Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oliver Advances to NCAA Championship Match
March 16, 2012 | Cowboy Wrestling
March 16, 2012
ST. LOUIS – Oklahoma State junior Jordan Oliver is just one win away from earning his second-consecutive NCAA title at 133 pounds, as he highlighted the Cowboy wrestling team's second day at the 2012 NCAA Championships with a win in Friday evening's semifinal.
Oliver continued his dominant streak at the event as both of Friday matches were never in doubt. He pinned No. 8-seed Zachery Steven of Michigan in 2:35 in the quarterfinal and won an 8-2 decision over No. 4 B.J. Futrell of Illinois in the semifinal.
“Jordan had a good match,” coach John Smith said. “I figured it was going to be a lot tougher match than the match they had in Stillwater and the kid came out ready to wrestle. Jordan did a good job with controlling the match, controlling the tempo, and he really showed that he had great skill on top from the standpoint of really executing and applying a lot of pressure on his opponent.”
Oliver wasn't the only Cowboy to make a run in tournament, as Chris Perry and Cayle Byers also secured All-America honors with wins in Friday morning's quarterfinals.
Perry won in overtime over No. 7 Jordan Blanton of Illinois at 174 pounds, and Byers won a 5-4 decision over James Nakashima of Nebraska at 197 pounds. However, both wrestlers couldn't get past tough semifinal opponents with Perry falling, 6-3, to No. 3 Nick Amuchastegui of Stanford and Byers falling, 6-3, to No. 1 Cam Simaz of Cornell.
Senior Jamal Parks wrestled in the quarterfinal round for the Cowboys, but lost a tough match to No. 7 Dylan Ness of Minnesota, 3-2, on riding time advantage. He was then eliminated from the event with a 4-2 sudden victory loss to Oregon State's Scott Sakaguchi in the wrestleback. He was just one win shy of becoming an All-American for the second-straight year.
Entering the final day of the tournament, OSU sits in eighth place in the team standings with 57 points. Penn State leads the field with 124 points.
“Obviously it was a little disappointing,” Smith said. “We got one of the three (semifinalists) into the finals. We struggled a little bit on our finishes there's no question. There were a couple of scrambling situations that we didn't get beat in, but we had the opportunities to score and it didn't materialize for us. You've got to do more. It's always about doing more and it was just not enough.”
Four Cowboys started the day in the wrestleback and were eliminated. Josh Kindig, Dallas Bailey, and Austin Marsden were all knocked out of the tournament in the third round, and Jon Morrison lost in the fourth round after defeating Ryak Finch of Iowa State in the third, 4-0.
Tomorrow's action is set to begin at 10 a.m. with wrestlebacks. Fans can watch all the action live on ESPNU, ESPN3.com or follow live updates through the official team Twitter account (@CowboyWrestling).
Team Standings
1. Penn State - 124 points
2. Minnesota - 101.5 points
3. Iowa - 93 points
4. Cornell - 86 points
5. Ohio State - 60 points
T6. Illinois - 57.5 points
T6. Lehigh - 57.5 points
8. Oklahoma State - 57 points
9. Virginia Tech - 35 points
10. Michigan - 34 points
Championship Finals Schedule (Saturday Night)
133: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (OSU) vs. No. 2 Logan Stieber (Ohio State)
Wrestleback Sixth Round (Saturday Morning)
174: No. 2 Chris Perry (OSU) vs. No. 9 Nick Heflin (Ohio State)
197: No. 5 Cayle Byers (OSU) vs. No. 10 Sonny Yohn (Minnesota)
Oklahoma State Results
Championship Semifinals
133: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (OSU) dec. No. 4 B.J. Futrell (Illinois); 8-2
174: No. 3 Nick Amuchastegui (Stanford) dec. No. 2 Chris Perry (OSU); 6-3
197: No. 1 Cam Simaz (Cornell) dec. No. 5 Cayle Byers (OSU); 6-3
Championship Quarterfinals
133: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (OSU) fall No. 8 Zachery Steven (Michigan); 2:35
149: No. 7 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) dec. No. 2 Jamal Parks (OSU); 3-2
174: No. 2 Chris Perry (OSU) dec. No. 7 Jordan Blanton (Illinois); 3-2;TB1
197: No. 5 Cayle Byers (OSU) dec. James Nakashima (Nebraska); 5-4
Wrestleback Fourth Round
149: Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State) dec. No. 2 Jamal Parks (OSU); 4-2;SV1
Wrestleback Third Round
125: No. 7 Jarrod Patterson (Oklahoma) dec. Jon Morrison (OSU); 3-2
Wrestleback Second Round
125: Jon Morrison (OSU) dec. Ryak Finch (Iowa State); 4-0
141: No. 7 Nick Nelson (Virginia) dec. Josh Kindig (OSU); 6-4;SV1
165: Corey Leer (Bucknell) dec. Dallas Bailey (OSU); 4-2
285: No. 7 Jeremy Johnson (Ohio) dec. Austin Marsden (OSU); 8-2
Championship Second Round (Thursday)
125: No. 2 Zachary Sanders (Minnesota) dec. Jon Morrison (OSU); 2-0
133: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (OSU) fall Shelton Mack (Pittsburg); 1:30
149: No. 2 Jamal Parks (OSU) dec. Josh Wilson (Utah Valley); 7-2
165: Brandon Hatchett (Lehigh) dec. Dallas Bailey (OSU); 4-2
174: No. 2 Chris Perry (OSU) dec. Curran Jacobs (Michigan State); 6-2
197: No. 5 Cayle Byers (OSU) dec. No. 12 Joseph Kennedy (Lehigh); 5-2
First Round (Thursday)
125: Jon Morrison (OSU) TF5 Antonio Gravely (Appalachian State); 16-0
133: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (OSU) fall Frank Martellotti (Penn State); 2:07
141: No. 4 Michael Mangrum (Oregon State) dec. Josh Kindig (OSU); 6-4;TB1
149: No. 2 Jamal Parks (OSU) dec. Augustus Sako (Virginia); 7-2
157: No. 10 Anthony Jones (Michigan State) dec. Albert White (OSU); 5-2
165: Dallas Bailey (OSU) MD No. 6 Peter Yates (Virginia Tech); 13-2
174: No. 2 Chris Perry (OSU) dec. Chris Moon (Virginia Tech); 9-4
197: No. 5 Cayle Byers (OSU) MD Brent Chriswell (Boise State); 12-3
285: Brandon Williamson (West Virginia) dec. Austin Marsden (OSU); 5-4;TB1
Wrestleback First Round (Thursday)
141: Josh Kindig (OSU) MD Levi Wolfensperger (Northern Iowa); 14-6
157: Jake O`Hara (Columbia) dec. Albert White (OSU); 6-4
285: Austin Marsden (OSU) dec. Adam Chalfant (Indiana); 4-2;SV2
