Hawkeye grapplers fall to No. 1 Cowboys
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Ronnie Delk gave top-ranked Oklahoma State an upset win to help the Cowboys beat No. 9 Iowa, 26-12, Sunday in a dual wrestling match at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Delk, a 141-pounder, scored a takedown with eight seconds remaining in the match to defeat seventh-ranked Alex Tsirtsis, 3-2.
“This is the first time in a long time that Ronnie has beaten somebody that he was not supposed to, “coach John Smith said. “You have to break through, and that was a break through.”
Delk’s decision gave the Cowboys a 7-3 lead.
Iowa coach Jim Zalesky praised Delk’s performance.
“I thought the match at 141 was key. Both guys wrestled hard, but we took a shot at the end, “Zalesky said. “He (Tsirtsis) just got his head down and Delk came around him and got the take down. That was a tough match between two tough competitors.”
The Cowboys (8-0) won seven of the 10 matches.
The Hawkeyes (5-2) cut the Cowboys’ lead to 19-12 with two matches remaining after Paul Bradley earned a 6-4 decision over Clay Kehrer at 184 pounds. But Jake Rosholt at 197 and heavyweight Steve Mocco, an Iowa transfer, closed out the match with back-to-back wins to seal the victory for OSU. OSU’s Chris Pendleton got the only pin of the match.
Mocco, who won the 2003 NCAA heavyweight title while at Iowa, hasn’t lost a college match since he was freshman at Iowa in 2002.
Mocco said wrestling his former teammates was just like any other match.
“When I see (Iowa) guys at a tournament, I talk to them, “Mocco said. “I don’t care (about what the Iowa fans might say). I am here to win matches.”
While Oklahoma State took the win, Smith thought his team could have done better.
“I think that this was a good match, “Smith said. “It wasn’t by any means our best match, but I think that Iowa had something to do with that.”
Iowa’s vaunted program may have added pressure to the match, but the Cowboys experience showed through.
“We have a lot of new guys in the lineup and they have guys like Roshalt, Pendleton, and Mocco with national titles under their belts, “Zalesky said. “We have one guy that finished fourth last year. It was a good match for us to just see where we are at midway through the season. They are the team to best right now.”
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