From the Iowa City Press-Citizen
Cowboys take down Hawks
Close matches go Oklahoma State’s way
By Andy Hamilton
Iowa City Press-Citizen
STILLWATER, Okla. — Sometimes the scoreboard doesn’t tell the entire story.
The board suspended above the mat inside Gallagher-Iba Arena indicated yet another comfortable victory for the nation’s top-ranked team on Sunday, further reinforcement that Oklahoma State towers above the rest of the college wrestling universe.
It said: Oklahoma State 26, Iowa 12. It was the product of seven Cowboy victories in 10 matches.
At a glance, those figures point out a wide discrepancy between the national champions and the eighth-ranked Hawkeyes.
But the scoreboard wasn’t telling the full story of what occurred on the mat below.
Oklahoma State held a 13-11 advantage in takedowns and won three matches by a collective four points. The Cowboys pulled out a victory in a tiebreaker, won another match with a takedown in the final six seconds and captured another triumph by a stalling penalty and a point for riding time.
A reversal of those three outcomes would have given Iowa a dual victory in front of the crowd of 7,821. Instead, the Cowboys won the type of tough matches that often determine NCAA titles in March and won their fifth straight in the series.
“You’ve gotta win the close matches, “said Iowa freshman 125-pounder Charlie Falck, the only Hawkeye who possessed third-period magic Sunday. “We should’ve won the close matches. … There’s no excuse for it. I think we need to learn from it down the road and get ’em at the end.”
In a dual filled with story lines, Oklahoma State heavyweight Steve Mocco, competing in his first dual against his former team, beat Matt Fields and then cost the Cowboys a team point when he slapped the Iowa freshman on the side of the headgear at the conclusion of the 4-0 match.
“I never heard the whistle, “Mocco said. “He stepped toward me and he was out of his stance, so I figured I’d tap and shoot, but I never heard the ref blow the whistle. … I think it looked worse than what it was.”
Mocco said he tried not to think about the events of this summer when he left Iowa for Oklahoma State. He reiterated his respect for the Hawkeye program and explanation that he left Iowa to enhance his post-collegiate career.
“My style has totally changed, “Mocco said. “I’m wrestling, I’m not beating people up. I’m hitting wrestling moves, and I think the difference is night and day.”
He said he tried to treat the bout with Fields like an ordinary match, but Mocco is finding out that ordinary matches now are often against opponents who try to create a stagnant pace.
“It was a frustrating match, and I think I wrestled too conservatively with a man who wouldn’t wrestle me, “said Mocco, who accounted for his scoring with two penalty points, an escape and a riding-time point. “I should’ve opened up more and exploited his game plan. His game plan was to keep it close and not wrestle me, not get into a wrestling match and just try and make something happen in the last 10 seconds.”
Johny Hendricks, Oklahoma State’s second-ranked 165-pounder, won a 3-1 decision against Mark Perry Jr., wrecking the homecoming of Iowa’s fourth-ranked freshman and the nephew of Cowboy coach John Smith.
It was Perry’s second loss this season. Hendricks has provided both defeats.
“I try not to get nervous and I get so relaxed that when I go out there I feel like I’m just drained, “said Perry, who couldn’t escape from Hendricks during the third period. “I don’t do things the way I usually do; I take bad shots, I don’t ride good, I really just don’t do much like I have been. I’ve got to figure a way out.”
The Hawkeyes received the start they needed to upset the Cowboys. Falck trailed Coleman Scott 3-1 when he cradled the Oklahoma State freshman with 17 seconds remaining for the tying takedown. Falck cranked Scott to his back with four ticks left for two near-fall points to capture a 5-3 victory.
That was the extent of Iowa’s success in matches that were determined late.
Trying to protect a 2-1 lead, Hawkeye freshman Alex Tsirtsis took a shot, opening himself up for a counter takedown that Ronnie Delk completed with six seconds remaining at 141.
Iowa’s fifth-ranked Ty Eustice gave Zack Esposito his most challenging test of the season at 149. But the top-ranked Cowboy scrambled out of two shots in regulation and avoided losing for the first time this season when Eustice wasn’t awarded a takedown at the conclusion of their overtime period.
Esposito rode Eustice for the duration of the 30-second tiebreaker period to win a 2-1 decision.
“There were some tough matches out there, but in those tough matches you need to find ways to win, and in two or three of them we did that, “Smith said.
Joe Johnston pinned Kevin Ward at 157, and Paul Bradley won a 6-4 decision against Clay Kehrer at 184 to join Falck as Iowa’s other winners Sunday.
“We’ve got some work to do in some areas, “Iowa coach Jim Zalesky said. “Perry got ridden out. Tsirtsis has to learn how to score when he’s in close. We got shut down there. Eustice has to learn how to finish. We were in on some shots that would’ve won the match, but we didn’t finish.”
OKLAHOMA STATE 26, IOWA 12
125 – Charlie Falck (UI) dec. Coleman Scott 5-3.
133 – Nathan Morgan (OSU) major dec. Mario Galanakis 12-3.
141 – Ronnie Delk (OSU) dec. Alex Tsirtsis 3-2.
149 – Zack Esposito (OSU) dec. Ty Eustice 2-1 TB.
157 – Joe Johnston (UI) pinned Kevin Ward 6:57.
165 – Johny Hendricks (OSU) dec. Mark Perry Jr. 3-1.
174 – Chris Pendleton (OSU) pinned Luke Lofthouse 1:31.
184 – Paul Bradley (UI) dec. Clay Kehrer 6-4.
197 – Jake Rosholt (OSU) tech. fall Adam Fellers 21-6.
Hwt. – Steve Mocco (OSU) dec. Matt Fields 4-0.
Reach Andy Hamilton at 339-7368 or [email protected].
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