Ben Elder
Sports Editor
Expectations are never as high as they are now.
Battle-tested and willing, the No. 2 Oklahoma State wrestling squad (16-2) will take the short trip to Oklahoma City on Thursday to participate in the NCAA National Championships.
“The bar is high. The individuals on this team speak about goals and speak about a vision that is very high,” coach John Smith said. “What comes with that is an expectation in itself and how they look at performing.”
The three-day event, hosted by the University of Oklahoma, will showcase America’s best Division 1 wrestlers and offer the Cowboys the chance to win their fourth straight national championship and 34th overall.
After an impressive showing at the Big 12 tournament last weekend, the Cowboys are going into the national tournament with a revised sense of momentum.
“We are ready to go and get some big wins. When we get to NCAAs, we hope to keep the momentum rolling,” 125-pound sophomore Coleman Scott said. “It is a lot easier to win when you have confidence and the momentum rolling for the whole team.”
However, the road to Oklahoma City this season hasn’t gone as some Cowboys exactly planned.
With three All-Americans and four national champions returning, many thought the Cowboys’ quest for their 34th national championship would be a cake-walk.
However, another team has proven its worth to the collegiate wrestling world.
The No. 1 Minnesota Golden Gophers have beaten the Cowboys twice this season, and have left many skeptics favoring the Gophers to bring home the team title.
The adversity that the Cowboys faced ” including all four returning national champions ” has allowed the team to refocus and set higher goals.
“The thing that’s happened this year, unlike the past, we’ve had a lot of individuals that a lot of things happened unexpected. We had four national champions that thought they were going undefeated and would win another title,” Smith said. “It didn’t happen for any of them because at times during the year they faced a lot of adversity, questioned themselves at times.
“I believe that makes for a tougher individual that builds off that and takes on the responsibility that you’re doing something wrong and must get better or you go the other way.”
The Cowboys qualified nine wrestlers for the tournament, which is one more than last year.
Senior Rusty Blackmon will look to make his first appearance at nationals since the 2004 season. Blackmon posted two victories at the Big 12 Championships in order to qualify for the tournament.
Smith said he believes that his expectations of Blackmon are nothing less than his four returning national champions.
“They’re part of the nine we’re taking (national champions). They’re not any more important than Rusty Blackmon. Championships are won and have always been won with the unexpected. I do believe we have some individuals that can play that role,” Smith said. “You never know what will combine your total points.
“I do believe we have nine guys that can score. I think we have nine guys that can have a great tournament. I don’t exclude any of them. They’re all equal to me at this point.”
Sophomores Scott and Nathan Morgan will look to gain their first national titles this season. Scott is ranked No. 5 in the nation, and the second-ranked Morgan is coming off an impressive sophomore campaign where he posted a 28-1 record.
“I feel that I am on my way in. The NCAA Championships are what counts. Once the NCAAs come around, everyone has the chance of becoming a national champion,” Morgan said. “I try to keep focused and avoid all of the distractions around me.”
Becoming a national champion is the goal of all, and for the whole OSU wrestling team that goal is achievable next week.
“We are ready to go and get some big wins,” Scott said. “When we get to NCAAs, we hope to keep the momentum rolling. It is a lot easier to win when you have confidence and the momentum rolling for the whole team.”
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