabriskie. Tyler Shinn became OSU's first qualifier when he scored a takedown to defeat Iowa State's Nick Fanthorpe. Jack Jensen received a forfeit win in his third-place match. Newly McSpadden finished fifth, but he received a wildcard into the NCAA Championships.
Last Time at NCAA Championships
Oklahoma State entered the 2006 NCAA Championships as slight underdogs to Minnesota after having lost a pair of duals to the Gophers in the regular season. The Cowboys quickly squelched any ideas of Minnesota capturing the team title as OSU racked up 11 falls in the tournament. The Cowboys sent three wrestlers into the finals with Jake Rosholt capturing his third NCAA title and Johny Hendricks rallying for his second career finals victory. Four other wrestlers earned All-America honors as Steve Mocco lost in the finals to nemesis Cole Konrad. Zack Esposito settled for third-place after suffering a loss in the semifinals. Coleman Scott lost his first match, but he battled back through the consolation bracket picking up huge points and finishing fifth. Nathan Morgan reached the semifinals, but suffered three consecutive losses and took home sixth-place. The Cowboys had accumulated 122.5 points over the three day tournament, topping the Gophers by nearly 40 points. It was the fourth straight NCAA title for the Cowboys and 34th overall. OSU has had tremendous success at the NCAA Championships over those four seasons. Below is a quick glance at OSU's recent dominance in the NCAA Wrestling Championships.
Mason Outlasts Weitzel
Brandon Mason recorded an early takedown against OU's Josh Weitzel and seemed to be in control after riding out the first period and accumulating over 2:40 in riding time. But Weitzel erased the riding time when he rode Mason for the second period, and Mason's seemingly large advantage had evaporated. Weitzel wisely chose neutral in the third period and scored a takedown that tied the match. Overtime became a tall order as neither wrestler has an array of takedown moves, and both guys are better from the top position. So neither wrestler could score a takedown in sudden victory, or escape in the tie-breaker. But finally, in the fourth sudden victory period, Mason got behind Weitzel and brought him to the mat for the winning takedown. The match lasted 13:22.
Young Cowboys Making Strides
Head coach John Smith knew the 2007 season was going to be tough with six new starters in the lineup. Following, two blow out losses to Big 12 rivals Missouri and Iowa State at the National Duals, the Cowboys seemed like long shots to win the Big 12 and place high at the NCAA Championships. But OSU closed out the season with a road victory over Nebraska, a one-point loss to No. 2 Missouri and a convincing win over Bedlam rival Oklahoma. The win over the Sooners was the most lopsided victory in five seasons, which coincided with the start of the Cowboys current championship run. Since then, Smith has had three weeks to prepare his team for another postseason run.
Hendricks Looking to Join Exclusive Club
Johny Hendricks will head to the Palace in Auburn Hills with an opportunity to become just the fifth wrestler in school history to become a four-time All-American and a three-time national champion. Hendricks finished fifth as a redshirt freshman in 2004 at 157 pounds. He then won the next two titles while wrestling at 165. During his two championship seasons and so far this season, Hendricks has compiled an 83-5 record. There have previously been 10 four-time All-Americans and 15 three-time national champions. Only five guys have done both with Jake Rosholt joining the club last season.
Cowboys not Accustomed to Losing
OSU's five losses is the most it has had since the Cowboys went 12-5-1 during the 1999-2000 campaign, and it marks just the fifth time in school history the Cowboys have lost as many as four duals in a season. OSU lost just four duals over the last four seasons combined. Oklahoma State still boasts an all-time record of 942-98-20.
