A Century of Cowboy Wrestling: 1990s

Coming off the program's first national championship in 18 seasons, Oklahoma State wrestling looked to build on the momentum it created at the end of the 1980s.

In 1990, OSU's quest for a second-consecutive title was led by freshman-phenom Pat Smith. During that season's NCAA Championships, Smith became the second Cowboy wrestler to win a national title as a freshman (Dick Hutton, 1947).

Smith wasn't the only member of his family dominating the sport though.

His brother, John Smith, was a standout at OSU and in the international arena during the late-1980s and carried that success into the 1990s.

After winning his first gold medal and three world championships at the end of decade, John repeated the feat to begin the 1990s. He won world championships in 1990, 1991 and 1992 to bring his career total to six, and at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, John became the second OSU wrestler to win two Olympic gold medals.

John wasn't the only OSU wrestler to earn a medal in Barcelona. After winning a gold medal in 1988, Kenny Monday made it back to the podium in 1992, wrestling his way to the silver medal in the 163-pound division.

Monday also competed in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, finishing sixth and becoming the only Cowboy to ever wrestle in three different Olympic Games.

Monday didn't medal, but his teammate Kendall Cross captured the gold medal in the 125.5-pound weight class, giving Cowboys wrestlers their third medal of the decade.

Back in Stillwater, the Joe Seay-led Cowboys were looking to win their third consecutive national championship. But even with seven wrestlers earning All-America honors, OSU fell short of the title and finished second in the team standings.

That season was Seay's last as the head coach at OSU.

Seay went 114-8-2 during his time in Stillwater and led the Cowboys to back-to-back Division I crowns in 1989 and '90. He is the only coach to win collegiate team titles at both the Division I and Division II levels.

Seay was honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1998.

The Cowboys wouldn't have to look far for Seay's replacement as John Smith returned to coach the team he had competed for just four years prior.

In John's first season, his brother, Pat, won his third individual championship as the Cowboys placed second at the NCAAs once again. OSU had five wrestlers receive All-America honors at that year's NCAA Championships.

Among those five wrestlers were Randy Couture and Kirk Mammen.

In the 1992 tournament, Mammen completed his fourth NCAA tournament, finishing eighth and becoming an All-American. He never won a national title during his career, but Mammen is one of just 13 OSU wrestlers to earn All-America honors four times.

Couture was also wrapping up his OSU career at the 1992 NCAAs. He placed second for a second-consecutive season and earned his third All-America honor in the process.

After leaving OSU, Couture went on to dominate the growing sport of Mixed Martial Arts.

While competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Couture became the only UFC fighter to ever win both the heavyweight and light heavyweight titles – three times at heavyweight and twice at light heavyweight. "The Natural" also became the oldest man to win a UFC title when he defeated Tim Sylvia at the age of 43.

In 1994, the Smith brothers led the Cowboys to the program's 30^th team national championship.

At the 1994 NCAA Championships, Pat capped off his historic collegiate career as he became the first wrestler in NCAA history to win four national championships. The year he won his record fourth national crown, he was named the NCAA's Outstanding Wrestler and became only the third OSU wrestler to win four Big Eight Conference championships.

Pat ended his college wrestling career with a mark of 121-5-2 and set the school record for consecutive matches without a loss with 98 straight victories. He was honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2006.

Mark Branch also won an individual title in 1994.

Branch followed in Pat's footsteps as he became the third name on the list of OSU freshmen to win a national championship. His success continued over the next three years as he placed second twice and won another national title in his senior season to become of the 13 OSU wrestlers on the list of four-time All-Americans.

Branch finished his collegiate career with a record of 100-18, with 35 victories coming by major decision – tied for the fourth most in program history. Today, he is the head coach at the University of Wyoming.

Two years after Branch won his first national title, OSU's next great wrestler made his debut.

Eric Guerrero placed fifth at the NCAA Championships as a true freshman in 1996. In the three years that followed, he won three consecutive national championships to become OSU's 14^th three-time national champion.

Guerrero finished his collegiate career with a record of 117-13 and was also honored as a two-time academic All-American. He was nothing short of spectacular during his four seasons with the Cowboys and was honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2014.

During the 1990s, OSU won two national championships, crowned 13 individual champions and received All-America honors 51 times. The Cowboys also won three Olympic medals, six conference championships and posted a team dual record of 149-18-3.

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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