Friday, January 27, 2012

Oklahoma State & Bucknell Previews



We leave Binghamton today for Stillwater, Oklahoma.  On Sunday, we wrestle the #1 ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys at 2PM.  Then, we wrestle the Bucknell Bison around 5:30PM.  The matches should be webstreamed here.  A subscription to CBS All-Access is required (minimal charge).  There should be several interesting matches on Sunday.  Let’s take a look at each team…

Oklahoma State is one of the most storied teams in college wrestling.  They hold the all-time college wrestling win record and are the gold standard in college wrestling.  They have won 34 team national championships, produced 134 NCAA National Champions, and 425 individual NCAA All-Americans, all of which are the highest of any team in the country.  In fact, they hold more NCAA Wrestling team championships than any school in any sport.  They are led by six-time world champion John Smith and enter the dual with all ten wrestlers nationally ranked and ranked 1st in the country as a team.  They currently stand at 8-0 on the season.

125 – Jon Morrison is a sophomore ranked 10th in the country.  Morrison is a returning National Qualifier who sports a 12-4 record on the season.  He won the Reno Tournament of Champions in December.  In November, he finished 2nd behind teammate Ladd Rupp at the Central Missouri Open.  He is a very solid all-around wrestler who wrestles at a high pace.

133 – Jordan Oliver is a junior ranked 3rd in the country.  He is a returning NCAA National Champion and two-time All-American.  He is 12-1 on the season and went 29-0 on his way to a national title last season.  He finished 4th in the country as a freshman.  Of his twelve wins this year, ten are by pin (eight in the first period) and the other two wins were technical falls.  He leads the Cowboys in takedowns, falls, and near fall points.  He won the Reno Tournament of Champions in December and was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.  Oliver was considered a favorite to win the Hodge Trophy this year for best college wrestler before being upset by Ramos of Iowa.  He is lightning quick on his feet and can score in a variety of ways offensively.  He is as good on top as anyone in the country.

141 – Josh Kindig is a sophomore ranked 8th in the country.  He is a returning national qualifier who took 5th in the FILA Junior World Championships last year.  He has a 9-5 record on the season.  He finished 3rd at the Reno Tournament of Champions this year.  Kindig is very slick on his feet offensively and is tough to score on defensively.   He is also very good on top.

149 – Jamal Parks is senior ranked 2nd in the country.  He is a returning All-American who placed 5th last season.  He has won two Big 12 Championships in his career and has an 18-0 record with a team leading eight major decisions.  He has 107 career wins and should move to #27 on the Cowboy’s All-Time win list tonight (they have a dual meet with NC State tonight).  He won the Reno Tournament of Champions in December and the Central Missouri Open in November.  Parks is one of the most explosive athletes in the sport and has very good leg attacks.  He is also very difficult to score on.

157 – Albert White is a senior ranked 14th in the country.  He won a junior college national championship prior to transferring to Oklahoma State.  Two seasons ago he went 9-0 before falling to an injury.  Last season, he went 11-3 on the year.  He finished 5th at the Reno Tournament of Champions this past December and 1st at the Central Missouri Open.  White has good reshots and like to shoot a double.

165 – Dallas Bailey is a sophomore ranked #24 in the country.  He only has a 9-7 record so far this year but went 23-9 last season and was seeded 6th at the NCAA Championships.  He has competed in two tournaments this season, taking 2nd at both the Reno Tournament of Champions and the Central Missouri Open (where he lost to teammate Chris Chionuma in the finals).  Bailey has not opened up offensively a lot this year but is capable of scoring on anyone.  He is a good counter attacker.

174 – Chris Perry has dropped down to 174 from 184 pounds and is ranked 3rd in the country as just a sophomore.  He won both the Reno Tournament of Champions and the Central Missouri Open this year at 184 pounds.  He is an unblemished 14-0 on the season.  Last season, he was a Big 12 Champion and finished in the top twelve at the NCAA Championships.  Perry moves and flows well.  He is tough on top and attacks a lot.

184 – Chris McNeil is a senior ranked #26 in the country.  He is 11-5 on the season and had a stretch earlier this year that he went 7-1.  He has a tournament title at the Central Missouri Open to his credit at 174 pounds this season.  McNeil has not spent a lot of time in the OSU line-up the last few years as he has not been a full-time starter since he qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2009 as a freshman.  He has a quick shot.

197 – OSU has started two wrestlers this season at 197 pounds.  Earlier in the year, Cayle Byers, (a transfer from George Mason University) was ranked as high as 2nd in the country.  He is 12-3 on the season and finished in the top twelve at the NCAA nationals in 2009.  He is a two-time national qualifier and is tough on top.  However, Blake Rosholt beat Byers at the Reno Tournament of Champions and has been starting ever since.  Rosholt is ranked 9th in the country currently and sports a 15-1 record.  His only loss is an early season loss to Byers.  Rosholt is a sophomore who qualified for the NCAA National Tournament last season and is solid all around.  Byers and Rosholt were in the finals together of both the Reno Tournament of Champions and the Central Missouri Open, where they traded their wins.

HWT – Alan Gelogaev is a junior ranked 3rd in the country.  He has an 18-1 record on the season with a tournament championship at the Central Missouri Open.  He also finished 3rd at the Reno Tournament of Champions this season.  He leads the team in bonus point wins with 13.  He came from Russia where he grew-up wrestling freestyle and took 3rd at the Russian Nationals in 2006.  He was an All-American in 2010, placing 7th in his second year wrestling folkstyle.  He sat-out last season with an injury.  He is very good upper body and has some nice throws from an overhook.

Bucknell is 2-11 on the season and led by seventh-year head coach, Dan Wirnsberger. 

125 – Austin Miller has the best record on the team with a 15-8 mark on the season.  He is ranked #27 in the country currently.  He is just a freshman but has won six of his last eight bouts.  Miller finished 2nd at the early season Navy Classic.

133 – Shawn Armato is 2-14 on the season and is a freshman.

141 – Derrik Russell is 8-12 on the season and is a junior.  He has seen time in the Bison line-up each of the last two years and produced twenty eight wins so far in his career.  He was 6th at the Navy Classic earlier this season.

149 – Alex Pellicciotti is 9-8 on the season.  He is a sophomore and a returning starter for the Bison.  He finished 3rd earlier this season at the Navy Classic.

157 – John Regan has one of the best records on the team with a 12-8 record.  Regan is a senior leader for Bucknell.  He was injured last season but picked up 22 wins and placed at the EIWA Championships in 2010.  He won the Navy Classic earlier this season.

165 – Corey Lear is a junior with an 8-5 record with six bonus point wins on the year.  He racked up 24 wins last year and placed at the EIWA Championships.  He did not compete first semester for the Bison.  He finished in the top twelve at the prestigious Midlands Championships in December.

174 – Stephen McPeek is second on the team in wins with a 13-13 record.  He is a sophomore and a returning starter.  McPeek finished 4th at the Navy Classic this season.

184 – Jamie Westwood is 7-13 so far during his sophomore year.  He has a solid showing at the Navy Classic, finishing 3rd.

197 – Joe McMullan is 7-5 on the season as junior.  He is a three year starter and former EIWA place winner.

HWT – Tyler Lyster is 7-16 on the season as a freshman.

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