Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Wrestling Competes At Northeast Duals Saturday
November 26, 2008 | Cowboy Wrestling
Oklhahoma State Wrestling This Week
Northeast Duals
Nov. 29, 2008 :: All day :: Hudson Valley CC :: Troy, N.Y.
8:15 a.m. CST OSU vs. No. 22 Lehigh
10:00 a.m. CST OSU vs. No. 24 Virginia
2:15 p.m. CST OSU vs. Appalachian State
4:00 p.m. CST OSU vs. American
TV None
Radio 780 AM KSPI
Internet okstate.com
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The Basics
The Oklahoma State wrestling team (1-0 overall) travels to Troy, N.Y. to compete at the Northeast Duals Saturday. The Cowboys square off against Lehigh, Virginia, Appalachian State and American at the event.
On The Air
Saturday's Northeast Duals will be broadcast live on 780 KSPI-AM radio Stillwater with Roger Moore calling the action. The broadcast can also be accessed live online at the official web site of Oklahoma State athletics, www.okstate.com.
Position Battles Still Ongoing
A handful of starting positions remain up for grabs and the Northeast Duals could play a part in solidifying the Oklahoma State lineup.
Tyler Shinn and Chris Notte would both be suitable as 133-pound starters for the Cowboys. Shinn beat Notte head-to-head at the Orange and Black Ranking Matches and at the Central Missouri Open, but hasn't done quite enough to lock up the title of starter just yet.
Luke Silver currently sports a 6-0 record at 149 pounds, but Quinten Fuentes has looked strong in winning by fall in eight of his nine victories this year.
Neil Erisman will be a Cowboy to watch all year at 157 pounds, but he will have to out-perform senior Newly McSpadden, who is off to a 6-1 start.
Cowboys 274-66-5 All-Time vs. Ranked Opponents
Oklahoma State will take on No. 22 Lehigh and No. 24 Virginia at the Northeast Duals. Both teams are solid teams that are capable of knocking off most anyone.
That said, Oklahoma State has feasted on ranked opposition throughout its history. The Amateur Wrestling News has produced college rankings since the 1974-75 season. Since that time, Oklahoma State is 274-66-5 vs. ranked opponents (.801 winning percentage).
Last Time Out - Oklahoma State 30, No. 20 Old Dominion 9
Pins in each of the final three bouts propelled No. 7 Oklahoma State to a 30-9 victory over No. 20 Old Dominion on Nov. 22. The Cowboys fell behind early by losing the first three bouts, but a 4-3 win by OSU freshman Luke Silver at 149 pounds propelled the Cowboys into seven straight wins to close out the dual.
Bout-by-Bout Results
125: No. 5 James Nicholson (ODU) dec. No. 6 Obenson Blanc (OSU); 5-3
133: No. 12 Kyle Hutter (ODU) dec. No. 11 Tyler Shinn (OSU); 4-2
141: No. 14 Ryan Williams (ODU) dec. Jamal Parks (OSU); 6-5
149: Luke Silver (OSU) dec. Joey Metzler (ODU); 4-3
157: No. 12 Newly McSpadden (OSU) dec. Kaylen Baxter (ODU); 6-1
165: No. 10 Brandon Mason (OSU) dec. No. 16 Chris Brown (ODU); 5-4 TB2
174: Kyle Griffin (OSU) dec. Eric Decker (ODU); 10-4
184: Jared Shelton (OSU) fall Joe Budi (ODU); 0:41
197: No. 18 Clayton Foster (OSU) fall Jesse Strawn (ODU); 2:05
285: No. 1 Jared Rosholt (OSU) fall Roy Dragon III (ODU); 4:26
Series Records vs. Northeast Duals Opponents
Oklahoma State owns an 8-0-0 all-time record over Lehigh, and 1-0-0 marks over both Appalachian State and American. The Cowboys have never faced Virginia in a dual.
Opponents To Watch
Several wrestlers the Cowboys will likely face at the Northeast Duals are ranked nationally, but none higher than No. 6 Michael Cannon from American, who wrestles at 174 pounds. No. 8 Rocco Caponi, who occupies the starting spot at 184 pounds for Virginia, is also a top-10 opponent. The 174-pound weight class is the strongest that the Cowboys will face at the Northeast Duals, with American's Cannon (No. 6), Lehigh's Alex Caruso (No. 13) and Virginia's Chris Henrich (No. 14) all ranked nationally.
