Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Wrestling Competes At Virginia Duals This Week
January 07, 2009 | Cowboy Wrestling
Cowboy Wrestling This Week
Virginia Duals
Jan. 9-10, 2009 :: 10 a.m., and 2 p.m. Friday and times TBD Saturday :: Hampton Coliseum (Hampton, Va.)
TV: None
Radio: 93.7 KSPI-FM (First Three Duals) -and- 105. 5 KGFY-FM (Fourth Dual Only): Rex Holt and Roger Moore
Internet Radio: okstate.com
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The Basics
The No. 13 Oklahoma State wrestling team (8-2 overall) travels to Hampton, Va., to compete in the Virginia Duals Jan. 9-10.
The second-seeded Cowboys are in the National College Division at the event and are set to face Clarion at 10 a.m. Central time in Friday's first round and will battle either Virginia or Navy at 2 p.m. CT in the second round.
Saturday's duals are TBD based on how the teams work their way through the bracket.
Virginia Duals National College Division Field
No. 8 Lehigh, No. 12 Central Michigan, No. 13 Oklahoma State, No. 15 Edinboro, No. 22 Penn, No. 23 Old Dominion, No. 24 Kent State, Virginia, Navy, Bucknell, Clarion, Liberty, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Ohio and Rider.
On The Air
OSU's first three duals will be broadcast live on 93.7 KSPI-FM radio Stillwater and the fourth dual will be live on 105.5 KGFY-FM radio Stillwater with Rex Holt and Roger Moore calling the action. The broadcast can also be accessed live online at www.okstate.com.
Familiar Opponents and Chance At Redemption
The Cowboys have already faced four of the teams in the Virginia Duals National College Division field in dual matches this year, claiming wins over Old Dominion, Virginia and Northern Colorado and losing to Lehigh.
Lehigh enters the Virginia Duals as the highest-ranked team in the field and a potential rematch would provide the Cowboys with a chance to not only avenge their loss to the Mountain Hawks, but also will provide an opportunity for OSU to return to the top 10 in the national rankings.
OSU At Last Year's Virginia Duals
Oklahoma State stormed to a 4-0 record at last year's Virginia Duals, running over Drexel in the first round, 35-12, Rider in the second round, 39-9, Pennsylvania in the semifinals, 20-13 and No. 17 Illinois in the finals, 21-12.
Mason Likely To Hit Century Mark At Virginia Duals
Cowboy 165-pounder Brandon Mason is nearing the 100-win mark for his career. Mason enters the Virginia Duals with a 98-35 career record. When he reaches the 100-win plateau, he will become the 32nd OSU wrestler to accomplish the feat and the 19th to do it under the guidance of coach John Smith.
Cowboys 276-68-5 All-Time vs. Ranked Opponents
Oklahoma State will likely face at least one ranked team at the Virginia Duals this week. The Cowboys have already toppled three ranked teams this year in No. 20 Old Dominion (30-9 on Nov. 22), No. 24 Virginia (33-7 on Nov. 29) and No. 7 Minnesota (23-13 on Jan. 1).
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 276-68-5 vs. ranked opponents (79.8 winning percentage).
OSU Has Won 76 Straight Duals vs. Unranked Teams
The Cowboys have traditionally rolled against unranked opponents, winning each of their last 76 duals vs. unranked opposition.
Oklahoma State's last loss to an unranked opponent was a 22-17 defeat at the hands of Illinois in Stillwater on Feb. 21, 1993. That loss is the only OSU defeat at the hands of an unranked opponent in Gallagher-Iba Arena since the inception of the Amateur Wrestling News team rankings in 1974.
Last Time Out: No. 13 Oklahoma State 29, UC Davis 7
125: Obenson Blanc dec. No. 15 Marcos Orozco (UCD); 4-2
133: Chris Notte wins by forfeit
141: Jamal Parks dec. Nexi Delgado (UCD); 11-5
149: Barrett Abel (UCD) maj. dec. Luke Silver; 16-4
157: Neil Erisman TF5 Joey Wilson (UCD); 20-5; 4:58
165: Brandon Mason dec. Dustin Noack (UCD); 2-0
174: Tyler Bernacci (UCD) dec. Cody Hill; 7-4
184: Chris McNeil dec. Jon Clark (UCD); 9-4
197: Clayton Foster dec. Abe Otrambo (UCD); 11-5
285: Jared Rosholt dec. Ricky Alcala (UCD); 6-4
Parks Has Won Four of Last Five vs. Ranked Opponents
Redshirt freshman 141-pounder Jamal Parks owns a 17-3 overall record heading into the Virginia Duals and has won four of his last five bouts vs. ranked opponents. Overall, he has won 12 of his last 13 matches, with his lone defeat a 7-5 setback at the hands of No. 5 Chris Drouin of Arizona State.
Rosholt A Big 12 Wrestler of the Week
Jared Rosholt won his first-ever Big 12 Wrestler of the Week honor when he claimed the award on Dec. 22 after knocking off a pair of ranked opponents on the way to winning the Reno Tournament of Champions.
Rosholt beat No. 7 Mitch Monteiro of Cal State Bakersfield by a 13-5 major decision before handing No. 15 Konrad Dudziak of Duke a 5-4 defeat in the title bout.
More Pins Than Before
Entering the Virginia Duals, OSU has registered 84 pins, matching last year's season total.
From an individual perspective, Jared Rosholt, Quinten Fuentes, Jordan Oliver all have nine wins by fall to tie for the team lead. To put those figures into perspective, Rosholt led last year's team with seven pins.
Catching Up With The Redshirts
Of the wrestlers pegged to redshirt this season, 165-pounder Alex Meade and 125/133-pounder Jordan Oliver have risen to the top.
Meade sports a 19-2 overall record that includes two wins by fall, nine by major decision and two wins by technical fall. Oliver is 16-1 with nine wins by fall, one by major decision and four by technical fall.
Meade and Oliver have won championships at two open tournaments apiece and neither of the two Cowboy freshmen have placed any lower than third in an open tournament this year.
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.
