Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Wrestling Season in Review
April 02, 2013 | Cowboy Wrestling
April 2, 2013
STILLWATER—The Oklahoma State wrestling team wrapped up a noteworthy 2012-13 season, producing two individual national champions and five other All-Americans along with a regular season conference title, a Big 12 tournament title and a 20-1 overall dual record.
The Cowboys earned a runner-up finish at the 2013 NCAA Championships, winning nine of their 11 matches on the final day to finish just four points behind defending champions, Penn State.
Leading the team to success was senior and two-time NCAA champion Jordan Oliver and 2013 174-pound national champion, Chris Perry.
Oliver capped off his final season in the orange singlet with his second national championship, this time at 149 pounds. Despite moving up two weight classes the Easton, Pa., native looked as dominant as ever. He was unstoppable in the regular season, picking up 15 bonus-point wins in 20 duals, and just as forceful in the postseason, winning his fourth Big 12 title and his third Outstanding Wrestler award, grabbing four pins and a technical fall along the way. Oliver also secured his fourth All-American honor after defeating No. 9 seed Jake Sueflohn of Nebraska in the NCAA quarterfinals, 11-3. In the NCAA 149-pound finals and Oliver's final collegiate match, Oliver confronted Boise State's Jason Chamberlain, who he defeated, 3-2, thanks to a slick takedown in the final 10 seconds of the match to earn his second national title.
Oliver put together a perfect 37-0 season, improving to 126-6 overall and tying him for fifth with OSU great Johny Hendricks in all-time wins in the program. Of Oliver's 37 wins, 31 came with bonus points attached, giving him an 83.7 bonus-point win percentage. The senior recorded 17 pins in the 2012-13 season, which gave him the school record for most career pins with 54. The previous record was set by Olympic gold medalist Kenny Monday's 51 pins from 1981-1984. To top it off, Oliver ranks ninth in all-time win percentages with 95.45, just 0.05 percent behind the eighth-place spot.
“Jordan was a beast during his career with four top-four finishes at the NCAA tournament,” coach John Smith said. “He's got two national titles and four conference titles. He has one of the highest winning percentages at Oklahoma State and that's how you judge the greats. He will definitely be missed, but I'm looking forward to his post-collegiate competition.”
Chris Perry still has another year competing as a Cowboy and has set the bar high for himself as he completed an outstanding junior season.
Perry became the first Stillwater native to win a national title for the Pokes since 1961.But before snagging the title, Perry ran through his opponents with ease, suffering only two losses. He finished the season 36-2 overall accompanied by 21 bonus point wins—eight falls, seven technical falls and six major decisions. The junior went 19-2 in dual competition and 8-0 in conference competition.
He won his third-straight Big 12 title, clobbering Iowa State's Tanner Weatherman with an 8-0 major decision. One of his most notable wins came over No. 3 Logan Storley of Minnesota, who he defeated, 7-6, in the finals of the Southern Scuffle to win the 174-pound title. He also topped five other top-ten opponents, with three of those wins coming at the NCAA tournament over No. 8 Nick Heflin, No. 4 Robert Kokesh and No. 2 Matt Brown.
Perry had a tournament full of close wins with three of his five championship bouts going into overtime. In the 174-pound national final, Perry and Brown of Penn State kept it very close as the two went into overtime after finishing regulation tied, 1-1. Perry picked up an escape in the tiebreaker and was able to hold off Brown to win it, 2-1.
“Chris builds onto the legacy of family, the legacy of OSU and the legacy of Oklahoma,” Smith said. “It's good to see a kid from Oklahoma win a national title, and I think he will inspire many others.”
In addition to OSU's two national champs, five other Cowboys received All-American honors—Alan Gelogaev, Tyler Caldwell, Alex Dieringer, Jon Morrison and Blake Rosholt.
Gelogaev also concluded his career as a Cowboy with his best showing at the NCAA tournament, finishing third. The Russian made an appearance in only two national tournaments due to season-ending injuries in 2011 and 2012, but those minor setbacks fueled Gelogaev to finish strong.
The senior went 29-4, including a win over one of the nation's top contenders, Dom Bradley of Missouri, who he edged, 4-3, at the NWCA National Duals. He notched 15 bonus wins in the form of 10 falls, four major decisions and one technical fall. Two of his pins came back-to-back at the NCAA Championships. His first fall was in 18 seconds over Benjamin Apland of Michigan, which is the fastest fall ever by a heavyweight at the tournament. The other fall came in just 34 seconds over Jeremy Johnson of Ohio in the second round. Gelogaev also earned his first Big 12 title by way of pin when he stuck No. 21 Matt Gibson of Iowa State in 58 seconds.
In his first year as a Poke, Tyler Caldwell, a transfer from the University of Oklahoma, completed his junior season with a team-high 17 wins over ranked opponents, including a 5-1 win over No. 3 Peter Yates to take third at the NCAA tourney. Caldwell won his first conference title after defeating No. 5 Bubby Graham in a thrilling 1-0 victory. The 165-pounder strung together a 35-5 overall record with 15 of those wins coming with bonus points attached.
One of the season's most exciting stories was that of freshman phenom, Alex Dieringer, who produced the best finish by a freshman at the 2013 national tournament, taking the third-place spot on the 157-pound podium. The redshirt freshman went 35-3 in his first year as a starter, picking up a Big 12 title along the way. Of his 35 wins, 25 wins had bonus points attached.
Junior Jon Morrison earned his first All-American honor when he finished fifth at nationals, fighting through one of the toughest brackets, facing six seeded wrestlers, four of which were ranked higher than he. Morrison posted huge wins over No. 5 Chris Dardanes, No. 6 Nathan McCormick and No. 9 Cody Brewer on his way to finishing 30-8 and picking up a Southern Scuffle title and a Big 12 title at 133 pounds.
At 197 pounds, Blake Rosholt was the final All-American for the Cowboys, earning eighth place and the eighth All-American honor for the Rosholt family. The junior secured a 17-10 overall record with more than half of his wins resulting in bonus points. He finished second at the conference tournament, falling to No. 7 Kyven Gadson, but he avenged that loss in the second round of the NCAA Championships, knocking Gadson into the wrestlebacks after a close and controversial 8-7 win.
Also making NCAA appearances and adding to OSU's success was senior Chris Chionuma, sophomore Julian Feikert and true freshman Eddie Klimara.
In addition to the individual glory that was achieved in the 2012-13 postseason, the Pokes had a dominant dual season as well.
OSU had without a doubt the toughest schedule in the nation, facing 12 ranked teams and finding victory over 11 of them. The Pokes started at home with a 35-10 win over Pennsylvania, but saw one of their biggest tests early in the season as they traveled to Minneapolis to take on top-ranked Minnesota. The Cowboys knocked off the No. 1 Gophers with ease, 22-15.
OSU defeated two more top-25 teams the next weekend, defeating No. 20 Wyoming, 31-8, and No 10 Oklahoma, 26-9, respectively. Their success continued with wins over Chattanooga and Cornell at the inaugural Grapple at the Garden event in New York's Madison Square Garden.
Just weeks later, the Cowboys took on their biggest rival, the Iowa Hawkeyes, in Stillwater, where they emerged with a 18-12 victory in front of more than 6,000 fans.
The Cowboys continued to slay the competition and made it all the way to the National Duals Finals with an unblemished record. Unfortunately, Minnesota handed the Cowboys their first loss in a dual that seemed to favor the Gophers in every way.
Oklahoma State finished its dual season 20-1 overall, 6-0 in conference and added another regular season Big 12 Championship to its trophy case.
