Oklahoma State University Athletics
NCAA Champ Perry, Five All-Americans Headline Cowboy Roster
November 14, 2013 | Cowboy Wrestling
Nov. 14, 2013
The Oklahoma State wrestling team is preparing for the 2013-14 season as it returns defending national champion Chris Perry at 174 pounds as well as four other All-Americans in Jon Morrison (133), Alex Dieringer (157), Tyler Caldwell (165) and Blake Rosholt (197), not to mention that five of the Pokes in the lineup are Big 12 champions.
"This is a season where we have pretty good balance for our team," coach John Smith said. "We need a little bit more fire power. We're looking for those pinners. We lost a little bit of bonus potential when Jordan Oliver and Alan Gelogaev graduated, and we need to replace it. That's the one thing that we need to develop."
While the Cowboys will lose dominating talent in two-time national champion Oliver and two-time All-American Gelogaev, the Cowboys have found nine of their wrestlers ranked in the top 20 in their respective weight classes with five of those being in the top five, according to Amateur Wrestling News' preseason rankings.
Leading the pack for the Pokes is national champion Chris Perry ranked in the No. 1 spot at 174 pounds. Alex Dieringer and Tyler Caldwell are each ranked as the No. 2 guys in their classes. Jon Morrison and Blake Rosholt are slotted as the fourth-ranked wrestlers at 133 pounds and 197 pounds. Austin Marsden (HWT) and Josh Kindig (149) take the No. 9 and 10 spots, respectively, and rounding out the top 20 are Julian Feikert (141) at No. 17 and Eddie Klimara (125) at No. 19.
Klimara will likely take the starting spot at 125 pounds after a 2012-13 season that saw him pulled from his redshirt in the middle of the season. The Joliet, Ill., native was able to build up some consistent success to close the year, landing him his first Big 12 championship and a 3-2 record at NCAAs.
"He showed a lot of improvement throughout the year," Smith said. "At Big 12s and NCAAs is really when he wrestled his best. His experience from last year is really going to put him in a position to be able to immediately challenge some opponents."
Representing OSU at 133 pounds, Morrison is coming off his best year as a Cowboy, finishing fifth in the nation and earning his first Big 12 individual title after moving up a weight class. The senior looks to make an impact nationally at 133 pounds and Smith thinks he is capable.
"He looked good at the weight class," Smith said. "His season last year was very good, pretty consistent and very balanced. If he grows from what he accomplished last year, I know that he can compete with anyone at this weight. That means a possible championship for him, and I know that's what he's thinking."
The 141-pound spot in the lineup is open for competition for the Pokes. Feikert, a junior who was in the starting lineup for most of the year, showed improvement throughout the season but lacked consistency. He will compete with redshirt freshman Case Garrison for the starting spot.
"This is a weight class that we hope to build more strength in throughout the year," Smith said. "It wasn't consistent enough last year. With the experience that Feikert has and a good, young freshman in Garrison, this is definitely a weight class that I hope will strengthen our lineup."
At 149 pounds, the Cowboys will have to replace two-time NCAA champion Oliver. Kindig, a junior who took a redshirt year during the 2012-13 season, is in the best position to win the spot. Backing him are two solid competitors in Matt White and Michael Martin.
"With the absence of Oliver at 149, we're looking at Kindig, White and Martin," Smith said. "They're all solid kids who have all been in the starting lineup at some point for us. I'm excited to see how this weight develops. We have three good guys there, and Kindig has had the most success. I'm just looking for him to be consistent and stay balanced."
157-pounder Dieringer quickly made a name for himself after dominating in his first year of varsity competition, and the same is expected from the returning All-American. The sophomore kept a steady training process throughout the summer, earning a spot on the Junior World Team for the second year in a row and representing the United States at the Junior World Championships in Bulgaria--experience that is sure to help in 2013-14.
"The key for Alex here as he tries to achieve top honors in this weight will be how he controls his weight and putting in a little extra effort in his spare time," Smith said. "He had a great season last year, making a real difference for us in our attempt to win a championship. He's going to be playing a little bit different role for us this year. We're going to have to count on him a little more, and he's the kid you can count on."
Three-time All-American Caldwell returns for the Pokes at 165 pounds. Caldwell, who is coming off a 30-win season and a third-place finish at NCAAs is in a good position to earn his first national title as he enters the season ranked second.
"For him, it's all about a championship," Smith said. "He's a senior and has placed high in the championships, and I know his goal is to be the best in the end, so we'll really focus on that process this year."
For the second consecutive year, Perry enters the season as the No. 1 wrestler in the nation at 174 pounds. He is coming off of an exciting 2012-13 season, where he captured his third Big 12 title, first individual national championship and only suffered two losses. Perry looks to defend his title with a tough schedule ahead of him.
"Things change after you win," Smith said. "If you remain focused, a lot of times it gets a lot better. I like that Chris did a lot of wrestling this summer. He competed overseas against some of the world's best and fared really well. That experience, along with winning a national championship last year, can really be used as great potential for leadership in helping develop some of our younger guys."
The only weight class where OSU is not represented in the preseason rankings is 184 pounds, a weight that has three real contenders and no clear starter.
"It's definitely a weight class that is young for us, where we have Jordan Rogers, Kyle Crutchmer and Nolan Boyd," Smith said. "This is a place where we have a chance to use several people and see where it goes. They all competed this summer and had a pretty good summer of competition. None of them are quite ready yet, but I think just getting some experience can turn this weight into a really competitive weight."
Blake Rosholt will once again take the 197-pound spot after an eighth-place finish at NCAAs. The Ponca City, Okla., native sat out part of the season due to injury, but battled throughout the year and showed a sense of relentlessness. Smith believes the recent development of Rosholt's body gives him a better advantage this season and can lead to big things for the senior.
"Physically, he has matured so much in the last two years," Smith said. "His body started developing, and you can see that his strength and the look of his body have changed. The power in his legs and footwork is just what he needed. I think him stepping in and becoming an All-American last year was big for our team and definitely big for him leading into his senior year. It's just a matter of building his confidence, and he can do some great things at this weight."
Finally, Marsden will have some big shoes to fill as he replaces Gelogaev at heavyweight, and Smith said he predicts another outstanding heavyweight wrestler for the Cowboys. The redshirt sophomore was pulled from his redshirt late in the 2011-12 season due to a season-ending injury to Gelogaev. He will finally have the chance to get a full season under his belt and will be key in the squad's quest for postseason glory.
"It's been a long wait for him. He didn't get a whole season his freshman year, and this year he gets a whole season," Smith said. "I really think he's ready to compete with some of the better heavyweights in the nation right out of the gate. He's a sophomore with a lot of exposure. He made the World Team the last two years. I think as he becomes more disciplined on and off the mat, we will see another great heavyweight for Oklahoma State."
With the NCAA Championships hosted in Oklahoma City this March, the Cowboys look to earn their 35th national championship in front of a home crowd. The last two times the championships were hosted in OKC, the Cowboys were crowned NCAA Champions.
"We need to be aggressive because this is a year that is very competitive as far as teams who are real contenders for an NCAA championship," Smith said. "It's going to be an exciting year. There are a lot of good teams, and we're definitely one of them. We may not be the favorite, but we were in that same situation last year and we closed the gap. I think that if we stay focused, we will inch ourselves closer and closer toward that goal of a team championship."
