FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Taylor Miller (taylor.miller11@okstate.edu)
Jan. 31, 2014

No. 9 Cowboys Tear Up the Tigers, 28-6

STILLWATER, Okla. – The No. 9 Oklahoma State wrestling team beat down the No. 10 Missouri Tigers, 28-6, in front of almost 3,000 fans at Gallagher-Iba Arena on Friday.

The night was highlighted by four major decisions coming from Eddie Klimara (125), Tyler Caldwell (165), Chris Perry (174) and Jordan Rogers (184).

“We’ve had a bit of a tougher schedule, and it’s hard to get on a roll when you’re losing a match, winning a match, losing a match like we did,” coach John Smith said. “You just have to work that much harder. You have to recognize it’s within us to do these things that we’re talking about. We just have to make sure we execute in practice and understand that it’s a mental game from this point forward.”

Klimara kicked it off for the Pokes, picking up a takedown in each period. He was also awarded an escape, a penalty point and a riding time point to seal the 9-1 major decision over Barlow McGhee.

Jon Morrison handled Matt Manley from the start of the 133-pound bout, scoring a quick takedown in the first period and maintaining a dominant performance. Morrison tallied a 6-1 decision over Manley to earn the team three more points.

At 141 pounds, Anthony Collica picked up the win in a nail biter over Lavion Mayes. The two were tied 3-3 at the end of regulation. The bout eventually went into a tiebreaker after a scoreless sudden victory period. Collica rode out Mayes in the first 30-second period, giving him a huge advantage going into the second half of the tiebreaker. He was awarded a quick escape before taking Mayes down with just a second left in the bout to walk away with the 6-3 victory.

The Cowboys dropped one of their two losses at 149 pounds, where No. 9 Josh Kindig held off No. 1 Drake Houdashelt from scoring until the third period. However, it was not enough as Houdashelt scored an escape and a takedown and was awarded a riding time point to defeat the Cowboy, 4-0.

No. 2 Alex Dieringer gave the Cowboys another W when he earned a 4-2 decision over Joey LaVallee.

He was followed by a trio of major decisions from his teammates, where the Pokes at 165, 174 and 184 pounds only gave up a combined eight points.

Senior Tyler Caldwell started it off with his dominating performance over Jordan Gagliano. The fifth-ranked 165-pounder scored a quick takedown in the first period and finished off the period with five back points. He reversed Gagliano in the second and earned another set of backpoints. He ended the bout with a takedown and riding time advantage to earn the 15-2 major decision.

“I just wanted to put up as much points as I can in the match,” Caldwell said. “Unfortunately… sometimes you have a tight match and you have to punch through and get the win however you can. Sometimes, you break through early and get those turns like I did in the first period where I kind of opened up the match to get the bonus points opportunity.”

Perry, the nation’s No. 2 174-pounder, kept it going with four takedowns in his 11-3 major decision over Mikey England.

Jordan Rogers stepped in for the Cowboys at 184 pounds and came out with a dominating performance over Cody Johnston to earn his first win in Gallagher-Iba Arena and seal the dual for the Pokes. Rogers scored a couple of takedowns and paired each of them with back points just in the first period. The two exchanged reversals in the second period before Rogers took home the 11-3 win with his riding time advantage.

Nolan Boyd, who weighed in at 184 pounds, took the starting spot at 197 pounds and faced No. 5 J’Den Cox. Boyd put up a fight but was not able to keep up with the freshman phenom as he fell, 9-3.

Austin Marsden capped off the exciting night for the orange and black when he defeated Devin Mellon, snatching a couple of takedowns for the 6-3 win.

The Cowboys return to Gallagher-Iba Arena on Feb. 8 when they take on Cal State Bakersfield before battling it out with the Oklahoma Sooners on Feb. 9.

No. 9 Oklahoma State 28, No. 10 Missouri 6
Jan. 31, 2014 :: Gallagher-Iba Arena (Stillwater, Okla.) :: Attendance: 2,996

125: No. 20 Eddie Klimara (OSU) MD Barlow McGhee (MU), 9-1
133: No. 8 Jonathon Morrison (OSU) dec. Matt Manley (MU), 6-1
141: No.18 Anthony Collica (OSU) dec. Lavion Mayes (MU), 6-3
149: No. 1 Drake Houdashelt (MU) dec. No. 9 Joshua Kindig (OSU), 4-0
157: No. 2 Alex Dieringer (OSU) dec. Joseph LaVallee (MU), 4-2
165: No. 5 Tyler Caldwell (OSU) MD Jordan Gagliano (MU), 15-2
174: No. 2 Chris Perry (OSU) MD Mike England (MU), 11-3
184: Jordan Rogers (OSU) MD Cody Johnston (MU), 13-3
197: No. 5 J’Den Cox (MU) dec. Nolan Boyd (OSU), 9-3
285: No. 18 Austin Marsden (OSU) dec. Devin Mellon (MU), 6-3

-OSU-