Cowboy Wrestling Invades Madison Square Garden

December 12, 2012 | Cowboy Wrestling

Dec. 12, 2012

No. 2 Oklahoma State vs. Tennessee-Chattanooga
Dec. 16, 2012 :: 9:30 a.m. CT :: New York, N.Y. :: Madison Square Garden

No. 2 Oklahoma State vs. No. 8 Cornell
Dec. 16, 2012 :: 11:30 a.m. CT :: New York, N.Y. :: Madison Square Garden

No. 2 Oklahoma State at Bucknell
Dec. 17, 2012 :: 6 p.m. CT :: Lewisburg, Pa. :: Sojka Pavilion

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The Basics
The No. 2 Oklahoma State wrestling team (4-0 overall) will compete in the first ever Grapple at the Garden event in New York's Madison Square Garden, where it faces Tennessee-Chattanooga and No. 8 Cornell on Dec. 16. The Cowboys will travel to Lewisburg, Pa., to battle Bucknell at 7 p.m. CT the next evening.

Listen to the Dual Live
All three duals will be aired live on 93.7 KSPI FM radio in Stillwater with Rex Holt and Roger Moore on the call. The audio stream can also be heard live on okstate.tv, but a subscription is required to listen online.

Watch The Dual Live
There will be no live TV or internet video for Grapple at the Garden, but fans can follow the action at trackwrestling.com.
The Bucknell dual will be streamed live online at bucknellbison.com/allaccess. To access the dual, select the dual from the list of live events under the video player. This is a subscription-based service. To subscribe, click on the "Subscribe" link on the top right-hand portion of the screen. Fans can follow the action of the Bucknell dual through live play-by-play on trackwrestling.com.

Series Capsule vs. Tennessee-Chattanooga
Overall OSU leads, 6-0-0
In Stillwater OSU leads, 3-0-0
In Chattanooga OSU leads, 3-0-0
John Smith vs. TN.-Chattanooga 5-0-0
Heath Eslinger vs. Oklahoma State 0-0-0

Series Capsule vs. Cornell
Overall OSU leads, 3-0-0
In Ithaca OSU leads, 1-0-0
At Neutral OSU leads, 2-0-0
John Smith vs. Cornell 2-0-0
Rob Koll vs. Oklahoma State 0-2-0

Series Capsule vs. Bucknell
Overall OSU leads, 2-0-0
In Stillwater OSU leads, 2-0-0
John Smith vs. Bucknell 2-0-0
Dan Wirnsberger vs. Oklahoma State 0-2-0

Oklahoma State's Last Time Out
No. 2 Oklahoma State 31, No. 20 Wyoming 8
Dec. 8, 2012 :: Gallagher-Iba Arena :: Attendance - 1,826
125: Tyler Cox (UW) TF5 Tyler Dorrell (OSU); 20-5, 6:50
133: No. 8 Jon Morrison (OSU) dec. Kasey Garnhart (UW); 8-2
141: Julian Feikert (OSU) dec. McCade Ford (UW); 4-3
149: No. 2 Jordan Oliver (OSU) fall Brandon Richardson (UW); 3:26
157: No. 14 Alex Dieringer (OSU) MD No. 12 Andy McCulley (UW); 14-5
165: No. 3 Tyler Caldwell (OSU) MD Dakota Friesth (UW); 15-2
174: No. 1 Chris Perry (OSU) MD L.J. Helbig (UW); 15-3
184: No. 17 Chris Chionuma (OSU) MD Shane Woods (UW); 13-4
197: No. 4 Alfonso Hernandez (UW) dec. Austin Schafer (OSU); 14-8
285: No. 2 Alan Gelogaev (OSU) dec. Tanner Harms (UW); 8-5

No. 2 Oklahoma State 26, No. 10 Oklahoma 9
Dec. 9, 2012 :: McCasland Field House :: Norman, Okla.
125: Kyle Garcia (OU) dec. Eddie Klimara (OSU), 3-2
133: No. 8 Jon Morrison (OSU) dec. No. 10 Cody Brewer (OU), 9-4
141: No. 1 Kendric Maple (OU) fall over Julian Feikert (OSU), 5:57
149: No. 2 Jordan Oliver (OSU) MD No. 6 Nick Lester (OU), 14-5
157: No. 14 Alex Dieringer (OSU) dec. No. 9 Matt Lester (OU), 8-5
165: No. 3 Tyler Caldwell (OSU) dec. No.6 Bubby Graham (OU), 5-3 SV1
174: No. 1 Chris Perry (OSU) TF4 Matt Reed (OU), 21-6
184: No. 17 Chris Chionuma (OSU) MD Greg Wilson (OU), 17-7
197: No. 14 Blake Rosholt (OSU) dec. Brad Johnson (OU), 11-9
285: No. 2 Alan Gelogaev (OSU) dec. Keldrick Hall (OU), 11-4

All-Time Dual Wins Leaders
As of Dec. 11, 2012
1. Oklahoma State 1,027-114-23
2. Iowa State 1,015-288-20
3. Oregon State 972-317-28
4. Iowa 914-219-31
5. Minnesota 899-425-24

Making history at the Garden
For the first time in the 133 years of Madison Square Garden, collegiate wrestling takes center stage this weekend, where 14 of the sport's most prestigious teams will compete at the inaugural Grapple at the Garden event. MSG is known as the World's Most Famous Arena and hosts about 320 events a year.

