Originally from the Stillwater (Oklahoma) News-Press, featured in the Des Moines Register
Hawkeyes to tangle with Mocco
By ROGER MOORE
STILLWATER NEWS PRESS
Stillwater, Okla. – Everybody on the college wrestling planet wants to talk about it – except Steve Mocco.
Even Sports Illustrated is in Stillwater this weekend for the Oklahoma State-Iowa wrestling dual, which starts at 1:30 p.m. today at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
“There is really nothing to say, “said Mocco, who faces his former team for the first time since transferring last summer. “It doesn’t matter who we wrestle, I’m going to wrestle hard.”
Iowa, a tradition-rich program with 20 NCAA titles, won the Mocco recruiting sweepstakes four years ago. At Blair Academy (N.J.), the heavyweight compiled a 216-1 record with 187 pins in winning four state championships.
Mocco didn’t miss a beat in his first Division I season, advancing to the NCAA finals before losing to Ohio State’s Tommy Rowlands. A year later, Mocco was the top heavyweight in the country with a 34-0 mark.
But something changed during a redshirt season in which Mocco tried to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics.
“It’s hard to say what happened, “said Oklahoma State coach John Smith. “Steve was just looking for another place to wrestle, and we were fortunate enough to get him into our program.”
“Things just didn’t work out (at Iowa), “Mocco said.
What changed may be the fact that Oklahoma State qualified three former wrestlers in Athens. All three live and train in Stillwater with Smith.
“You have to look at the people who train here and think that they are doing something right, “Mocco said earlier this season. “I want to get better and having (Smith) in my corner is going to help.”
Iowa coach Jim Zalesky said Mocco wasn’t happy at Iowa.
“If you have one individual who’s not happy, he can drag some guys down with him, “Zalesky said. “A lot of times it’s better to cut your losses and move forward.”
Mocco, the top-ranked heavyweight, is trying to help the Cowboys win a third straight NCAA championship. He picked up his eighth pin of the season against Michigan State last Thursday to improve to 16-0. The victory moved his career record to 87-3 and his unbeaten streak to 50 matches.
Today, the Cowboy junior faces Iowa freshman Matt Fields, who is 14-3 and ranked fifth. Mocco beat Fields, 5-0, at the Kaufman-Brand Open in November.
“It doesn’t matter what kind of match he wrestles, it matters how I wrestle, “Mocco said.
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