FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Taylor Miller (taylor.miller11@okstate.edu)
Feb. 13, 2014

Cowboy Wrestling Takes On Clarion and No. 2 Penn State

*Full PDF of notes is attached

The Basics
The No. 7 Oklahoma State Cowboys take to the road for the last time this season as they travel to Clarion, Pa., to take on the Golden Eagles on Feb. 15 at 12 p.m. CT before heading out to State College, Pa., to battle the No. 2 Penn State Nittany Lions on Feb. 16 at 1 p.m. 

 

Live Stats And Play-by-Play

Fans can follow the dual vs. Penn State online through live results and play-by-play on www.trackwrestling.com. Simply go to the site and the link to live results and play-by-play will be prominently displayed.

 

Watch The Dual Live

The Penn State dual will be streamed live online at gopsusports.com/allaccess/. To access the dual, simply select the dual from the list of live events directly under the video player. It is a subscription-based service. To subscribe, click on the "Subscribe" link on the top right-hand portion of the main screen.

 

Listen to the Duals Live

Both duals will be aired live on 93.7 KSPI FM radio in Stillwater with Rex Holt and Roger Moore on the call. The audio stream can also be heard live on okstate.tv, but a subscription is required to listen online.

In the Polls

Oklahoma State enters the dual against Clarion ranked No. 7 in the USA Today/NWCA/AWN/Division 1 Coaches Poll and No. 5 in the Intermat tournament rankings. Penn State is ranked No. 2 in the USA Today/NWCA/AWN/Division 1 Coaches Poll  and No. 1 by Intermat. Clarion does not carry a team ranking.

All 10 of OSU's starters are ranked among the top 20 in the nation at their respective weight classes in at least one poll, including a No. 2 ranking by Amateur Wrestling News, Intermat and W.I.N Magazine for 174-pound defending national champion Chris Perry. Tyler Caldwell earned a No. 2 ranking from W.I.N. Magazine at 165 pounds, and Alex Dieringer is ranked No. 2 at 157 pounds by AWN and W.I.N Magazine. OSU's 133-pounder, Jon Morrison, is in the top-five in each poll. 

PSU has 10 of its potential starters ranked in at least one poll. The Nittany Lions are led by No. 1 David Taylor at 165 pounds and Nico Megaludis and Zain Retherford, who are both ranked No. 2 in their respective weight classes.

             
Last Meeting vs. Clarion

No. 4 Oklahoma State 42, Clarion 6
Jan. 8, 2010 :: Hampton, Va. :: National Duals

 

125: No. 9 Chris Notte (OSU) dec. Joe Waltko (CU); 5-1

133: No. 6 Jordan Oliver (OSU) MD Jay Ivanco (CU); 11-3

141: No. 7 Jamal Parks (OSU) dec. Greg Lewis (CU); 10-5

149: James Fleming (CU) fall Quinten Fuentes (OSU); 4:06

157: No. 12 Neil Erisman (OSU) dec. No. 16 Hadley Harrison (CU); 4-2

165: No. 14 Alex Meade (OSU) fall Nick Milano (CU); 0:53

174: No. 14 Mike Benefiel (OSU) TF5 Steve Cressley (CU); 16-0, 5:16

184: Chris McNeil (OSU) win by forfeit

197: No. 8 Alan Gelogaev (OSU) fall Alex Thomas (CU); 2:26

285: No. 2 Jared Rosholt (OSU) fall Quintas McCorkle (CU); 2:29

 
Last Meeting vs. Penn State

No. 4 Oklahoma State 24, No. 14 Penn State 13

Jan. 9, 2010 :: Hampton, Va. :: National Duals

 

125: No. 9 Chris Notte (OSU) dec. No. 14 Brad Pataky (PSU); 9-7

133: No. 6 Jordan Oliver (OSU) MD Bryan Pearsall (PSU); 14-4

141: No. 7 Jamal Parks (OSU) fall Adam Lynch (PSU); 3:55

149: No. 5 Frank Molinaro (PSU) MD Quinten Fuentes (OSU); 9-0

157: No. 2 Cyler Sanderson (PSU) dec. No. 12 Neil Erisman (OSU); 5-4

165: No. 8 Dan Vallimont (PSU) dec. No. 14 Alex Meade (OSU); 2-1

174: No. 14 Mike Benefiel (OSU) TF5 Justin Ortega (PSU); 21-5, 6:15

184: No. 13 David Erwin (PSU) dec. No. 9 Clayton Foster; 9-3

197: No. 8 Alan Gelogaev (OSU) dec. David Crowell (PSU); 14-7

285: No. 2 Jared Rosholt (OSU) dec. No. 16 Cameron Wade (PSU); 3-0

 