Oklahoma State History
The Oklahoma State wrestling program has a history like no other. OSU is home to 34 wrestling national championships and 16 Olympic medals, including the most recent from Coleman Scott, who earned bronze at the 2012 London Olympics. OSU has garnered 428 All-America honors, with 95 coming under direction of coach John Smith. The Cowboys also lead the nation with 134 individual national champions.

Cowboys To Watch
The 2012-13 Oklahoma State wrestling roster is headlined by an NCAA champion, two-time NCAA finalist and three-time All-American in Jordan Oliver, an NCAA finalist in Tyler Caldwell and an NCAA third-place finisher in Chris Perry. Rounding out OSU's group of returning All-Americans is Alan Gelogaev, who was positioned to make a run at an NCAA title last season before sustaining a season-ending injury late last year.

Caldwell Knows Bedlam
Cowboy junior Tyler Caldwell is a rare breed in that he has worn the colors of both Oklahoma State and its traditional in-state rival, Oklahoma. Caldwell was a two-time All-American and 2011 NCAA finalist for the Sooners before taking an Olympic redshirt during the 2011-12 season. Following that season away, he made the decision to enroll at Oklahoma State. Should he earn All-America status at OSU, he would become the first wrestler since Dave Schultz to be an All-American for both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Schultz placed third at the 1978 NCAA Championships wrestling for the Cowboys, then went on to earn a pair of All-America honors for the Sooners in 1981 and 1982, respectively.

Oliver Makes the Move
After winning the 2011 NCAA title and three career All-America honors at 133 pounds, senior Jordan Oliver now wrestles at 149 pounds. The move puts Oliver at a weight class that is more natural for him and was borne in part out of Oliver's desire to compete at 145 pounds on the international freestyle level.

Oliver's 2012 Olympic Experience
Jordan Oliver spent the summer of 2012 as a training partner for Olympic bronze medalist (and current OSU volunteer assistant) Coleman Scott. Oliver was embedded with Team USA as it prepared for the Olympics in Colorado clear through the London games.

Perry's In Position
Coming off a season that saw him pick up his second Big 12 championship in as many tries and a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships, Chris Perry is among the favorites to win the NCAA 174-pound title this year. In fact, Perry was the only wrestler on the OSU roster to be ranked No. 1 in the nation at his respective weight class entering this season.

Pin Pals
Each year, the Schalles Award is presented to the nation's most prolific pinner. There is a college version of it and a high school version of it and in 2012, Oklahoma State swept both divisions. Jordan Oliver won the collegiate Schalles Award by pinning 18 opponents and Jordan Rogers won the high school version after pinning all 42 of his opponents during his senior season at Mead HS in Spokane, Wash.

ASICS All-Americans Live Here
There are four different wrestlers on this year's Oklahoma State roster who were ASICS first-team All-Americans during their prep days:

Jordan Oliver 2006
Chris Perry 2009
Josh Kindig 2010
Jordan Rogers 2012

Fargo Champs, Too
There are five different wrestlers on this year's Oklahoma State wrestling roster who won titles at the ASICS Junior Freestyle National Championships in Fargo, N.D. during their prep days:

Jon Morrison 2007
Jordan Oliver 2007
Chris Perry 2008
Alex Dieringer 2011
Jordan Rogers 2011

Wrestling With Degree In Hand
Cowboy 184-pounder Chris Chionuma has already earned his undergraduate degree in education and is now working on a post-graduate degree. He is the only member of OSU roster who already has his degree.

Signing Day Recap
Oklahoma State announced the signing of five wrestlers during the 2012 early signing period. The class is headlined by a pair of wrestlers ranked No. 1 in the nation in their respective weight classes in 152-pounder Anthony Collica (Solon, Ohio/Solon) and 132-pounder Dean Heil (Strongsville, Ohio/St. Edward). Three-time Oklahoma high school state champion Davey Dolan (Berryhill, Okla./Berryhill) and three-time Kansas high school state champion Zac Gentzler are joined by two-time Oklahoma state runner-up Eli Hale in rounding out the class.

Coached by the Best
Members of the Oklahoma State wrestling staff combine for eight world championships, three Olympic gold medals, an Olympic silver and an Olympic bronze.
They also combine for eight NCAA championships and 17 All-America honors. The breakdown:

Olympic Medalists
John Smith 1988 and 1992 Gold
Kenny Monday 1988 Gold and 1992 Silver
Coleman Scott 2012 Bronze

Senior World Championships Medalists
John Smith 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1991 Gold
Kenny Monday 1989 Gold, 1991 Silver

NCAA Individual Championships
Kenny Monday 1984
John Smith 1987, 1988
Eric Guerrero 1997, 1998, 1999
Zack Esposito 2005
Coleman Scott 2008