With the win, the Cowboys improved to 11-2-1 on the year and 5-0-0 in the Big 12. Missouri fell to 14-7-0 overall and 0-2-0 in the league. OSU scored 24 takedowns in the dual to Mizzou’s six.
“I thought we got tough at critical times in the match: that's what excites me,” OSU coach John Smith said. “It wasn't perfect, but when it got really tough and required us to get a takedown like Benefiel did an Jon Morrison, Chris Perry riding out, we got pretty tough and turned it into a little bit of a bloody fight out there."
The Cowboys won eight of the 10 bouts, with bonus points provided by Neil Erisman in his 15-0 technical fall victory over No. 15 Nick Gregoris at 157 pounds, by Jordan Oliver in his 12-3 major decision win over Nathan McCormick at 133 pounds and by Clayton Foster in his 16-5 major decision win over No. 13 Brent Haynes at 197 pounds.
Perhaps the bouts that most swung the momentum in Oklahoma State’s favor were the 125-pound matchup, where freshman Jon Morrison upset No. 7 Alan Waters by a 3-1 score and at 141 pounds, where freshman Josh Kindig was an 8-3 winner over No. 10 Todd Schavrien.
Morrison’s win was particularly impressive given the fact that Morrison was sidelined last and his first match back in the lineup came against Waters, who is 35-3 on the year. Of Waters’ three losses this season, two came at the hands of Morrison.
"It was my first match back from being sick and it was good to get the win, but I didn't wrestle that great. It would have been nice to put up a takedown in every period and then ride him for a little bit,” Morrison said. “I didn't have very good awareness to the riding time, so that was a mistake. But overall, it was good to come back and get a win over a good kid even though I probably didn't wrestle as well as I should have."
Kindig’s win avenged a 7-2 loss to Schavrien earlier in the season.
“We got focused as a team and we came together and we went out to dominate these guys. We wanted to go out from start to finish,” Kindig said. “I felt like I slowed down a little bit in the second period, but I just kept wrestling and finished."
Perhaps the most entertaining bout of the dual came at 174 pounds, where OSU’s Mike Benefiel claimed a 9-7 win over No. 18 Dorian Henderson in sudden victory. The lead changed hands four times in the third period alone before Benefiel closed the deal with a takedown in sudden victory to win.
“I really saw some life in Benefiel tonight,” Smith said. He had a really big mistake at the end of third period giving up the reversal, but stepped up to the line in overtime and hit a re-shot and took him down for the win. I like the tough attitude and never-die attitude to find a way to win. I thought we got that out of Benefiel."
The Cowboys bus to Lincoln, Neb., tomorrow and will tangle with No. 14 Nebraska Sunday at 1 p.m.
Results:
197: No. 2 Clayton Foster (OSU) MD No. 13 Brent Haynes (MU); 16-5
285: No. 6 Dom Bradley (MU) dec. Tyson Yoder (OSU); 6-3
125: No. 9 Jon Morrison (OSU) dec. No. 7 Alan Waters (MU); 3-1
133: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (OSU) MD Nathan McCormick (MU); 12-3
141: No. 17 Josh Kindig (OSU) dec. No. 10 Todd Schavrien (MU); 8-3
149: No. 7 Jamal Parks (OSU) dec. Kyle Bradley (MU); 10-4
157: No. 16 Neil Erisman (OSU) TF5 No. 15 Nick Gregoris (MU); 15-0, 7:00
165: No. 11 Zach Toal (MU) dec. No. 15 Dallas Bailey (OSU); 3-2
174: No. 16 Mike Benefiel (OSU) dec. No. 18 Dorian Henderson (MU); 9-7 SV
184: No. 11 Chris Perry (OSU) dec. No. 16 Mike Larson (MU); 3-1
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