Oklahoma State University Athletics
Wrestling Finishes Second, Crowns Three Champs
January 02, 2014 | Cowboy Wrestling
Jan. 2, 2014
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Oklahoma State wrestling finished the 2014 Southern Scuffle in second place on Thursday with 164.5 points. The final day of competition for the Pokes produced three Scuffle champions in Jon Morrison, Alex Dieringer and Chris Perry.
Again, the Cowboys finished the day leading all teams in pins (13) and technical falls (4). They also finished with the best overall win percentage (0.7576), winning 75 matches and losing only 24.
“It was good to see three guys win their brackets. I'm proud of Perry and Morrison for their repeats,” coach John Smith said. “We like to have people at the top. As far as the finishing second, it's not too bad but not enough. We need more bonus points if we want to keep up with teams like Penn State. Overall, I think we wrestled better as the tournament went on, which is a good sign.”
Morrison won his second Southern Scuffle title at 133 pounds with a dominant performance, collecting more than four minutes of riding time in his 4-0 win over James Gulibon of Penn State. The top-ranked 133 pounder finished the tournament with six wins, including one fall and one major decision.
“I feel like it was a good win. It's kind of of like a midseason check, and that's how I looked at it,” Morrison said. “It showed that I still have things to work on, but anytime you come out and win a tournament like the Southern Scuffle, that's helps going into the second half of the year. Moving forward, I want to work on scoring more points and helping out the team more.”
Dieringer was the second Cowboy crowned after he defeated Kent State's Ian Miller, 2-1, on a ride out in the first tie breaker to win the 157-pound bracket. The sophomore tallied three bonus-point wins out of his total six wins in the tournament.
Perry also earned his second-consecutive title at the tourney when he went against Matt Brown of Penn State in a rematch of the NCAA finals. Perry collected back points, an escape and riding time to defeat Brown, 4-0.
No. 2 Tyler Caldwell met Penn State's David Taylor in the finals after defeating Nick Sulzer of Virginia, 2-1, in the semis. Caldwell was not able to break away from top-ranked Taylor's grip and suffered his first loss of the season, 9-1.
Josh Kindig came back through his bracket after falling to Drake Houdashelt in a close semifinals bout. Kindig earned a third-place finish after Gus Sako forfeited the match.
Four other Pokes finished in the top eight in Kyle Crutchmer (174), Nolan Boyd (184), Blake Rosholt (197) and Austin Marsden (285).
Crutchmer finished seventh after falling in the round of 16. Boyd also finished seventh, wrestling his way back from a first-round loss. He finished the tournament 6-2.
Blake Rosholt and Austin Marsden both produced fifth-place finishes at 197 and 285 pounds, respectively.
The Cowboys will be back in action on Jan. 10 when they travel to Iowa City to take on No. 3 Iowa.
Team results
1. Penn State - 189
2. Oklahoma State - 164.5
3. Minnesota - 161
4. Cornell - 114.5
5. Missouri - 102.5
Championship finals results
125: No. 2 Nahshon Garrett (CORN) dec. No. 3 Nico Megaludis (PSU), 6-4
133: No. 1 Jon Morrison (OSU) dec. James Gulibon (PSU), 4-0
141: No. 3 Zain Retherford (PSU) dec. Joe Spisak (UVA), 6-4
149: No. 4 Drake Houdashelt (MU) fall No. 1 Nick Dardanes (MINN),
157: No. 2 Alex Dieringer (OSU) dec. Ian Miller (KSU), 2-1 TB1
165: No. 1 David Taylor (PSU) MD No. 2 Tyler Caldwell (OSU), 9-1
174: No. 2 Chris Perry (OSU) vs. No. 3 Matt Brown (PSU), 4-0
184: No. 6 Gabe Dean (CORN) dec. No. 1 Ed Ruth (PSU), 7-4
197: No. 1 Scott Schiller (MINN) dec. No. 3 Kyven Gadson (ISU), 6-3
285: No. 1 Tony Nelson (MINN) dec. Nick Gwiazdowski (NCSt), 1-0
Oklahoma State results
125: Eddie Klimara (did not place), Tyler Dorrell (did not place), Austin Miller (did not place)
133: Jon Morrison (1st), Brian Crutchmer (did not place)
141: Anthony Collica (did not place)
149: Josh Kindig (3rd)
157: Alex Dieringer (1st)
165: Tyler Caldwell (2nd)
174: Chris Perry (1st), Kyle Crutchmer (7th)
184: Nolan Boyd (7th), Jordan Rogers (did not place)
197: Blake Rosholt (5th), Darnell Bortz (did not place)
285: Austin Marsden (5th)
