Oklahoma State University Athletics
Rosholt Earns Second Consecutive All-America Honor
March 21, 2009 | Cowboy Wrestling
ST. LOUIS – Oklahoma State heavyweight Jared Rosholt earned All-America status for the second consecutive year with a 3-1 sudden victory win over East Stroudsburg's Chris Birchler Friday night at the Scottrade Center, then guaranteed that he will finish no lower than sixth after he beat No. 8 John Wise of Illinois, 7-5. In accomplishing the feat, Rosholt becomes the 423rd All-American in Cowboy wrestling history and keeps alive OSU's remarkable streak of having at least one All-American at each of the 78 NCAA Championships in which it has competed.
Rosholt's bout with Wise was testy from the start with the two wrestlers exchanging harder-than-normal head slaps early in the match. The tension bubbled over when the two went off the mat and Wise shoved Rosholt well after the whistle blew, resulting in a penalty point awarded to the Cowboy. Rosholt added a takedown in the first period and two escapes in the second to set up the final stanza with Rosholt up, 5-3. With Wise in the down position to start the period, Rosholt yielded the escape, then was slapped with a stalling call to deadlock the score at five. The deciding moment came shortly thereafter, when Rosholt bagged the winning takedown with less than 20 seconds remaining.
“It was one of his better matches,” Coach John Smith said. “He wrestled well for the majority of the match, but he let Wise get back in it out there on the edge of the mat. He did a good job of defending the rest of the way and got that last takedown to win.”
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, with 125-pounder Obenson Blanc and 157-pounder Newly McSpadden eliminated from the tournament Friday night just win away from earning All-America status.
“We've seen this all year long where if a couple guys struggle, we all struggle,” Smith said. “No question this is disappointing. The bottom line is that we need to clean things up in our program. This definitely serves as a wake-up call for me and in the end, we didn't answer the challenge. We fell short.”
Rosholt started the day in the championship bracket, but was bumped into the wrestleback Friday morning 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 pick up his win.
No Cowboy was more dominant Friday morning 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.
In his third bout of the day, Blanc was eliminated from the tournament after losing a 10-4 decision to No. 4 Brandon Precin of Northwestern. Blanc scored the first takedown of the bout, but Precin took the lead with an escape and a takedown of his own to end the first period. Precin put the bout out of reach with a takedown followed by a three-point nearfall in the third period.
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.
Competing in his third bout of the day, McSpadden lost a 4-1 decision to No. 2 Michael Cannon of American to get eliminated from the tournament just one win shy of earning All-America status. After a scoreless first period, McSpadden escaped for the lone point of the second. Cannon tied the score with an escape of his own to start the third, then followed that up with a takedown and a riding time point to seal his win.
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.
Rosholt will be in action as part of Saturday morning's session, which begins at 9:30 a.m.
Team Standings (Entering Saturday)
1. Ohio State: 84.5 points
2. Iowa: 81 points
3. Iowa State: 71.5 points
4. Nebraska: 69 points
5. Edinboro: 63.5 points
6. Cornell: 63 points
7. Missouri: 57.5 points
8. Illinois: 49.5 points
9. Wisconsin: 45 points
10. Boise State: 43 points
11. Maryland: 41 points
12. Michigan: 38.5 points
13. Northwestern: 37.5 points
14. Central Michigan: 34 points
15. Penn State: 31 points
16. Kent State: 30 points
T17. Minnesota: 29.5 points
T17. Oklahoma State: 29.5 points
19. Old Dominion: 27.5 points
20. North Carolina State: 26 points
Oklahoma State Friday 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
Wrestleback Fourth Round
125: No. 4 Brandon Precin (Northwestern) vs. No. 15 Obenson Blanc (OSU); 10-4
174: No. 2 Michael Cannon (American) dec. No. 11 Newly McSpadden (OSU); 4-1
285: No. 4 Jared Rosholt (OSU) dec. Chris Birchler (East Stroudsburg); 3-1 SV
Wrestleback Fifth Round
285: No. 4 Jared Rosholt (OSU) dec. No. 8 John Wise (Illinois); 7-5
Saturday Morning Schedule
Wrestleback Semifinals
285: No. 4 Jared Rosholt (OSU) vs. No. 3 Jermail Porter (Kent State)
