NU v OST

[Eric the Red]

No. 3 Husker wrestlers drop dual to No. 2 Oklahoma State

 

Saturday, Feb 04, 2006 - 12:46:44 am CST

 

Lincoln Journal Star

 

When facing a highly ranked rival, momentum can be a fickle ally.

 

The Nebraska wrestling team learned that lesson on Friday night in Stillwater, Okla., when second-ranked Oklahoma State earned a 27-15 win against the No. 3 Huskers.

 

Zack Esposito opened the match with a technical fall win against uranked Husker Robert Sanders at 149 pounds.

 

Then, NU redshirt freshman Chris Oliver gained a big victory at 157 pounds.

 

Oliver, ranked 16th, gained a late reversal against former Big 12 champion Kevin Ward and held on for a 3-1 victory that cut OSU’s team lead to 5-3. Ward had beaten Oliver 7-1 three weeks ago in the Cowboys’ 20-14 victory at the National Duals.

 

But Oklahoma State won the next three matches, two of them wins against higher-rated Huskers, to open up a 15-3 advantage.

 

“We lost a couple of matches (at 174 and 184 pounds) that we could have just as easily won,” Nebraska coach Mark Manning said in a telephone interview Friday night. “We win those matches and it’s 21-21.

 

“Our kids fought pretty well tonight, especially Chris Oliver getting a huge win. We just didn’t have enough of those, obviously. That happens when you have a young team.”

 

Right after Oliver’s win, OSU’s No. 2-ranked Johny Hendricks gained a 10-2 major decision over 15th-ranked Marc Harwood at 165.

 

Then came upsets that turned the tide in the Cowboys’ favor.

 

At 174, 11th-rated Brandon Mason got a 4-0 win against NU’s No. 3 Jacob Klein at 174, and unranked Rusty Blackmon beat 10th-rated Husker Vince Jones 8-4 at 184 to give the Cowboys a commanding 15-3 advantage heading into the main-event match of the night.

 

Husker B.J. Padden, ranked fifth at 197 pounds, pulled off a shocker, pinning two-time NCAA champion Jake Rosholt in 5 minutes, 49 seconds, cutting OSU’s lead to 15-9.

 

“That was a great match into the third period,” Manning said. “B.J. kept wrestling, wore his opponent down and pinned him when the score was 5-5.”

 

Second-ranked OSU heavyweight Steve Mocco quickly gained those six team points back by pinning NU’s 17th-ranked Jon May in 42 seconds.

 

OSU got a pair of decisions to take a 27-9 lead and seal the victory.

 

Husker Dominick Moyer, ranked No. 19, finished the meet with a pinfall in 3:48 against unranked Justin Porter at 141.