Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Wrestling 14th After Day One of NCAA Championships
March 20, 2009 | Cowboy Wrestling
ST. LOUIS – With the first day of the NCAA Wrestling Championships complete at the Scottrade Center, Oklahoma State is in 14th place with 16.5 team points. Heavyweight Jared Rosholt is the lone Cowboy still alive in the championship bracket, as he won both of his bouts Thursday, claiming a 9-3 win over Oregon State's Clayton Jack in the first round and an 8-6 win over Rutgers' D.J. Russo in the second round. Rosholt will take on No. 5 Konrad Dudziak of Duke in Friday morning's championship quarterfinal.
“Jared seems to be wrestling better,” Coach John Smith said. “He still seems to be trying to find his way with his offense. He was a little sloppy today with his finishes, but the good news is that he's scoring points again.”
All tolled, Oklahoma State still has seven of its nine wrestlers alive in the tournament, with Rosholt in the championship bracket and 125-pounder Obenson Blanc, 141-pounder Jamal Parks, 157-pounder Neil Erisman, 174-pounder Newly McSpadden, 184-pounder Chris McNeil and 197-pounder all in the second round of the wrestleback.
“This definitely was not the typical first day at the national tournament for us,” Smith said. “We had a few guys who didn't wrestle with their hearts and we're going to need to do that tomorrow if we're going to do anything here.”
One of the highlights for Oklahoma State on Thursday was the performance of McNeil, who won twice, claiming a 5-2 win over No. 16 Justin Kerber of Cornell in the wrestleback pigtail round, then a 14-6 major decision win over Brown's Matthew Gevelinger in the wrestleback first round. McNeil wrestled in open tournaments for much of the year but caught the eye of the Cowboy coaching staff enough that they inserted into the lineup for the Big 12 Championship, where he earned an automatic qualifying berth into the NCAA Championships.
“Chris won two matches here today and good for him,” Smith said. “He deserved to wrestle well here and tomorrow will be a great challenge for him. His story is a success no matter what happens.”
After suffering a 4-2 defeat at the hands of top-seed and former NCAA champion Paul Donahoe of Edinboro in the first round, Blanc bounced back to log OSU's only pin of the day when he stuck Duquesne's William Chamberlain flat at the 4:19 mark of his wrestleback match to advance to Friday's consolation second round.
After Erisman's 8-3 first-round win over Northern Colorado's Justin Gaethje, he was pitted against No. 5 J.P. O'Connor of Harvard and found himself down 5-0 in the first period after getting taken down, then turned for a three-point nearfall. Erisman steadily chipped away and eventually tied the score at 6-6 with 30 seconds left in the third period, but O'Connor's riding time advantage snuffed out Erisman's furious rally.
Following Foster's 8-5 first-round win over No. 15 Chad Beatty of Iowa, he ended up on the short end of one of the better bouts of the day when he lost a 5-4 decision to George Mason's Cayle Byers in a tiebreaker. The two wrestlers finished regulation tied, 2-2, then went through two sudden victory periods and two tiebreak periods still tied. The difference in the bout ended up being Byers' 30-second riding time advantage.
Parks scored his first NCAA Championships win with a 6-4 sudden victory triumph over No. 19 Vincent Ramirez of North Carolina in the first round despite being ridden out for the third period, but that same formula didn't work twice for the Tulsa Union graduate, who was ridden out for the entire second period in his 3-2 second-round loss to No. 9 Alex Krom of Maryland.
After his 3-0 first-round win over Ohio State's Dave Rella, McSpadden slipped into the wrestleback after losing a 5-2 decision to No. 7 Chris Henrich of Virginia.
A 2007 All-American, 165-pounder Brandon Mason lost his first-round bout to No. 19 Dan Vallimont of Penn State, but bounced back to win his wrestleback pigtail bout against Michigan's Justin Zeerip, 3-0. He then lost a 3-1 sudden-victory decision to Pittsburgh's Ethan Headlee to be eliminated from the tournament.
