Oklahoma State captures all-time win No. 1000

By WIN

Updated: January 29, 2011

STILLWATER, Okla. – The Oklahoma State wrestling team beat Northern Colorado, 44-0, Friday night in Gallagher-Iba Arena to score the 1,000th all-time dual match victory in the history of the program.

With the win, the fifth-ranked Cowboys improved to 9-2-1 on the year, while the Bears fell to 1-8-0 on the year. The shutout marked the first for Oklahoma State since a 43-0 romp of UC Davis on Dec. 18, 2009. It was the 28th time the Cowboys have pitched a shutout under coach John Smith.

Most important, however, was the historical milestone of 1,000 wins.

“I’m a small part of it and I got lucky. I was lucky to be around on the 1,000th,” Smith said. “Coach Gallagher, Coach Griffith, our coaches have been so successful. From the very beginning, Oklahoma State has been a leader in skill and technique and development. Coach Gallagher was so instrumental in spreading wrestling across the country, it’s unbelievable. Without Coach Gallagher, the sport may never have hit the East Coast or the West Coast. One of his missions was to make sure that it did that and it grew because of him. A lot of this recognition tonight is his start and it’s pretty amazing because you don’t win 1,000 victories unless you have a real commitment, not just from coaches and athletes, but from administration. Wrestling has been important here and the administration has always supported it.”
Of Oklahoma State’s 10 wins in Friday’s dual, eight came with bonus points attached. Mike Benefiel pinned Cody McAninch in 2:24 and Clayton Foster was an 18-2 technical fall winner over Nick Bayer in the second period, but neither was as dominant as Jordan Oliver, who scored eight takedowns and had two nearfalls in the first period of his 22-7 technical fall bludgeoning of Casey Cruz that lasted only 2:57.

Neil Erisman, Chris Perry, Blake Rosholt and Ladd Rupp all added wins by major decision.

“I like the way Blake Rosholt is coming out and stepping up and maturing through the year. I think he’s going to be an important part of our future here,” Smith said. “I like the way Chris Perry bounced back after a little shaky first period. Jordan Oliver, tech fall in the first period – that’s a lot of points. I don’t know if people realize, but that’s hard to do. I don’t think he could do that against my 13-year-old son. He’s pretty good. Up and down the lineup, I liked Ladd Rupp, first time out. First time in our singlet, first time out, from Perry, Oklahoma. He’d been thinking about this a long time. He probably didn’t wrestle the greatest match he wanted to, but good effort and first time down to weight, I was proud of him.”

In the featured bout of the evening, Jamal Parks scored a 3-2 win over returning All-American and ninth-ranked Justin Gaethje at 149 pounds. A first-period takedown for the Cowboy junior was the difference in his impressive victory.

“I think we all wrestled very well – which was what we expected – but we still had to come out here and wrestle tough,” Parks said. “I had a pretty tough match. I wish I would have gotten a couple more takedowns, but it is what it is.”

Making his varsity debut was Rupp, who connected on a four-point move with four seconds left in the bout to earn a 13-4 major decision over Sam Bauer at 125 pounds.

“Truthfully, I think I wrestled a little soft and maybe a little defensive. It was my first match back from a broken ankle,” Rupp said. “It was a good experience for me, but I am not close to where I need to be. I’ve got stuff to work on.”

A Tulsa native, Parks said being part of Oklahoma State’s 1,000th all-time victory was something he was proud of and just being part of the Cowboy wrestling program is special.

“It was something that I was dreaming about since I got into wrestling. It is every little kid’s dream,” Parks said.

The Cowboys are back on the mat this Sunday when they host North Carolina State at 2 p.m. in Gallagher-Iba Arena.

No. 5 Oklahoma State 44, Northern Colorado 0
Jan. 28, 2011 | 7 p.m. CST | Gallagher-Iba Arena | Attendance – 1,921
Official: Matt Zeitz
Records: Oklahoma State 9-2-1 overall, Northern Colorado 1-8-0 overall

Dual started at 133 pounds