by Robert Przybylo
As the USC football team shoots for their third straight national championship, they’re a year behind another dynasty.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys are the three-time defending champions in wrestling and are poised to win another title this year.
OU and OSU will square off in the first of two Bedlam duals Friday at 7 p.m. inside Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater.
“This is why you come to OU,” head coach Jack Spates said. “These special events are what it’s all about.”
Both teams are coming off duals against Lehigh.
The No. 1-ranked Cowboys defeated Lehigh last Friday night, 31-6. OSU won eight of the 10 matches and scored two falls.
OU did not fare so well. The No. 3-ranked Sooners needed to win the final three matches to pull out a tie, 18-18. Lehigh registered the only fall of the night.
Friday is a new night, and a chance for history to be made, streaks to be broken and an opportunity for OU to get over the hump. The Cowboys have won 23 straight dual matches and won last year’s NCAA championship by the second largest margin ever with 70 points separating them from second place Michigan.
“It will be a good indicator of where some of our guys who have not proven themselves are at,” OU assistant coach Robbie Waller said.
Spates said the team is loose and eager and ready to go.
OU’s starting line-up tonight features a shake-up at a couple of weights. Freshman J.J. Anderson will replace Trey Blakely at 133 pounds. Redshirt freshman Jarrod King will return to being a starter at 165 pounds. He sat out the last two weeks of competition due to an injury.
“J.J. is a freshman who is making his first ever start for OU at Bedlam,” Spates said. “He comes to battle. He’s excited about the opportunity as are we.
OSU is led by No. 1-ranked heavyweight Steve Mocco. Mocco has an impressive streak of his own on the line tonight. He has won 72 straight matches and won the Dan Hodge Trophy last year, given to the nation’s best college wrestler.
Mocco is not the only top person at his weight class for the Cowboys. Senior Jake Rosholt is the best 197 pounder in the nation. Junior Tommy Hendricks has claimed the No. 1 spot at 165 pounds after defeating then No.1 Troy Letters of Lehigh last weekend. Senior Zack Esposito also tops the list at 149 pounds. OSU has two other wrestlers ranked in the top 10.
Those 23 straight dual wins include several victories over OU. The Sooners last victory over OSU in a dual competition came in 1996. OSU has won 14 straight duals over OU and has a 22 match unbeaten streak. There was a tie in 1999.
“We need to beat them,” junior Sam Hazewinkel said. “We can’t say we’re better than them until we do.”
“We’ve been in their shadow for quite some time,” junior Matt Storniolo said. “It’s time to step out of it.”
Four of the 10 matches tonight feature a top 10 wrestler vs. top 10 wrestler.
At 125 pounds, OU’s No. 2-ranked Hazewinkel will take on OSU’s No. 5-ranked Coleman Scott. Hazewinkel has had a perfect season so far and said he sees no added pressure with Bedlam.
“I just have to go out there and do my part and help the team,” he said. “I try not to let the pressure get to me.”
At 149 pounds, OU’s Storniolo finds himself in an odd position in two ways. He is competing against someone ranked higher than him. Esposito is the top dog at 149 with Storniolo at No. 9. Storniolo is coming off a disappointing loss to Lehigh and will have to bounce back for the first time this season.
“It was just an off night (Saturday),” Storniolo said. “I didn’t feel right. I feel fine now. There’s less pressure facing someone higher ranked. The expectations aren’t as high, and I can sneak up on him.”
In what may be the most anticipated match of the evening, No. 1 vs. No. 2 will battle at 197 pounds. In addition to being the best, OSU’s Jake Rosholt was named Big 12 wrestler of the month for November. OU’s Joel Flaggert comes in at No.2. This will be a rematch from an all-star meeting Nov. 21 where Rosholt won, 8-3.
“I learned a lot from that match,” Flaggert said. “I have a game plan, and I’m confident it will work and the results will be different.”
OU senior and No. 5-ranked Jake Hager has the daunting task of trying to unseat Mocco. Hager said he is looking forward to the challenge.
“I love wrestling at Gallagher-Iba,” he said. “I definitely plan to show him (Mocco) a few things Friday night.”
A chance to beat the No. 1 team. A chance to steal the spotlight. It’ll be Bedlam in every sense of the word.
“Bedlam stands alone,” Hager said. “This is the pinnacle of college wrestling.”
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