OSU Statistical Leaders

Wins:                                   26, Nolan Boyd

Bonus Point Wins:                 14, Dieringer and Rogers

Wins by Fall:                         11, Jordan Rogers

Wins by Technical Fall:           4, Dieringer and Perry

Wins by Major Decision:          6, Jon Morrison

Dual Takedowns:                  32, Jon Morrison

Dual Nearfalls:                      11, Eddie Klimara

Top-Five Match-Ups

The dual against Penn State will feature top-five matchups at 165 pounds and 174 pounds. Oklahoma State's Tyler Caldwell, ranked No. 5,  will face off against No. 1 David Taylor in the 165-pound bout. The two have met once this year and twice overall in their careers, with Taylor walking away with the victory both times. At 174 pounds, No. 2 Chris Perry will go head-to-head with No. 5 Matt Brown of Penn State. The last time the two met was in the Southern Scuffle finals in January, and Perry walked away with an easy 4-0 win. Their first meeting was in the 2013 NCAA Championship finals, where Perry earned the win and his first NCAA individual title, defeating Brown in overtime.

 

Long Time, No See

This weekend the Cowboys will face two teams they haven't seen in dual competition since 2010. The Pokes last saw Penn State and Clarion at the 2010 NWCA National Duals. Oklahoma State secured victories over both. The last time the Cowboys went up against the Golden Eagles in Clarion, Pa., was in 1985. It's been 18 years since the Cowboys have traveled to Penn State.

Bonus Point Machines

Five of the Cowboys' starters have earned bonus points in at least half of their wins. Of sophomore Eddie Klimara's wins at 125 pounds, 79 percent have resulted in bonus points, including five falls, five major decisions and one major decision. The team's most prolific pinners, Alex Dieringer (157) and Jordan Rogers (184/197), have each tallied 14 bonus point wins. Chris Perry (174) has earned 12 bonus-point wins out of his 20 wins and Nolan Boyd (184/197) has collected 13 out of his 26 wins.

 

Catching Fire

After an uncharacteristically poor start, the Cowboys are on a four-dual win streak entering the dual vs. Clarion. The Pokes started their run, downing No. 18 Iowa State, 29-3. Just a week later, they went on to handily defeat No. 10 Mizzou, 28-6. In last weekend's pair of duals, the Cowboys ran over the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners, 37-6, before taking care of in-state rival and No. 10 Oklahoma, 29-9. In each of the last four duals, the Cowboys have won at least seven of their 10 bouts.

What's Going on in the Conference

The Cowboys finished the Big 12 dual competition with a perfect 3-0 record, handily defeating each of their opponents. Earlier this season, the Pokes suffered a 19-18 loss to Oklahoma in Norman in a non-conference dual, thus not affecting the conference record. The Pokes will face their Big 12 foes again on March 8 in the Big 12 Championships in Norman, Okla.

Keeping Up With Crutchmer

Redshirt freshman Kyle Crutchmer has been seen by several different opponents at several different weight classes. Three to be exact. The Tulsa, Okla., native was originally slated to compete at 184 pounds, but after his dual debut against OU, he began competing in open tournaments at 174 pounds. He has most recently been seen in the lineup at 197 pounds, filling in for an injured Blake Rosholt. Despite giving up more than 15 pounds to each of his last two opponents, No. 7 Matt Wilps of Pittsburgh and No. 2 Kyven Gadson of Iowa State, Crutchmer has kept both bouts very close, losing by only two points to some of the nation's best wrestlers. He owns a 19-5 record on the year.

Caldwell Gets 100

Tyler Caldwell earned his 100th career win with his 19-1 technical fall over Curt Maas of Northern Iowa in his first match of the Joe Parisi Open on Nov. 23. He placed first at the tourney and now boasts a career total of 117-27.

He put together a 63-20 record while at OU and finished a 35-5 campaign as a Cowboy during the 2012-13 season.

Welcome to the 100 Club, Mr. Perry

Stillwater, Okla., native Chris Perry was welcomed into the Oklahoma State wrestling 100-win club after he defeated Wyoming's Brent Havlik with an 11-3 major decision to earn his 100th career win on Dec. 14. He now totes a 112-11 career record and is the 36th Cowboy wrestler to join the 100-Win Club.  Perry is also the fifth member of his family to earn the honor.

