Spates wins coach of year
OU head wrestling coach honored at national
by Robert Przybylo
Winning a championship is not the only way to measure the success of a season.
The awards presentation at the national wrestling championships Saturday night were delayed for a minute after the announcement of Coach of the Year.
The winner was OU head coach Jack Spates.
He was nowhere to be found as he said he thought he wouldn’t be considered for the award.
“This is more a testament to the guys, and how hard they work,” Spates said. “They battled through a lot of adversity and could have given up, but they always battled back.”
OU finished third at the national championships. Leading the wrestlers through the trenches and all adversity was Spates, who has just completed his 13th year at the helm of the OU squad.
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Expectations were high coming into the season with OU ranked No. 2.
Injuries at four of the 10 weights kept the Sooners from reaching their full potential but did not keep them from competing as hard as they could.
“Injuries are a part of the sport,” assistant coach Robbie Waller said. “When one man goes down, someone has to be ready to make that next step. Jack does a great job of instilling confidence in his guys and making them believe.”
With the pieces coming together at the right time, OU had another strong showing at both the Big 12 and national championships.
Junior Sam Hazewinkel took home his second conference crown, and OU finished second overall after finishing fourth at the Big 12 championships last year.
“Everyone knows Jack is a great coach,” Hazewinkel said. “But it’s who he is off the mat that is even more amazing. He preaches values that go beyond wrestling and lives up to them.”
Spates said character is something very important to him and the team. He said he needs to lead by example.
“It takes more than talent to make the team and become a good wrestler,” he said. “I’m not just looking to help these guys only on the mats. There are life lessons to be taught as well.”
This is the first time Spates has won the award given out by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
He has won the Big 12 Coach of the Year on two occasions when OU won conference championships in 1999 and 2002.
OU will lose three of its starters from last year’s team. All-Americans Jake Hager and Teyon Ware as well as Wes Roberts have wrestled their last match for OU.
“There’s not much of a drop-off next year,” Spates said. “We got a great group of guys coming back and some others looking forward to making that next step. We’ll be coming to battle just like we always do.”
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