AMES, Iowa -- The Oklahoma State wrestling team won its 10th Big 12 team title in 15 tries Saturday night in Hilton Coliseum. The Cowboys racked up 74 team points. Missouri was second with 60 points, Oklahoma was third with 59.5 points. Nebraska placed fourth with 46.5 team points and host Iowa State rounded out the field with 31 team points.
It was the second straight Big 12 title for the Cowboys, who won last year's championship in Norman by a narrow 1.5-pount margin over Iowa State.
OSU wrestlers Jordan Oliver, Jamal Parks, Neil Erisman, Chris Perry and Clayton Foster were all crowned as Big 12 individual champions, bringing the Cowboys' all-time total of conference champions to 234.
OSU's five conference champions were the most in a single-season since the Cowboys had seven in 2005 and its 77 team points were the most since scoring 80 in 2006.
"It was good to see us win five championships today, but we were far from perfect in the finals," Coach John Smith said. "What we did today was show that we had a lot in the gas tank when it counted. This is a well-conditioned team."
Oliver personified OSU's dominance at the event with a first-period pin in the semifinals and a 15-3 major decision victory over Oklahoma's Jordan Keller in the finals. The key moment of Oliver's win over Keller came in the first period when Oliver connected on his signature five-point move by letting Keller get to his leg, then wrapping around Keller and turning him to his back. Oliver nearly pinned Keller after that, but settled for another three-point nearfall to hold a 10-1 lead after the first period.
"I was just trying to push the action and what I wanted to do was get a fall for the team points," Oliver said. "I like to give the fans what they want and that's a match with a lot of action and a lot of scoring. I'm having a lot of fun out here. This is my passion and I enjoy it."
Parks followed suit by pitching a 4-0 shutout against Missouri's Kyle Bradley to win his second straight Big 12 title. Parks scored a first-period takedown and rideout, then escaped to start the second period and extend his lead to 3-0. He then rode Bradley out for the duration of the third period to add a riding time point and seal his 4-0.
"I just wrestled how I have been wrestling all year," Parks said. "Being the best in your conference is definitely an honor, but I think it might mean more to some others than it does to me because it's not my ultimate goal. As a team, we have wrestled hard all season. We haven't let up and we've been consistent in our training. There has been no complaining and we have really come together."
Erisman clinched the Big 12 title for the Cowboys when he dropped No. 17 Nick Gregoris of Missouri by a 4-2 score. It was the first individual Big 12 title for OSU's senior captain. After a scoreless first period, Erisman escaped quickly to start the second period, then took Gregoris down to extend his lead to 3-0 before riding him out for the duration of the period. Gregoris connected on a reversal late in the third period to bring the score to 3-2, but when Erisman's riding time point was added on, the Cowboy was a 4-2 winner.
"It means a lot to be part of two Big 12-champion teams," Erisman said. "In my first year actually wrestling, we finished 16th in the country and fourth in the Big 12. That's not what Oklahoma State does. It's nice to be considered as a leader for a team that turned things back around and won championships."
Perry used a huge reversal in the first tiebreak period to seal his 3-2 win over No. 10 Josh Ihnen of Nebraska. After a scoreless first period, the two wrestlers traded escapes to start the second and third periods, respectively. Neither wrestler generated any real offense in the sudden victory period, but Perry's reversal in the top half of the tiebreak period put all the pressure on Ihnen. While the Husker was able to muster an escape in the bottom half of the tiebreaker, it was too late and Perry became the 16th Cowboy freshman to win a conference title.
"Early in the season, if I was in a 3-2 match like that, I would have panicked and lost my cool," Perry said. "One of the biggest things I've learned this season through some of the early adversity is to control my emotions better. It's great to be out here and see your teammates in almost every championship match. It gets me more excited to do my part."
Foster won his second straight Big 12 title with a 9-5 triumph over Jerome Ward at 197 pounds. Ward struck first with a takedown in the first period, but Foster escaped to bring the score to 2-1. With Foster in the down position to start the second period, the Cowboy senior recorded an escape and bagged a takedown of his own to go up, 4-2. Ward escaped, then tied the score with another escape to start the third period. It was all Foster in the third period, however, as he scored two takedowns and added riding time to clinch his 9-5 win.
