Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Wrestling Hosts Minnesota Friday
December 02, 2009 | Cowboy Wrestling
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Cowboy Wrestling This Week
No. 3 Oklahoma State vs. No. 5 Minnesota
Dec. 4, 2009 :: 7 p.m. :: Stillwater, Okla. :: Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,600 capacity)
TV: None
Radio: 93.7 KSPI-FM (Rex Holt and Roger Moore)
Live Internet Video: okstate.com
Live Internet Audio: okstate.com
Live Results and Play-by-Play: okstate.com
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The Basics
The No. 3 Oklahoma State wrestling team (1-0-1 overall) hosts No. 5 Minnesota (1-0 overall) at 7 p.m. Friday in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Ticket Information
Season tickets for OSU wrestling cost $75 for the general public and $60 for OSU faculty & staff and senior citizens. OSU students are admitted free with ID.
Tickets for Friday's dual cost $12 with the group rate $6 per person in a group of 15 or more. The group rate is only available if booked in advance.
Gameday Promotions vs. Minnesota
OSU Students can enter an orange VESPA S50 drawing with their student ID in east lobby of Gallagher Iba Arena at Orange Rewards table. Special thanks to Amy & Malone Mitchell for their generous donation to make his program possible.
The first 100 OSU Students with Student ID to Promotional Gazebo will receive FREE Wrestling Shirt.
MidFirst Show Me the Money-Bring a MidFirst sign for your chance to win $150
On The Air
The dual will be aired live on KSPI 93.7 FM radio in Stillwater with Rex Holt and Roger Moore on the call.
Watch The Dual Live
Fans can watch the dual live online at okstate.com. Simply go to the site, then click on "Multimedia" and roll your mouse over to "Live Events" on the left-hand side and scroll down to the dual of your choice and click the link to the video feed.
The video feed also includes the audio from the radio broadcast.
Live Stats And Play-by-Play
Fans can also follow the action online through live results and play-by-play on www.okstate.com. Simply go to the main wrestling site and click the link to the primary story on the page.
Individual Head-to-Head
With as many new faces and weight class changes as Oklahoma State has this season, there haven't been many head-to-head matchups between wrestlers expected to face off on Friday.
The only previous matchups are between Jamal Parks and Mike Thorn at 141 pounds and Jared Rosholt and Ben Berhow at 285 pounds. Parks handed Thorn a 10-7 defeat in Minneapolis last year and Rosholt has won both of his previous meetings wiht Berhow.
Last Meeting (1/1/09) Oklahoma State 23, Minnesota 13
157: Neil Erisman (OSU) dec. No. 19 Tyler Safratowich (MINN); 6-4
165: No. 12 Brandon Mason (OSU) MD No. 18 Scott Glasser(MINN); 16-2
174: Kaleb Young (MINN) dec. Kyle Griffin (OSU); 5-3
184: Sonny Yohn (MINN) dec. No. 20 Jared Shelton (OSU); 8-5
197: No. 12 Clayton Foster (OSU) fall Gordon Bierschenk (MINN); 1:23
285: No. 1 Jared Rosholt (OSU) dec. Ben Berhow (MINN); 3-2
125: No. 7 Zach Sanders (MINN) dec. No. 14 Obe Blanc (OSU); 7-6
133: No. 6 Jayson Ness (MINN) MD Chris Notte (OSU); 15-5
141: No. 18 Jamal Parks (OSU) dec. No. 6 Mike Thorn (MINN); 10-7
149: Luke Silver (OSU) MD Brian Peterson (MINN); 12-4
Individual Head-to-Head
With as many new faces and weight class changes as Oklahoma State has this season, there haven't been many head-to-head matchups between wrestlers expected to face off on Friday.
The only previous matchups are between Jamal Parks and Mike Thorn at 141 pounds and Jared Rosholt and Ben Berhow at 285 pounds. Parks handed Thorn a 10-7 defeat in Minneapolis last year and Rosholt has won both of his previous meetings with Berhow.
Rosholt Can Hit The Century Mark Friday
Senior Jared Rosholt, already a Big 12 champion and two-time All-American, continues to etch his name into the OSU record books.
Entering the Minnesota dual, Rosholt has 99 career victories. A total of 32 Cowboys have hit the 100-win mark for their careers, with coach John Smith's 152 victories from 1984-88 topping the list.
Winning Is The Family Business
Jared Rosholt would become the second member of his family to hit the 100 career win mark at OSU, as older brother Jake was 104-21 from 2003-06.
The only other set of brothers to win 100 for the Cowboys were the Smiths. John's 152-8-2 record from 1984-88 leads all OSU wrestlers, with brother Pat going 122-4-2 from 1990-94 and Lee Roy going 114-13-4 from 1977-80.
Cowboys, Gophers Represent Generation Next
Though it's never easy to predict the future, many in wrestling circles view Oklahoma State and Minnesota as the two teams with the best young talent stockpiled within their respective programs.
