Last Sunday, No. 1 Oklahoma State (10-0) collided on the mat with No. 3 Oklahoma (9-4) in the National Duals finals and claimed a convincing championship by outscoring its opponents 116-33. The Cowboys defeated the Sooners for the eighth consecutive time with a 27-6 pounding in the finals.
This weekend, the Cowboys will turn their attention to unranked Pacific 10 Conference opponents: Oregon State on Saturday at 7 p.m. and Oregon on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
A championship will not be riding on the outcome of this weekend’s battle with the state of Oregon, but Cowboy coach John Smith said he wants his wrestlers to set the tone for the rest of the season in the dual.
“This weekend I want to see our best individual performances of the year,” Smith said.
Oregon State (7-5) and Oregon (5-4) have never come closer than nine points of beating the Cowboys in 27 meetings and will be outmatched once again this weekend. The Cowboys boast a lineup with nine wrestlers ranked in the Top 10 compared to zero Top 10 contenders from the Beavers and the Ducks.
Smith said winning or losing will not be an issue, but the intensity his wrestlers show will be the focal point.
“This is the time of year to get really excited,” Smith said. “We have talked about being motivated — let’s continue to pound that mat, let’s continue to stay focused. To me this is when it starts to get exciting.”
The Cowboys are enduring a brutal three-week stretch and the Cowboys will have competed in eight duals in a 16-day period after the Feb. 1 and 2 contests with No. 17 Northern Iowa and No. 11 Iowa State.
“I think it’s important for us, as a team coming off a National Duals Championship, that we show some consistency,” Smith said. “It’s a situation that you would like to see your athletes make weight back to back to prepare for the rest of the season and the playoffs.”
The stretch will be a little harder on OSU’s Muhammed Lawal and Chris Pendleton. Both wrestlers have accepted their invitations to the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic on Feb. 3.
They will be taking a flight out of Ames, Iowa on Sunday night to arrive at the University of Delaware. Johnny Thompson, Zack Esposito and Tyrone Lewis were also invited to the All-Star Classic, but will not be making the trip to Newark, Del.
“Everybody is tired at this time of year,” Smith said. “There isn’t a guy out there that isn’t tired.”
Drew Hill can be reached
via e-mail at
dhill@ocolly.com
Loading ...
All Articles