BUMPY OUT OF THE GATE
Early-season setbacks show holes in OSU lineup
When Oklahoma State’s wrestling team entered the season, the expectations were high. Fresh off one of its more dominant seasons in school history, the Cowboys were once again looking to stay undefeated and claim one of wrestling’s most coveted crowns, an NCAA championship.
But a team of Tigers was the first obstacle standing in the way of an undefeated season. OSU came into the Nov. 21 dual as the nation’s top wrestling team, but dropped its first dual ever to Missouri, which snapped its 24-dual win streak. The Cowboys came away from the Missouri Open with only two champions and questions began surfacing.
The Cowboys boast a team that has some of the more dominant wrestlers in the nation. With defending two-time champion Johnny Thompson, national champion Jake Rosholt, three-time All-American Tyrone Lewis, All-American Chris Pendleton and Zack Esposito, one would expect that was enough firepower to dominate most of the time.
However, since the beginning of the year, Thompson had lost twice and Esposito was pinned in his semifinal bout against Indiana’s Matt McIntire. Lewis and Pendleton were the only wrestlers that have had dominating matches. The two each recorded three falls in the tournament.
“Any time you enter 27 athletes you are going to have some good and bad,” OSU head coach John Smith said. “It showed that we have to work, and are not at the level we needed to be to be successful at that tournament. That is the first thought that comes to my mind.
“I wasn’t disappointed with the team’s performance,” Smith said. “I just thought we could do a little better, and hopefully the next time we step onto the mat we will do better. I understand this is early and we do not have our athletes where they need to be at this point.”
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