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    Oklahoma State University Sports Information •

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    No. 1 Oklahoma State opens NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals with Kent State

    Oklahoma State will open the 2006 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals with Kent State of the Mid-America Conference. The Golden Flashes are currently 7-1 on the season after a big win over in-state rival Ohio State. Kent State is the only team in the 16-team field not represented in the current USA Today/NWCA/Intermat Coaches' Poll. This will be the first meeting between the two schools. KSU is 3-4 against current members of the Big 12 Conference, including a 3-0 record against Nebraska. Kent State is led by 184-pounder Alex Camargo. Camargo is currently ranked No. 12 nationally by Amateur Wrestling News and boasts a 19-2 record. Chad Sportelli and Jason Blake have also appeared in the national rankings for the Golden Flashes at 125 and 149, respectively. Oklahoma State head coach John Smith will be looking to make history at National Duals. Smith would tie former head coach Tommy Chesbro for the school's all-time win record with a victory in the first round.

    Scouting the Field

    Oklahoma State enters the 2006 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals as the top seed with a 6-0 record. The Cowboys are seeking their fourth consecutive duals title and ninth overall. OSU is the top seed and will meet unranked Kent State in the first round. OSU's opponent in the second round would be either Arizona State or eighth seeded Big 12 rival Missouri. The Cowboys are a combined 65-5 all-time against ASU and MU. It gets tougher for OSU after that. Fourth-seeded Michigan or fifth-seeded Iowa could be waiting for the Cowboys in the semifinals. OSU is coming off of an 18-14 victory over Iowa, while OSU is 7-0 all-time against Michigan. The Cowboys last wrestled Michigan in the semifinals of the 2003-04 National Duals. The championship match would give Oklahoma State its toughest test to date. On the opposite side of the bracket from the Cowboys are No. 2 Minnesota, third-seeded Oklahoma, No. 6 Central Michigan and seventh-seeded Iowa State. Mocco Racks up Falls Cowboy heavyweight Steve Mocco continues to dominate his opponents. After winning the Dan Hodge Trophy his junior because he recorded 17 falls and three technical falls in an undefeated season, Mocco is making a bid for the trophy again. In 11 matches this season, Mocco has recorded eight falls and one technical fall. Both of those matches were to wrestlers ranked in the top 10. Mocco pinned fifth-ranked Jake Hager in 3:41. He recorded two pins with one coming in 16 seconds over Northern Iowa's Tyler Rhodes in OSU's double dual on Jan. 5. That was not his fastest pin at OSU, however, he pinned Tennessee-Chattanooga's Diaz Edwards in 14 seconds in his first match at Oklahoma State.

    Blackmon takes hold of 184

    Rusty Blackmon has taken control of the 184-pound position. This weight class was the biggest question mark coming into the season, but the senior out of Cleveland, Tenn. has made the most of his opportunity. Blackmon has received the nod in five of OSU's six duals and is 3-2 in those duals. Blackmon has had to fight off three other Cowboys who would all like a chance to start for the national champion Cowboys. Blackmon's recent success came in the double dual against Army and Northern Iowa that saw him record a major decision and a fall in 31 seconds. Blackmon is now 13-6 on the season. He recently dropped a 2-1 decision to Iowa's top-ranked Paul Bradley.

    John Smith Nearing Chesbro's Mark

    Head coach John Smith is approaching Tommy Chesbro's school record for career wins. Smith entered the season with 220 career wins, needing seven to tie Chesbro's mark. After starting the season 5-0, Smith is two wins away from equaling Chesbro. If the Cowboys remain undefeated, Smith would tie the mark anad pass it at National Duals Jan. 14-15.
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