No wrestler in the tournament faced a tougher pair of opponents than Oklahoma State 133-pounder Chris Notte, who lost a 5-4 decision to No. 5 Daniel Dennis of Iowa in the first round before being eliminated from the tournament following a 10-6 defeat at the hands of No. 3 Jimmy Kennedy of Illinois.
Friday morning's action begins at 10 a.m.
Team Standings (Entering Friday Morning)
T1. Iowa: 33 points
T1. Iowa State: 33 points
3. Ohio State: 30 points
4. Nebraska: 24 points
5. Edinboro: 22.5 points
6. Boise State: 22 points
7. Illinois: 20.5 points
8. Hofstra: 20 points
9. Cornell: 18.5 points
T10. Missouri: 18 points
T10. Penn State: 18 points
12. Kent State: 17.5 points
13. Lehigh: 17 points
14. Oklahoma State: 16.5 points
15. Oklahoma: 16 points
Oklahoma State Thursday Results
Championship First Round
125: No. 1 Paul Donahoe (Edinboro) dec. No. 15 Obenson Blanc (OSU); 4-2
133: No. 5 Daniel Dennis (Iowa) dec. No. 13 Chris Notte (OSU); 5-4
141: No. 15 Jamal Parks (OSU) vs. No. 19 Vincent Ramirez (North Carolina); 6-4 SV
157: No. 9 Neil Erisman (OSU) dec. Justin Gaethje (Northern Colorado); 8-3
165: No. 19 Dan Vallimont (Penn State) dec. No. 9 Brandon Mason (OSU); 8-6 SV
174: No.11 Newly McSpadden (OSU) dec. Dave Rella (Ohio State); 3-0
184: Thomas Spellman (Virginia Tech) dec. Chris McNeil (OSU); 3-1 SV
197: No. 8 Clayton Foster (OSU) dec. No. 15 Chad Beatty (Iowa); 8-5
285: No. 4 Jared Rosholt (OSU) dec. Clayton Jack (Oregon State); 9-3
Championship Second Round
141: No. 9 Alex Krom (Maryland) dec. No. 15 Jamal Parks (OSU); 3-2
157: No. 5 J.P. O'Connor (Harvard) dec. No. 9 Neil Erisman (OSU); 7-6
174: No. 7 Chris Henrich (Virginia) dec. No. 11 Newly McSpadden (OSU); 5-2
197: No. 10 Cayle Byers (George Mason) dec. No. 8 Clayton Foster (OSU); 5-4 TB
285: No. 4 Jared Rosholt (OSU) dec. D.J. Russo (Rutgers); 8-6
Wrestleback Pigtails
133: No. 3 Jimmy Kennedy (Illinois) dec. No. 13 Chris Notte (OSU); 10-6
165: No. 9 Brandon Mason (OSU) dec. Justin Zeerip (Michigan); 3-0
184: Chris McNeil (OSU) dec. No. 16 Justin Kerber (Cornell); 5-2
Wrestleback First Round
125: No. 15 Obenson Blanc (OSU) fall William Chamberlain (Duquesne); 4:19
165: Ethan Headlee (Pittsburgh) dec. No. 9 Brandon Mason; 3-1 SV
184: Chris McNeil (OSU) maj. dec. Matthew Gevelinger (Brown); 14-6
Oklahoma State Friday Morning Schedule
Championship Quarterfinals
285: No. 4 Jared Rosholt (OSU) vs. No. 5 Konrad Dudziak (Duke)
Wrestleback Second Round
125: No. 15 Obenson Blanc (OSU) vs. No. 6 James Nicholson (Old Dominion)
141: No. 15 Jamal Parks (OSU) vs. William Simpson (Army)
157: No. 9 Neil Erisman (OSU) vs. No. 14 Jonny Bonilla-Bowman (Hofstra)
174: No. 11 Newly McSpadden (OSU) vs. Eric Decker (Old Dominion)
184: Chris McNeil (OSU) vs. No. 9 David Craig (Lehigh)
197: No. 8 Clayton Foster (OSU) vs. Patrick Bond (Illinois)
