Oklahoma State University Athletics
Three Cowboy Wrestlers Still Alive At NCAA Wrestling Championships
March 20, 2009 | Cowboy Wrestling
ST. LOUIS – With Friday morning's session at the NCAA Wrestling Championships complete at the Scottrade Center, Oklahoma State is tied for 16th with 22.5 team points and a trio of Cowboys, 125-pounder Obenson Blanc, 174-pounder Newly McSpadden and 285-pounder Jared Rosholt are still alive in the wrestleback.
OSU 141-pounder Jamal Parks, 157-pounder Neil Erisman, 184-pounder Chris McNeil and 197-pounder Clayton Foster were all eliminated from the tournament Friday morning.
Rosholt was bumped from the championship bracket by No. 5 Konrad Dudziak of Duke, who claimed a 4-2 sudden victory win over the Cowboy junior. After a scoreless first period, Dudziak scored an escape early in the second period for the only scoring of the stanza. Dudziak slapped a hard ride on Rosholt for the third period and was hit with a stalling call to tie the score at one. Rosholt escaped with just one second left in regulation to go up, 2-1, but Dudziak's riding time advantage brought the score to 2-2. In sudden victory, Dudziak got in on Rosholt's leg and finished the takedown to advance to the semifinals and knock Rosholt into the wrestleback.
No Cowboy was more dominant Friday than Blanc, who won both of his bouts. Blanc was a 3-2 winner over No. 6 James Nicholson of Old Dominion in his second-round wrestleback matchup. The Cowboy senior scored a first-period takedown and the two wrestlers traded escapes to start the second and third periods, respectively. Making Blanc's win even sweeter is the fact that he was able to avenge a 5-3 regular-season loss to Nicholson. Blanc's win over Nicholson set up a third-round wrestleback matchup with No. 12 Jarrod Garnett of Virginia Tech, who Blanc dominated to the tune of a 17-4 major decision victory. Blanc took Garnett down five times, added two nearfalls and a reversal plus the riding time advantage to seal his win. Blanc will take on No. 4 Brandon Precin of Northwestern Friday evening, with the winner of that bout earning the title of All-America.
Also winning both of his matches Friday morning was McSpadden, who dumped Old Dominion's Eric Decker, 4-1 in the wrestleback second round, then handed Navy's Luke Rebertus a 5-3 beating in the wrestleback third round. After a scoreless first period, McSpadden and Decker traded escapes to start the second and third periods, respectively, but McSpadden made the move of the match when he took Decker down in the third period. He added a riding time point to cement his win. In his bout with Rebertus, McSpadden held a 3-0 lead after bagging a first-period takedown and escaping to start the second. Choosing a neutral start to the third period, Rebertus took McSpadden down to bring the score to 3-2. McSpadden then escaped to go up 4-2 but was later hit with a stalling call to see his lead trimmed to 4-3. He fought Rebertus off the rest of the way and added a riding time point to claim his 5-3 win. McSpadden faces No. 2 Michael Cannon of American Friday night with the winner of that bout earning the title of All-America.
Parks was dominant in claiming a 15-7 major decision win over Army's William Simpson in the second round wrestleback, scoring five takedowns, a reversal and two nearfall points at the very end of the bout to secure his bonus-point victory. Parks' win over Simpson set up a third-round wrestleback bout with No. 18 Chris Diaz of Virginia Tech, who handed the Tulsa Union graduate a 4-3 victory to eliminate him from the tournament. The two wrestlers went scoreless through the first period and Parks' escape late in the second period was the only point of that stanza. Diaz escaped quickly to start the third then added a takedown and a riding time point to knock the Cowboy freshman out of the field.
Foster was equally as dominant in his first match, storming to a 10-1 major decision win over Patrick Bond of Illinois. Foster bagged three takedowns, a nearfall and over three minutes of riding time as part of his win. With his win over Bond, Foster advanced to a third-round wrestleback contest with No. 16 Jesse Strawn of Old Dominion. He led for the majority of the bout, but gave up a third-period reversal and was then pinned by Strawn at the 6:02 mark to get eliminated from the tournament.
Erisman was eliminated from the tournament when he lost an 11-8 decision to No. 14 Jonny Bonilla-Bowman of Hofstra in the wrestleback second round. OSU 184-pounder Chris McNeil was also eliminated Friday morning after losing a 1-0 heartbreaker to No. 9 David Craig of Lehigh.
Friday night's action starts at 6 p.m.
Team Standings (Entering Friday Evening)
1. Ohio State: 61.5 points
2. Iowa State: 57.5 points
3. Nebraska: 54 points
4. Iowa: 53.5 points
5. Edinboro: 49.5 points
6. Cornell: 41.5 points
7. Missouri: 40 points
8. Boise State: 32.5 points
9. Illinois: 32 points
10. Michigan: 27 points
11. Kent State: 26.5 points
12. Wisconsin: 24 points
13. Central Michigan: 23.5 points
T14. Arizona State: 23 points
T14. Maryland: 23 points
T16. Hofstra: 22.5 points
T16. Oklahoma State: 22.5 points
18. Indiana: 22 points
19. Northwestern: 21.5 points
T20. Lehigh: 20.5 points
T20. Old Dominion: 20.5 points
T20. Penn State: 20.5 points
Oklahoma State Friday Morning Results
Championship Quarterfinals
285: No. 5 Konrad Dudziak (Duke) dec. No. 4 Jared Rosholt (OSU); 4-2 SV
Wrestleback Second Round
125: No. 15 Obenson Blanc (OSU) dec. No. 6 James Nicholson (Old Dominion); 3-2
141: No. 15 Jamal Parks (OSU) maj. dec. William Simpson (Army); 15-7
157: No. 14 Jonny Bonilla-Bowman (Hofstra) dec. No. 9 Neil Erisman (OSU); 11-8
174: No. 11 Newly McSpadden (OSU) dec. Eric Decker (Old Dominion); 4-1
184: No. 9 David Craig (Lehigh) dec. Chris McNeil (OSU); 1-0
197: No. 8 Clayton Foster (OSU) maj. dec. Patrick Bond (Illinois); 10-1
Wrestleback Third Round
125: No. 15 Obenson Blanc (OSU) maj. dec. No. 12 Jarrod Garnett (Virginia Tech); 17-4
141: No. 18 Chris Diaz (Virginia Tech) dec. No. 15 Jamal Parks (OSU); 4-3
157: No. 11 Newly McSpadden (OSU) dec. Luke Rebertus (Navy); 5-3
197: No. 16 Jesse Strawn (Old Dominion) fall No. 8 Clayton Foster (OSU); 6:02
Oklahoma State Friday Evening Schedule
Wrestleback Fourth Round
125: No. 15 Obenson Blanc (OSU) vs. No. 4 Brandon Precin (Northwestern)
174: No. 11 Newly McSpadden (OSU) vs. No. 2 Michael Cannon (American)
285: No. 4 Jared Rosholt (OSU) vs. Chris Birchler (East Stroudsburg)
