THE BIGGER THEY ARE…
Did Minnesota slay or awake sleeping giant?
Moments before throwing Steve Mocco to his back, Minnesota heavyweight Cole Konrad appeared to hesitate after catching his opponent in a “trap-arm body lock” in the third period of their NWCA Cliff Keen National Duals championship match.
“Would you hesitate?” questioned Gopher coach J Robinson, responding to a reporter. “I think I would too.”
Robinson’s remark was remindful that Mocco was the two-time NCAA champ and 2005 Hodge Trophy winner who once dominated the heavyweight class so much that fear usually preceded his bouts.
Konrad was more of an upstart even though the Gopher had unofficially spoiled Mocco’s 85-match winning streak — with a 4-1 overtime victory at the NWCA All-Star Classic in Stillwater, Nov. 21 — that started as a sophomore national champion at Iowa and ended in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Jan. 15, 2006, when Konrad pinned Mocco in 5:26.
“I
had him in a headlock earlier and he backed out,” recalled Konrad, who was deadlocked with Mocco at 1-1 in the third period. “When he stepped in this time, I figured, ‘I better go it. I have nothing to lose and I’m alright in that position.’ I wasn’t worried about going to my own back.”In fact, Konrad didn’t appear to be too worried about Mocco’s reputation as the Gopher was the more aggressive wrestler — so much that referee Mike Allen was forced to stop action in the first period — and wanted to make sure everyone knew that his victory over Mocco in the All-Star meet was no fluke.
“Everyone was saying, ‘Sure you can win once.’ I just needed to do it for myself and to prove to others that I can beat him,” said Konrad, whose victory also gave his team the Division I National Duals team championship and knocked the Cowboys out of the nation’s top spot for the first time since before Oklahoma State won its first of three NCAA championships in 2003.
In many people’s eyes, Oklahoma State was supposed to be a prohibitive favorite considering that Mocco was one of four returning NCAA champs in the Cowboy line-up this season. But Minnesota made the season interesting by winning this dual meet that also saw Gopher freshman Dustin Schlatter defeat defending national champ Zack Esposito, 8-7, at 149 pounds.
But Robinson wasn’t so quick to anoint his Gophers as the team-to-beat when the 2006 NCAAs are held in Oklahoma City this spring.
“(The Cowboys) are that good,” Robinson said. “I don’t think you can discount Oklahoma State, which has a great team. What happens here does not make the season. What really makes the difference will come this March.
“(This victory is) good for us because we’ve been telling (the Gopher wrestlers) we think we can win. Now we’ve gotten there. But on the other hand, they have to realize that they are going to awaken the sleeping giant because Oklahoma State is going to be angry and are going to go back and do something different too. It’s far from over.”
The two teams will meet in another dual meet in Oklahoma City, Feb. 12, but for now Robinson was pleased in his team that has just one senior — 165-pounder Matt Nagel — in the line-up. Nagel, who defeated OSU’s defending national champ Johny Hendricks in the All-Star Classic, lost to his Cowboy rival, 8-3, in the National Duals.
But a total of six Gophers won their matches in the UNI-Dome, starting with junior Manuel Rivera’s 9-4 victory over Daniel Frishkorn at 141 pounds after Coleman Scott defeated Travis Lang, 11-0, and Nathan Morgan edged Mack Reiter, 6-4, to give Oklahoma State a 7-0 lead.
The Schlatter brothers of Massillon, Ohio, then helped Minnesota take a 9-7 lead.
First, Dustin, a true freshman, handled Esposito with a pair of takedowns and strong defense after his third-period escape broke a 7-7 deadlock. Then brother, C.P., older by two years and a redshirt sophomore, blanked Kevin Ward, 2-0.
Robinson said it is hard to describe why Dustin, who also defeated Hofstra’s two-time All-American Jon Masa in a first-round match, is having so much success one year removed from high school.
“He has the poise and ability that not too many people have,” the Gopher coach said. “It’s hard to explain. But when you’ve been coaching a long time, you don’t see that very often.”
A pair of Minnesota sophomores — Gabe Dretsch and Roger Kish — added two more wins at 174 and 184 pounds to help the Gophers build a 15-10 lead before Oklahoma State’s two-time national champion Jake Rosholt pulled the Cowboys within one point with a 13-5 major decision over Mitch Kuhlman at 197 pounds.
This also set up the match between Konrad and Mocco, which left Robinson with plenty of confidence.
(You can read the rest of this article by subscribing to W.I.N. Magazine. Either contact our office at 1-888-305-0606 or subscribe through this website by selecting the “Subscribe” section on our front page.)