Whoa, hold up there, Cowboys: OSU’s 19-18 win has an asterisk
BY CRAIG SESKER
LINCOLN – This was the precisely the type of atmosphere Nebraska Coach Mark Manning envisioned.
A jam-packed NU Coliseum and 3,442 boisterous fans cheering every big Husker move.
But Manning could have never envisioned a wild, bizarre finish like this one.
When Oklahoma State national champion Steve Mocco earned a 12-2 major decision over Nebraska’s Mitch Manstedt at heavyweight it appeared to seal the top-ranked Cowboys’ 19-18 comeback win over No. 6 Nebraska on Thursday night.
But a scoring error in the 184-pound bout cost Nebraska’s Travis Pascoe a point in his match that would have given him a 12-4 major decision over Clay Kehrer. That one point would have given the Huskers an extra team point for the major decision to end the meet in a 19-19 tie.
Match official Cody Olson, a former Husker wrestler from Sacramento, Calif., was notified of the error immediately after the dual and phoned Pat McCormick, the NCAA’s supervisor of officials who is expected to make a ruling today.
If the 12th match point is awarded to Pascoe, the meet is a tie. If it is not awarded, the Cowboys escape with a one-point Big 12 win.
“It was a wild evening, “Manning said. “I have never seen anything like this. I don’t know if anything like this has ever happened in the history of wrestling. It’s crazy.”
Olson acknowledged an error was made, but the question now is whether a change can be made since the dual is completed. Olson did not realize the mistake during the 184 match, nor did scorekeeper.
“Pascoe should have had a major decision, “Manning said. “The official didn’t catch the mistake and the scorer’s table didn’t catch it. Now it’s in the hands of Pat McCormick and the rules committee.”
Nebraska was seeking its first home win over the Cowboys since 1922. Oklahoma State has won the last two national titles.
“A tie is a loss for me, “OSU Coach John Smith said. “We didn’t wrestle well.”
In the 184-pound match, OSU’s Kehrer was warned once for stalling, Pascoe was twice awarded a point when Kehrer locked his hands and then Pascoe was awarded one point for stalling with 22 seconds left in the bout. Pascoe should have been awarded two points because it was Kehrer’s third technical violation.
Instead of winning 11-4, Pascoe should have won 12-4 to give him the eight-point margin needed for a major decision and one extra team point.
Manning was notified of the error by NU Assistant Coach Mike Greenfield late in the dual and then Manning told Olson immediately after the dual.
NU’s coach said he will not be tossing and turning in his sleep while waiting for today’s decision.
“I am really happy with our effort either way, “Manning said. “Our guys fought hard and our crowd was just unbelievable. That was even a dual as you could get.”
The Huskers, which entered the dual with a 16-1-1 record, and Cowboys each won five bouts. Ninth-ranked Jacob Klein gave Nebraska it’s biggest win when he knocked off No. 2 Johny Hendricks 5-4 at 165 pounds.
“I knew it was going to be a tough match, “Klein said. “It was a huge win for me. The crowd was just fantastic. We really fed off their energy.”
After eight matches, had won five to build an 18-12 lead. Oklahoma State national champion Jake Rosholt (197) then surrendered an early takedown before rallying for a 3-2 win over B.J. Padden. That pulled the Cowboys within 18-15 entering the final match.
The burly Mocco, an NCAA champ two years ago for Iowa, then overpowered Manstedt. He picked up an extra bonus point for the major decision that gave his team an apparent dual win.
125: Matt Keller, N, dec. Derrick Stevens, 4-2. 133: Nathan Morgan, OSU, dec. Dominick Moyer, 13-5. 141: Matt Murray, N, dec. Daniel Frishkorn, 10-4. 149: Zack Esposito, OSU, won by tech. fall over David Ingalls, 24-9. 157: B.J. Wright, N, pinned Kevin Ward, 6:23. 165: Jacob Klein, N, dec. Johny Hendricks, 5-4. 174: Chris Pendleton, OSU, dec. Marc Harwood, 17-8. 184: Travis Pascoe, N, dec. Clay Kehrer, 11-4. 197: Jake Rosholt, OSU, dec. B.J. Padden, 3-2. Hwt.: Steve Mocco, OSU, dec. Mitch Manstedt, 12-2. A: 3,442.
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