Bedlam mat recap
Published: 2/22/2008 12:11 AM
Last Modified: 2/22/2008 12:11 AM
The following opinion will not sit well in Stillwater. You certainly will not hear it from John Smith or any of his wrestlers in the orange singlets.
But Thursday night's result was the best thing for the future of Bedlam wrestling, and possibly the best thing for the Oklahoma State wrestling program this season.
Oklahoma's 18-15 win Thursday in Norman ended the nearly 13-year losing streak the Sooners endured in the series. The Sooners were the better team on this night. Now, OU will not have to enter future Bedlam matches hearing talk of a decade of despair in the series. It was becoming a tired storyline.
The OU program still has a long ways to go to narrow the gap between itself and OSU, and frankly the other three wrestling programs in the Big 12 Conference. But Thursday night indicated that OU wrestling has not hit rock bottom as some followers of the sport, including those wearing orange, had thought.
The Cowboys will have to hear about Thursday night's outcome for the next two weeks. I bet Smith will constantly remind his team of this performance between now and the March 8 Big 12 Championships in Stillwater.
Smith sensed trouble was in the offering well before the team loaded on the bus for the drive to Norman. The lethargic attitude OSU had on the mat was evident in preparations, Smith admitted after the match. More concerning for Smith is whether his team can truly make a push for either the Big 12 or national championship in March.
The Cowboys have five definite qualifiers for the NCAA meet in Coleman Scott (133), Nathan Morgan (141), Jake Dieffenbach (165), Brandon Mason (174) and Jared Rosholt (heavyweight). But the other five wrestlers in the OSU lineup will have to finish in the top three in their weight divisions at the league meet to qualify for the NCAA. OSU could get one or two qualified via the wild-card vote process, but Smith never wants to take that chance. He wants his wrestlers to earn the trip to St. Louis.
After Thursday night's showing, Smith has all the needed ammunition to motivate his team to accomplish that objective.
--- Matt Doyle
Written by
Bill Haisten
Sports Writer