Dating back to its days in the Southwest Conference, the Missouri Valley Conference and the Big Eight Conference, OSU has won 44 team conference titles all-time.
Cowboy junior Mike Benefiel was the 174-pound runner-up after losing by 15-3 major decision to top-ranked Jon Reader of Iowa State. Reader bagged two first-period takedowns, but put the match out of reach in the third period when he rattled off nine points after the end of the second period to claim his victory.
The Cowboys lead all teams with six wrestlers in the finals, as Jordan Oliver, Jamal Parks, Neil Erisman, Mike Benefiel, Chris Perry and Clayton Foster will all compete for Big 12 crowns later tonight.
Oklahoma has five finalists, Missouri has four, Nebraska has three and Iowa State has two.
Oliver, Erisman and Benefiel all won their semifinal bouts in resounding fashion, with Oliver pinning Iowa State's Ben Cash in 59 seconds, Erisman scoring a 12-4 major decision win over Iowa State's Trent Weatherman and Benefiel claiming a 9-0 major decision win over No. 16 Dorian Henderson of Missouri in a bout that included 5:42 of riding time for Benefiel.
Other semifinal-round wins for OSU included a 7-4 win from Parks over Iowa State's Max Mayfield at 149 pounds, a 3-1 win from Perry over Iowa State's Cole Shafer at 184 pounds and a 7-4 win from Foster over No. 15 Brent Haynes of Missouri.
Cowboys Josh Kindig and Dallas Bailey both won their third-place bouts, with Kindig scoring a 9-4 win over Nebraska's Mike Koehnlein and Bailey avenging a loss earlier in the day to Iowa State's Chris Spangler by scoring a 5-4 victory with a takedown in the final 30 seconds to claim his third-place finish.
"I sure liked the way Dallas Bailey found his style late. I hope he bottles up some of that confidence that he developed and takes it into his training leading up to NCAAs," Smith said. Kindig also looked good and I'm pleased with his performance."
Wrestling with a leg injury sustained before he arrived in Ames for the Big 12 Championships, top-seeded Cowboy 125-pounder Jon Morrison lost a 6-4 decision in sudden victory to Nebraska's David Klingsheim in the championship semifinals, then took medical forfeit losses in the consolation round and in a challenge match. Morrison's injury is not expected to hamper him at the NCAA Championships.
Blake Rosholt struggled for OSU at heavyweight with returning All-America teammate Alan Gelogaev unable to compete due to injury, as Rosholt lost a 2-1 decision to Iowa State's Kyle Simonson in the pigtail round, then followed that up with a 6-2 loss to No. 8 Tucker Lane of Nebraska in the consolation round.
The NCAA Championships will be contested March 17-19 in Philadelphia.
Team Standings
1. Oklahoma State - 77 points
2. Missouri -60 points
3. Oklahoma -59.5 points
4. Nebraska -46.5 points
5. Iowa State - 31 points
Finals:
125: David Klingsheim (NU) dec. No. 7 Jarrod Patterson (OU); 2-0
133: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (OSU) MD Jordan Keller (OU); 15-3
141: No. 11 Todd Schavrien (MU) dec. No. 8 Zack Bailey (OU); 3-2
149: No. 6 Jamal Parks (OSU) dec. Kyle Bradley (MU); 4-0
157: No. 13 Neil Erisman (OSU) dec. No. 17 Nick Gregoris (MU); 4-2
165: No. 1 Jordan Burroughs (NU) dec. No. 2 Tyler Caldwell (OU); 2-1
174: No. 1 Jon Reader (ISU) MD No. 13 Mike Benefiel (OSU); 15-3
184: No. 8 Chris Perry (OSU) dec. No. 10 Josh Ihnen (NU); 3-2 TB1
197: No. 2 Clayton Foster (OSU) dec. No. 14 Jerome Ward (ISU); 9-5
285: No. 6 Dom Bradley (MU) dec. No. 9 Nathan Fernandez (OU); 3-1
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