Cowboys, Illini Advance to Cliff Kleen Finals
Top two nationally ranked teams to settle it on the mat on Sunday.
Jan. 22, 2005
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Oklahoma State’s wrestling team advanced to the finals of the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals with a 20-16 victory over No. 5 Lehigh (14-2) on Saturday night at the CSU Convocation Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
Steve Mocco recorded a fall over Tom Curl in the final match of the night to give the Cowboys the decisive edge. Mocco was put in a position where he had to win after Jake Rosholt fell to third-ranked Jon Trenge 10-8, and he came through in a big way for the Cowboys. It was the first loss of the season for Rosholt.
The Cowboys (11-0) will face Illinois (10-0) in the finals, who defeated Minnesota 20-15 in the other semifinal match.
Jack Jensen, Clay Kehrer’s back up at 184 for most of the season, was thrust into a key situation with OSU trailing 13-11 in the dual. Jensen controlled Matt Cassidy early on, and gave the Pokes the lead that helped set the stage for the final two matches.
Oklahoma State got key victories from some unlikely people to help carry them into the finals. Sam Lewnes picked up a 6-0 victory at 165 against Cornell to tie the dual at 9.
Nathan Morgan fell twice on the day to two highly ranked wrestlers. He lost a 5-2 decision to No. 1 Travis Lee of Cornell, and in the night cap against Illinois he lost 3-2 on two seconds of riding time to sixth-ranked Matt Ciasulli.
Zack Esposito was another Cowboy who lost his first match of the season, but they were picked up by some of the reserves that came up with big wins.
The Cowboys won nine of 10 bouts in their preliminary dual against The Citadel. Eight of the nine wins were scored with bonus points as OSU handled the Cadets 45-3.
Oklahoma State had a tussle with No. 11 Cornell, before finally dispatching the Big Red 22-12. The match was tied at 12 heading into the final two matches, which put the Cowboys in a good position with the two top ranked wrestlers at 197 and heavyweight. Jake Rosholt gave OSU the lead with a fall, and Steve Mocco recorded a technical fall to close out the match.
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