The Cowboys brought in the top recruiting class in America this past year and also have a stable of second-year performers in Jordan Oliver, Alan Gelogaev and Alex Meade that have many observers excited about the future. As for the Gophers, Minnesota is expected to start a freshman and two sophomores who are nationally-ranked on Friday and they also boast a 2008 Olympian in their room in true freshman Jake Dietchler plus two other highly-regarded freshmen in Alec Ortiz and Bart Reiter.
Teams Of The Decade
Oklahoma State and Minnesota have combined to win seven NCAA team titles this decade, with the Gophers winning in 2001, 2002 and 2007 and the Cowboys claiming championships in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Last Time Out: OSU 16, Oklahoma 16
Dual started at 157 pounds
157: Shane Vernon (OU) dec. Neil Erisman (OSU); 3-1
165: Alex Meade (OSU) dec. Tyler Caldwell (OU); 5-1
174: Jeff James (OU) MD Chris McNeil (OSU); 14-5
184: C. Foster (OSU) MD Erich Schmidke (OU); 17-5
197: Eric Lapotsky (OU) dec. A. Gelogaev (OSU); 10-4
285: J. Rosholt (OSU) dec. Fernandez (OU); 3-3 RT TB4
125: Jared Patterson (OU) dec. Chris Notte (OSU); 6-3
133: Jordan Oliver (OSU) dec. Alex Ekstrom (OU); 8-2
141: Jamal Parks (OSU) dec. Zack Bailey (OU); 5-3
149: Kyle Terry (OU) dec. Quinten Fuentes (OSU); 6-3
Still Undefeated
Only three Cowboys remain undefeated entering the Minnesota dual in Jordan Oliver (9-0), Albert White (9-0) and Clayton Foster (9-0). Oliver and Foster are expected to put their unblemished records on the line against the Gophers, while White is not expected to suit up Friday.
More Family Ties
John Smith is coaching a pair of his nephews this year in true freshmen Chris Perry and Zach White. Perry is the son of John's sister, Cathy and White is the son of Smith's sister Mary Ann.
Both Perry and White are expected to redshirt this season.
Fuentes' Personal Pin Parade
Though open tournament results aren't usually lauded, it should be noted that 149-pounder Quinten Fuentes has seven wins this year, with each of those seven wins coming by fall.
He won his weight class at the Missouri Open on Nov. 22 by pinning each of his five opponents en route to the title.
Dating back to the 2007-08 season, 11 of Fuentes' last 14 wins have come by fall.
Trading Spaces
Three returning OSU starters from last year are suiting up at new weight classes this year, with Chris Notte moving from 133 pounds to 125 pounds, Chris McNeil moving from 184 pounds to 174 pounds and Clayton Foster moving from 197 pounds to 184 pounds.
All three were NCAA qualifiers last year, but are cutting down this year as a result of the increased talent in the OSU wrestling room.
Red, White and OSU
A quartet of Cowboys represented the United States on the international scene during the summer of 2009, with John Smith coaching the USA senior freestyle team at the FILA World Championships in Herning, Denmark, head assistant coach Eric Guerrero serving as head coach for Team USA at the FILA junior freestyle world championships in Ankara, Turkey and Jordan Oliver and Chris Perry both suiting up for Team USA at the FILA junior freestyle world championships.
Oliver won bronze in the 60-kilogram bracket and Perry placed sixth in the 84-kilogram bracket at junior worlds.
Foster Has Team USA Experience As Well
Though he did not suit up in the Stars and Stripes this past summer, 184-pounder Clayton Foster represented the USA at the 2008 FILA junior world freestyle championships and had a nice showing, winning the bronze medal at the event.
Call Him "Z"
One of the most talked-about wrestlers in the country during the preseason was Oklahoma State 197-pounder Alan Gelogaev.
Born in Chechenya, Gelogaev claims Moscow, Russia as his hometown. Prior to enrolling at OSU, he trained for five years under Russian wrestling legend and nine-time world champion Buvaisar Saitiev in Siberia.
During his training in Siberia, he connected with former Cowboy Olympian Daniel Cormier and followed Cormier to Stillwater, where he is now mentored by six-time world champion John Smith.
His nickname, "Z" comes from his middle name, Zelim.
Fargo Champions Everywhere
The 2009-10 Oklahoma State roster includes a staggering seven different Fargo junior freestyle national champions. The list:
Clayton Foster - 2006
Albert White - 2006
Mike Benefiel - 2007
Jon Morrison - 2007
Jordan Oliver - 2007
Jamal Parks - 2007
Chris Perry - 2008
Benefiel Eligible To Compete Beginning Dec. 18
Contrary to initial reports, sophomore 174-pounder Mike Benefiel will be eligible to suit up for the Cowboys when they take on UC Davis on Dec. 18.
It was originally thought that Benefiel would not be eligible until classes started for the spring, 2010 semester. After further review, Benefiel's transfer paperwork indicates that he will be eligible to compete for OSU beginning Dec. 18.
Benefiel redshirted as a true freshman at Northwestern in 2007-08 before transferring to St. Louis CC in Meramec, Mo. Benefiel enrolled at Northern Oklahoma College for summer school in 2009 before coming to OSU in time for the fall, 2009 semester.