 

Loaded Lineup

The Cowboys return five All-Americans for the 2013-14 season in Jon Morrison, Alex Dieringer, Tyler Caldwell, Blake Rosholt and 2013 national champion Chris Perry. Of the other five Cowboys in the lineup, four are NCAA qualifiers.In total, the Oklahoma State lineup combines for one national champion, seven Big 12 champions and eight All-Americans.

 

Cowboy Comebacks

Josh Kindig and Austin Marsden return to the Cowboy lineup after taking redshirts during the 2012-13 season. Kindig spent two years in the lineup as a true freshman and a sophomore before taking a year off. As a starter, Kindig produced a third-place and runner-up finish at Big 12s and was a two-time NCAA qualifier.

Marsden was taken from his redshirt late in the 2011-12 season after starting heavyweight Alan Gelogaev suffered a season-ending injury. Marsden went on to finish second at the Big 12 Championships and qualify for NCAAs as a true freshman.

Last Time Out

No. 8 Oklahoma State 29, No. 10 Oklahoma 9

Feb. 9, 2014 :: Gallagher-Iba Arena (Stillwater, Okla.) :: Attendance – 5,135

 

125: No. 20 Eddie Klimara (OSU) fall Sean Williams (OU), 3:31

133: No. 4 Jon Morrison (OSU) dec. No. 7 Cody Brewer (OU), 7-3

141: No. 17 Anthony Collica (OSU) vs. No. 20 Nick Lester (OU), 4-0

149: No. 2 Kendric Maple (OU) dec. No. 10 Josh Kindig (OSU), 7-3

157: No. 2 Alex Dieringer (OSU) TF5 Dryden Dennis (OU), 18-2

165: No. 5 Tyler Caldwell (OSU) dec. Clark Glass (OU), 5-1

174: No. 2 Chris Perry (OSU) fall Derek Geiges (OU), 1:51

184: Andrew Howe (OU) dec. Jordan Rogers (OSU), 9-2

197: No. 4 Travis Rutt (OSU) dec. Nolan Boyd (OSU), 9-4

285: No. 19 Austin Marsden (OSU) dec. Zach Merrill (OU), 8-2

 

All-Time Dual Wins Leaders

As of Feb. 11, 2014

1.         Oklahoma State          1,050-119-23

2.         Iowa State       1,034-294-20

3.         Oregon State   991-324-28

4.         Iowa    939-225-31

5.         Minnesota       917-428-24

Signing Day Recap

In mid-November, John Smith announced the signing of six wrestlers during the 2013 early signing period.
Headlining the class is No. 1 overall recruit Chance Marsteller of Fawn Grove, Pa. The senior carries a perfect 125-0 record into his senior season. Joining him is three-time Washington state champion and No. 9 overall recruit Chandler Rogers, who moved to Stillwater, Okla., for his senior season.
The Cowboys scored other nationally ranked recruits in No. 21 Ryan Blees from North Dakota, No. 49 Gary Wayne Harding, an Oklahoma native, and No. 62 Mike Magaldo of New Jersey.
The final signee for the Pokes was Cedar City, Utah, native Dusty Hone.

ASICS All-Americans Live Here

There are three different wrestlers on this year's Oklahoma State roster who were ASICS first-team All-Americans during their prep days:

             

Chris Perry      2009

Josh Kindig     2010

Jordan Rogers 2012

Fargo Champs, Too

There are five different wrestlers on this year's Oklahoma State wrestling roster who won titles at the ASICS Junior Freestyle National Championships in Fargo, N.D., during their prep days:

 

Jon Morrison   2007

Chris Perry      2008

Alex Dieringer            2011

Jordan Rogers 2011

Anthony Collica          2012 and 2013

 

Coached by the Best

Members of the Oklahoma State wrestling staff combine for six world championships, two Olympic gold medals and an Olympic bronze.

They also combine for seven NCAA championships and 14 All-America honors. The breakdown:

 

Olympic Medalists

John Smith      1988 and 1992 Gold

Coleman Scott            2012 Bronze

 

Senior World Championships Medalists

John Smith      1987, 1989, 1990 and 1991 Gold

 

NCAA Individual Championships

John Smith      1987, 1988

Eric Guerrero  1997, 1998, 1999

Zack Esposito 2005

Coleman Scott            2008