BIG 12 COACHES ASSESS THEIR CHANCES AT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS, MARCH 5 IN OMAHA
Submitted by: E.Goldman/Boxing & Wrestling Editor
The 2005 Big 12 Wrestling Championship, which will be held Sat., March 5, at the 17,000-seat Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb., will be perhaps the biggest preview of the 2005 NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships.
While only five schools in the Big 12 have wrestling programs, they are among the most successful teams in the country. Oklahoma State recently finished an undefeated regular season, and sits atop every national college wrestling poll. Iowa State, Nebraska, and Oklahoma are ranked in the top seven in every major poll, with some having Iowa State as high as second. Oklahoma State, which has won six of the eight previous Big 12 titles, and has four NCAA champions in its starting lineup, is indeed the favorite to win this conference championship again.
Even more importantly, how the wrestlers finish at the Big 12’s will determine who qualifies to go on to the NCAA national tournament, which is being held March 17-19 in St. Louis.
The Big 12 has set up a special web site for its annual wrestling championships, at:
Big 12 Wrestling Championships
This past Thursday, the coaches of all the Big 12 wrestling teams participated in a national teleconference call. Here are some of their main quotes, as provided by the Big 12:
Big 12 Conference Quick Quotes from Feb. 24, 2005, Wrestling Coaches Teleconference
Iowa State Coach Bobby Douglas:
This season has been a pleasant surprise, and we have had an overachieving team. The credit goes to my assistant coaches, and I’ll continue to play an administrative role and scouting role. That has worked well. The last dual meets with Nebraska and Missouri have been a lot like the intensity of the Big 12 tournament and the NCAA tournament.
As far as possible rules changes, we need to be part of the Olympic program and we not let freestyle wrestling disappear from the world program. Our main goal is to get our kids educated. We just need the resources and excess to compete on the international level. That’s the only reason I advocate rules changes like riding time. Riding time is illegal and debatable, and you can never keep riding time accurately.
Wrestling is the greatest tool to educating kids in our college system. The younger wrestling coaches are more progressive, and many coaches are going to training camps.
We don’t have one dominant wrestler. I think the national champion will come out of the Big 12 championships. It’s like 1965 when there were 5-6 teams that could win the NCAA championship, and this year’s champion will depend on injuries. Nate Gallick at 141 for us is one of 4-5 wrestlers who can win that class.
Missouri Coach Brian Smith:
It has been a tough year since we had 6-7 newcomers in the lineup. Traveling and competing and figuring out the team have been challenges. We have a better tournament team than a dual meet team this year. That’s the opposite of past years.
We are wrestling at our best right now and are excited about our chances for the tournament. Really, any one of the five teams has a chance at winning if things go the right way.
We have heard that the Qwest Center is a great arena. It will get us ready for the NCAA Championships in St. Louis because it’s a large venue and has a championship atmosphere.
Ben Askren (29-1 at 174) for us has lost only to Chris Pendleton of OSU and has 20 pins this year. He has set our career record for pins and is really competing at a high level. We hope that several of our wrestlers will compete in Omaha at a peak level.
Nebraska Coach Mark Manning:
We had a really good season (19-2-1 dual meets) and had great fight. We have a good overall team identity, great conditioning and work ethic. We’re anxious for the Big 12 Championships and hope to qualify all 10 guys for the NCAA tournament.
We have some guys on our team who are big point-getters. We have to have everyone perform and have to have everyone wrestle to their potential.
(Senior) B.J. Wright (157) is a determined kid, and he has made some changes from last year. He was a couple of seconds from being an All-American in 2004 as he lost a heartbreaker.
The toughest weight class in the Big 12 might be 165 or 141 from the top three guys in both those classes. 184 is a really tough weight, too, with 4-5 guys like Travis Pascoe (NU), Matt Pell (NU), Justin Dyer (OU), and Kurt Backes (ISU).
The new Qwest Center in Omaha is a great Big 12 championship venue, and we’re close to 2,000 pre-sold tickets. I predict a great crowd and a lot of interest in all teams.
Oklahoma Coach Jack Spates:
This has been an interesting season. We have a chance to compete well in the Big 12 tournament, and we had a couple of key wrestlers injured early in the year. Getting 10 in the NCAA tournament is a great challenge. We would love to get eight in the NCAA tournament, and a lot may continue as Wild Card entries.
There are not enough superlatives to talk about Sam Hazewinkel (32-0 at 125), and he’s just as great a kid off the mat as he is in competition. We have sports psychologists work with our kids, and they ask you to visualize yourself as a panther or a machine gun when you wrestle. Sam told us he visualizes himself as a child because children always have a lot of fun. He’s just a great kid out there competing and having fun.
You take a guy like Randy Sulaver at 165 with not a lot of athletic ability, and he has become a regular after our injuries. Randy almost quit the team last year, and we’re happy he stayed.
Joel Tapler (heavyweight) has worked extremely hard this year and wrestled Steve Mocco of OSU to a seven-point loss. He has been fantastic.
I like Omaha for the hospitality and venue, but I personally prefer a smaller venue on campus for the Big 12. We have been hearing great things about what Omaha has been doing, and it ought to be a great meet.
Oklahoma State Coach John Smith:
This has been a little bit of a different year. We have a wide range of athletes and go into the season trying to win the National Duals, the Big 12 and NCAA championship. We have put ourselves in a position at the end of the year to win the Big 12. It has been a great week for us to get a weekend off, our first since Christmas, and the kids’ preparation has been very good in practice this week. The schedule this season has been tough, and all the Big 12 teams have stepped up their games.
Wrestling Lehigh twice this season has been tough, and you look at Michigan and Illinois, and it may be one of the most competitive years nationally in a long time.
We want 10 competitors in the NCAA championships, and it’s going to be a tall order. We’ll have to wrestle better than we have all year. I’m for making sure that every conference has its share. When we’re leaving some 12-13-15-16-ranked kids in the country at home, and we want the best wrestlers in the country at the NCAAs.
Chris Pendleton (174) has had a very consistent year outside of one match (Waldhaus of Oklahoma had a very good match). I have seen a shift in motivation in him over the last 2-3 weeks. He has been inspiring and a wonderful leader for the team.
Steve Mocco is undefeated and competing well in the heavyweight class.
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