Oklahoma State University Athletics
NCAA Brackets Announced, Cowboys Take 10
March 12, 2014 | Cowboy Wrestling
March 12, 2014
STILLWATER--Oklahoma State's wrestling team will take all 10 of its starters to Oklahoma City, Okla., for the 2014 NCAA Championships as 184 pounder Nolan Boyd and 197 pounder Blake Rosholt received at-large bids, it was announced today by the NCAA.
"It's a good thing for these kids to get rewarded by the strength of their schedule, and I think that's why we got all 10 into the tournament," coach John Smith said. "Now, we just need all 10 to score come next week."
Along with the field announcement came the brackets for the tournament, in which eight of the 10 Cowboys are seeded.
Eddie Klimara earned the No. 14 seed at 125 pounds. He will face Dominic Parisi of Appalachian State. Klimara went 3-2 in last year's tournament.
Jon Morrison, the No. 4 seed at 133 pounds, will face James Gulibon of Penn State in the first round. The two met up twice this season, and Morrison walked away the victor from each bout.
True freshman and Big 12 champion Anthony Collica will head into his first NCAA tourney as the No. 15 seed at 141 pounds and go head-to-head with Avery Gardner of Utah Valley in the tournament's first round.
Josh Kindig enters his second NCAA tournament as the No. 11 seed at 149 pounds, and will face Ian Paddock of Ohio State.
All-American Alex Dieringer carries the No. 3 seed at 157 pounds and will meet up with Austin Sommer of Drexel in his first matchup of the week.
At 165 pounds, No. 2 seed Tyler Caldwell is slated to go against Curtis Cook of Utah Valley as he starts his quest for his fourth All-America honor.
2013 NCAA champion Chris Perry received a No. 1 seed for the Cowboys at 174 pounds. He will take on Wisconsin's Scott Liegel. In-state rival Andrew Howe earned the tournament's No. 2 seed.
Austin Marsden (No. 11) earned the final seeding for the Pokes and will confront Nebraska's Collin Jensen in the heavyweight bracket.
Redshirt freshman Boyd and Rosholt, a senior, are the only Cowboys unseeded. Boyd, the Cowboys' 184 pounder, drew No. 7 seed Kevin Steinhaus of Minnesota. Rosholt will go up against Illinois's Mario Gonzalez in the bracket's pigtail match.
The tournament runs from March 20-22 inside Chesapeake Energy Arena. First round action will begin at 11 a.m. CT on Thursday. Fans can follow the action on ESPN3 and ESPNU. The finals will air live on ESPN on Saturday night.
