OSU wrestling coach approaches mentor, old coach on OSU all-time wins list
Bryan Karns
Senior Sports Writer
Oklahoma State head wrestling coach John Smith has made a habit out of being the best.
Whether it was winning two NCAA titles at his alma mater or two Olympic gold medals for the United States, Smith always found himself at the top.
Nothing changed for Smith once he took the helm in Stillwater either, leading the Cowboys back to national prominence and winning four team titles in the process.
In addition to the team titles, Smith has racked up dual victory after dual victory and following Saturday night’s victory over Iowa, Smith moved closer to another milestone with his 226th win as Cowboy head coach ” just one shy of former Cowboy head man Tommy Chesbro.
“Well I definitely think it’s an honor, It’s somebody that I have a lot of respect for” said Smith. “It’s your coach who coached you that established a high mark and it’s an honor to be able to reach it.”
“I’m not that excited about passing it. I feel like he should still have it, but it’s an honor and it’s come a long way from my first season going 4-7. It’s amazing that I’m here this close to setting the record for most wins. It’s been a fun journey and that journey has been with a lot of good athletes.”
While Smith can’t necessarily recall any of his favorite victories of the top of his head, he said that the few losses he has accumulated in his career are the matches he really remembers.
“I remember all 24 or 25 losses,” said Smith. “Those are the ones that hurt. But there have been a lot of good wins, but there has always been a lot of good athletes responsible for those wins.”
Smith is no different from most Cowboy greats and contributes his success at Oklahoma State to the coaches who have set the standard for a wrestling program that is unparalleled in its sports’ history.
Smith said that from Ed Gallagher to Myron Roderick to Chesbro to the present, there have always been coaches who have furthered the standards and level of the program and allowed Cowboy wrestling to be a standard for excellence.
“Obviously there is a standard of wrestling that you continue to set new expectations of what your program should be,” said Smith. “I think it’s a responsibility as a head coach here in this program. It hasn’t always been at the standard that it is today, it’s gone through its peaks and valleys. It’s our tradition that always gives us hope.
“It hopefully gives your student athlete passion to step out and do a little bit more, that you’re a part of something that doesn’t accept mediocrity, and hopefully that puts a positive pressure on your student athlete.”
There is little doubt that Smith will tie and surpass the record before the season is over, and more likely in the next two matches, but Smith says the ultimate mark in a coach’s legacy rests in the student-athlete’s success after he has left the program.
“It’s always been more about wrestling (with the coaches in the past),” said Smith. “It’s about taking student athletes and creating a lifestyle for them that not only during their four or five years here, but it will be a lifestyle of expecting more from themselves and be able to handle real life situations.”
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