Head-to-Head Matchups
There have been very few head-to-head matchups between current Cowboy wrestlers and current wrestlers from OSU's opposition at the Northeast Duals.
Cowboy senior Newly McSpadden handed American's Chris Stout a 12-2 major decision defeat at last year's Northeast Duals. OSU's Brandon Mason was a 2-0 winner over Lehigh's Alex Caruso at the 2008 NCAA Championships, Cowboy Quinten Fuentes pinned American's Chris Clarke in 3:22 at last year's Northeast Duals and OSU's Cody Hill pinned American's Andrew Semple in 2:36 at last year's Northeast Duals.
OSU At Last Year's Northeast Duals
Oklahoma State swept four duals at the 2007 Journeyman/Brute Northeast Duals, including a 20-16 victory over No. 12 Hofstra. The Cowboys cruised to victories over Binghamton (47-3), Clarion (38-6), and American (42-0) as well.
Rosholt An All-Star Classic Winner
Oklahoma State junior 285-pounder Jared Rosholt was an 8-4 winner over No. 3 Kyle Massey of Wisconsin at the NWCA All-Star Classic in Columbus, Ohio on Nov. 24. With his comfortable win over Massey at the All-Star Classic, Rosholt has already beaten two of his top competitors for the NCAA title this year. He beat No. 4 Mark Ellis of Missouri by a 4-1 decision in the title bout of the Central Missouri Open on Nov. 16.
More Pins Than Before
If there is one noticable difference between Oklahoma State this year from last year, it may be that this year's team is registering pins at a much higher rate than last year's.
Through two open tournaments and one dual, this year's Cowboy team has registered 50 pins. Last year's squad had a season total of 84 pins.
From an indiviudal perspective, 149-pounder Quinten Fuentes has eight wins by fall this year to lead the team. Last season, Jared Rosholt led the team with seven pins.
A New Era At Oklahoma State
The 2008-09 season may be a special one in that the Cowboys do not several veteran returners with NCAA championship credentials or high All-America honors, so an opportunity is there for new faces to emerge. Only heavyweight Jared Rosholt was ranked among the top five wrestlers in his weight class going into the season.
Among those to watch from Oklahoma State's next generation are sophomore 197-pounder Clayton Foster and redshirt freshman 141-pounder Jamal Parks. Those two have the chance to plant seeds this year for an exciting wave of seasons to come.
Two of the top high school wrestlers in the nation last year, freshmen Jordan Oliver and Alex Meade, are both slated to redshirt this season. Combine them with Foster, Parks, sophomore Kyle Griffin and redshirt freshman Chris McNeil, plus a bumper crop of incoming recruits and it becomes clear that John Smith and the Cowboys are building something special down the road.
Top-Notch Recruiting Class On The Way
Oklahoma State wrestling coach John Smith announced the signing of eight student-athletes to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period. The incoming class of signees is regarded as one of the nation's top recruiting classes and is heavy on in-state recruits.
The incoming class is highlighted by Chris Perry (Stillwater, Okla./Stillwater), Jon Morrison (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg), Dallas Bailey (Catoosa, Okla./Catoosa) and Albert White (Lynwood, Ill./Northern Iowa Area Community College), all of whom are considered blue chip national recruits. Both Perry and Morrison are ranked by major national publications as the No. 1 wrestlers in their respective weight classes going into their senior year, with Bailey ranked as the preseason No. 2 prep in the nation in his weight class. White is a 2008 junior college national champion who was 200-4 during his prep career at St. Rita HS in Chicago and has a Fargo national title on his resume.
Perry (No. 3), Bailey (No. 6) and Morrison (No. 9) are all ranked among revwrestling.com's top 10 recruits in the nation, regardless of weight class. No other school in the country has more than one wrestler from that list signed as part of this year's class.
This year's group of prep wrestlers in the state of Oklahoma is considered to be one of the best in recent memory, and the Cowboys succeeded in keeping the homegrown talent in-state, with Perry, Bailey, Blake Rosholt (Ponca City HS), Ladd Rupp (Perry HS), Stephen Swan (Perry HS) and Zach White (Woodward HS) all signing on to continue their wrestling careers at Oklahoma State.
Next Up For The Cowboys
Oklahoma State hosts Northern Colorado at 7 p.m. on Dec. 5 at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
