No. 1 Cowboys ride off winners
By KEVIN EVANS, Executive Sports Editor
CEDAR FALLS — Sometimes, numbers don’t tell the whole story.
From Brad Penrith’s point of view, Friday night was one of those times.
No. 1-ranked and two-time defending NCAA champion Oklahoma State won eight of 10 matches from the Panthers and scored a 30-6 dual wrestling win before a near-capacity crowd in the West Gym, but Penrith saw things he liked.
“Once again, the score does not indicate the meet, “said Penrith. “Our kids wrestled hard. We just do not match up well with them at all. Our guys went out and wrestled, and that is all I can ever ask for from them.”
The Cowboys, fresh off a win over No. 3 Iowa State Thursday and a National Duals championship Sunday, were wrestling for the fourth time in seven days.
Cowboys coach John Smith said his team accomplished what it was after.
“I think the matches we really focused on, those three, it is good to get out of here with wins, “said the veteran coach.
The three he was talking about — 149, 174 and 197 — all went to his wrestlers, but none of the wins came easy.
At 149, No. 2-ranked Zach Esposito won a hard-fought 6-2 decision over UNI’s Jeff Harrison. It was a 2-1 match entering the final period, and the Cowboy All-American didn’t clinch the win until getting a takedown in the final minute of the match.
At 174, UNI’s Eric Hauan came out and took defending NCAA champion Chris Pendleton down in the opening period for a 2-0 lead before falling victim to a series of takedowns in the final half of the match in a 15-6 loss.
Finally, at 197, Sean Stender exploded for a double to take All-American Jake Rosholt down early. Stender led 2-1 after one period, but Rosholt countered a Stender move in the second period and added a near fall for a 6-2 win.
“I was pleased with the effort in those matches, as far as being focused and effort, “said Smith. “Tonight took a little more focus than normal because of our travels and the number of matches we have wrestled over the last week.”
Penrith was pleased with Harrison and Stender.
“I thought Jeff Harrison wrestled extremely well. He had a ton of opportunities, “said Penrith. “We have got to convert those opportunities.
“Sean Stender wrestled extremely well. He got scored on off his shot, and it cost him four points getting his arm trapped and getting tilted.”
Everything didn’t go Oklahoma State’s way, either.
The Panthers got on the scoreboard at 165 when sophomore Nick Baima posted five takedowns for a 12-6 win over Sam Lewnes.
Baima, now 25-10, was up 9-4 after two periods and clocked nearly two minutes in riding time.
“Nick missed some opportunities, but he wrestled to the end, “said Penrith.
The other Panther winner was freshman Danny Dunning of Waterloo. Dunning got the opening takedown against Cowboy freshman Jack Jensen and never looked back. He scored a second-period near fall and got another takedown in the final period for an 8-3 win.
“I felt some pressure going into it since they are the No. 1 team and all of that, “admitted Dunning. “But I just thought I had to go out there and give it my best shot, wrestle tough and see what comes out.
“I thought I wrestled pretty well. I was moving pretty well and was more offensive than I have been in the past. That was a great feeling. It was a nice crowd and feeling the energy from the crowd was great.”
UNI’s best chance at another win came in the first match.
Junior Chris Helgeson got in on a single-leg against Coleman Scott several times without scoring, but still battled to a 1-1 regulation tie. Scott won it with a quick takedown in overtime.
“I thought Helgeson wrestled well against a kid who earlier this year beat up on him pretty bad, “said Penrith.
Former Iowa national champion Steve Mocco, who transferred to OSU this season, scored a fall against UNI backup 197-pounder Jeff Knoll, who stepped into the heavyweight slot for Mike Shedek, who is out with an injury.
125 n Coleman Scott (OSU) dec. Chris Helgeson 3-1, OT; 133 n Nathan Morgan dec. Jeremy Meyer 8-2; 141n- Daniel Frishkorn (OSU) won by tech fall over Justin Swafford 17-1, 5:00; 149 n Zach Espolito (OSU) dec. Jeff Harrison 6-2; 157 nKevin Ward (OSU) dec. Chris Bitetto 11-5; 165 n Nick Baima (UNI) dec. Sam Lewnes 12-6; 174 n Chris Pendleton (OSU) dec. Eric Hauan 15-6; 184 n Danny Dunning (UNI) dec. Jack Jensen 8-3; 197 n Jake Rosholt (OSU) dec. Sean Stender 6-2; Hwt n Steve Mocco (OSU) threw Jeff Knoll, :48
Referee: Keith Poolman
Wrestling Gear
