Last Time Out
Oklahoma State finished fourth at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals, going 2-2 in the tournament. OSU defeated Northern Iowa and Iowa to advance to the semifinals, but lost to Missouri and Iowa State to settle for fourth-place. OSU had a good showing from redshirt freshman Tyler Shinn, who won all four of his matches. Johny Hendricks faced four of his top challengers to the NCAA crown and defeated all four (Nick Baima, Mark Perry, Matt Pell and Travis Paulson). The Cowboys did not fare so well on Sunday, losing both matches by a combined score of 52-18 to finish fourth. Third-ranked Coleman Scott lost both of his matches, and Nathan Morgan and Jared Rosholt both fell victim to the upset bug.
Scouting the Hawkeyes
Iowa is 9-1 on the season and ranked fifth according to both W.I.N. Magazine and USA Today/Intermat/NWCA Coaches' poll. The Hawkeyes have key wins over Iowa State, Northwestern and Hofstra in the fifth-place match at the NWCA National Duals. Iowa's lone loss came in the quarterfinals to OSU. Iowa has seven wrestlers ranked in the top 20 in the latest individual rankings. Mark Perry and Eric Luedke lead the way for the Hawkeyes. Perry, the nephew of OSU head coach John Smith, is a two-time All-American and is ranked fourth in the country. Luedke is ranked as high as second at 174 pounds. Alex Tsirtsis and Matt Fields are the other Hawkeyes ranked in the top 10 at 141 and heavyweight, respectively.
Simpson Makes Debut
True freshman Dakotah Simpson was pulled out of redshirt to face rival Iowa in the quarterfinals of the National Duals. Simpson made an immediate impact in the dual, pinning fifth-year senior Alex Grunder to put the Pokes up 15-0 and all but sealing the Cowboy victory. Simpson is currently 6-2 on the season and won an open title at the Oklahoma Open.
Young Guns
Oklahoma State graduated five starters and three All-Americans off of the 2006 national championship squad. Head coach John Smith has had to fill those holes the best that he could and that has come in the forms of a pair of redshirt freshmen and now the possible addition of true freshman Dakotah Simpson. Tyler Shinn has jumped into the rankings and is ranked as high as 14th, while his high school teammate, Jared Rosholt, has been ranked as high as 10th this season. Simpson was pulled out of redshirt at National Duals and is now in position to compete for the starting spot at 149 pounds. In addition, the Cowboys added a pair of sophomores to the lineup in Newly McSpadden and Jared Shelton at 157 and 197, respectiviely.
Cowboys Fall
Oklahoma State lost to top-ranked Missouri by a score of 27-9. You have to go back 13 years to find another dual the Cowboys lost by as many as 18 points. OSU twice lost to Iowa during the 1994-95 season by scores of 31-3 and 29-10. Even more shocking was OSU was pinned three times in the dual. The Cowboys have been known to rack up the bonus points as they recorded 11 pins in the NCAA Tournament last season, but the last time OSU was pinned three times in a dual was against second-ranked Penn State on Jan. 30, 1993. The Nittany Lions won 38-7 in Stillwater.
Hendricks Outstanding Wrestler
Johny Hendricks was named outstanding wrestler of the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 20. Hendricks went 6-0 and recorded five major decisions and a fall en route to winning the title. Hendricks is 21-0 on the season and 16 of his 21 victories are by bonus points, 10 major decisions and six falls.
Hendricks Reaches the Century Mark
Senior Johny Hendricks became the 26th member of the 100-win club when he defeated Oklahoma's Shane Seibert, 7-4, on Dec. 3, 2006. He is currently 21-0 on the season and boasts a career record of 114-12. He tied Lee Roy Smith for 17th on the all-time wins list.
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