Fresh faces
Frishkorn gets starting nod at 141 pounds to join three other freshmen in lineup
Greg Dickinson
Asst. Sports Editor
Oklahoma State won every match it wrestled this season with two wrestlers weighing in at 141 pounds.
With the dual season over, OSU coach John Smith is left with a tough decision because only one of the 141-pound wrestlers can continue competing for the Cowboys as they prepare to defend their Big 12 and NCAA titles.
Senior Ronnie Delk (13-8) and redshirt freshman Daniel Frishkorn (12-4) shared the starting duties throughout the season, but Frishkorn now gets the opportunity to wrestle for the remainder of the season.
“We base a lot on performance and training in the room and both have done a good job of that,” Smith said. “In the end Daniel Frishkorn had a little bit of an advantage.”
Delk finishes his career with 61 wins for the Cowboys, and he has been part of a senior class that has helped OSU ascend back to the top of college wrestling. Though Delk is disappointed, Smith said Delk has taken the high road and is going to help is teammates prepare for nationals.
“Ronnie is obviously very disappointed and there’s no question that he’s hurt by not getting a chance, but he understands the decision and it tells you a little bit about Ronnie Delk that he is willing to come in here and help Daniel Frishkorn and Zack Esposito become national champions,” Smith said.
Frishkorn, who began the season at 133 pounds, joins three other Cowboy freshman in the starting lineup.
Coleman Scott, 125 pounds, Nathan Morgan, 133, and Clay Kehrer at 184 along with Frishkorn all get a chance to help the Cowboys try to become back-to-back-to-back national champions.
Smith said being a freshman can be tough, but the group did a good job for the Cowboys this season and now they must use the experience they gained from wrestling such a hard schedule.
“For freshman to be successful, they just can’t wrestle like freshmen, they can’t act like freshman because everybody in the world is telling them that’s all they are is freshmen,” Smith said. “If you want to have success at the end as a freshman then you don’t act like one, we’ve got four freshman on the team that have the experience.They have wrestled a schedule that’s not a freshman schedule, it’s a veteran schedule, take advantage of it, step out and be a man and look forward to your success.”
The young Cowboys and the other six starters have until March 5 to get ready for the Big 12.
Junior All-American Jake Rosholt and Kehrer were held out of the lineup against Oklahoma due to injury, but both are working out and will be ready to wrestle.
Senior national champion Chris Pendleton said the team needs to take advantage of the time off and work on things that need improvement.
“Now we can really go back and look at what we did throughout the year and really improve on everything and get ready for that next level,” he said.
Smith said this team is battle tested, and now they just need to keep improving and enjoy the end of the season.
“Obviously, guys get a little bit more excited and we need to be excited as this is really the enjoyment part of the season,” Smith said.
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