Senior Cowboy shines in final home dual
Ben Elder
Asst. Sports Editor
With one second left on the clock, the crowd rose to its feet to salute a No. 1 ranked senior who has given the Oklahoma State wrestling squad nothing short of greatness.
In the most fashionable sense, senior Chris Pendleton avenged his only loss of the season to his Bedlam foe, E.K. Waldhaus, 8-3.
Pendleton’s victory came in front of a season-high 8,967 fans in Gallagher Iba-Arena, in an important Bedlam matchup on senior night.
“I have done a really good job this whole week not letting it sink in that it was my last time to wrestle in front of the Gallagher crowd until there was one second on the clock left and I could hear everybody stand up and start cheering. It meant a lot to me ” it really does.”
After five years of wrestling for coach John Smith, the senior from Lemoore, Calif., has developed a winning technique to avenge his losses.
“Any time I have lost to anybody in college, I have really prided myself in responding well and coming back and getting a victory,” Pendleton said. “I just wanted this to be a memorable Bedlam for me.”
Pendleton’s victory over OU’s Waldhaus improved his season record to 28-1 and gave the senior a career record of 108-11. He also passed Randy Couture in OSU’s all-time career wins list, moving up a spot to No. 18.
The match itself held great importance for Pendleton, but he said he still believes the Cowboys have more than Bedlam victories to focus on.
“Like coach Smith said, we don’t train to win dual meets or Bedlam, we train for Nationals,” Pendleton said.
Although Pendleton wrestled for the last time in Gallagher-Iba Arena, OSU’s lineup has produced new faces that will replace the old ones.
Like his senior counter part, freshman Nathan Morgan is just another California boy who knows how to pick up big victories.
Morgan contributed to the Cowboy cause Sunday and picked up a win over OU’s Joe Comparin, 8-4.”It was just good to be a part of it (Bedlam),” Morgan said. “The guys came through and we got some good wins.”
In his freshman campaign, No. 10 ranked Morgan has solidified the 133-pound spot for the Cowboys. Morgan has posted an impressive 28-4 against some of the nation’s most elite programs.
With the aide of seniors like Pendleton, Morgan has learned the winning ways of the Cowboy wrestling program.
“Chris has been a good motivation for me,” Morgan said. “He always tells me what I need to work on, and he is just a great example with everything he does, his work ethic and just the way how he handles things.”
Now, preparation means everything for the Cowboys. The wrestlers will travel to Omaha, Neb., in two weeks for the Big 12 Championships.
The Championships will determine who gets to wrestle in the NCAA National Championships, and whether two California boys can achieve greatness.
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