Tulsa World: Cowboy tradition continues

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Cowboy tradition continues
OSU now has 51 who've wrestled for Team USA.

Daniel Cormier

By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist
Published: 6/19/2008 2:16 AM
Last Modified: 6/19/2008 3:34 AM

OSU now has 51 who've wrestled for Team USA.

Steve Mocco and Daniel Cormier are carrying on a grand Olympic legacy for Oklahoma State wrestling.

Mocco and Cormier won spots on the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team during the USA Team Trials on Sunday in Las Vegas.

The two former Cowboys raise the total number of OSU wrestling Olympians to 51, a staggering number for any school in any sport.

"It is a great tradition," said OSU coach John Smith, an Olympic gold medalist in 1988 and 1992. "It is a tradition that now continues through to 2008 with these two games.

"As the coach here, it is a tradition we're very proud of at Oklahoma State. I like to look back at the record books and see all of the former OSU wrestlers who have done great things in the Olympics. We've been sending wrestlers to the Olympics from OSU since 1924 with just a couple of breaks over the years. It is great."

And if the odds remain the same, Mocco and Cormier will have about a 25 percent chance of winning a gold medal.

OSU wrestlers have brought home 12 gold medals.

"That tradition is huge to me," Cormier said. "Olympic wrestling and Oklahoma State go hand-in-hand. We enjoy that history. But getting there is just part of it. We want to win medals.

"As an Oklahoma State wrestler, we kind of expect it. Just getting there is not the end of it."

Mocco, an NCAA champion at OSU, will try to extend the tradition of OSU heavyweights in the Olympics. The tradition at heavyweight extends back more than 80 years.

"I'm aware of the history of OSU heavyweights," Mocco said. "I know what those guys have done over the years. It is a very strong tradition. OSU seems to always have an Olympic heavyweight.

"I'm excited to be a part of it. You just look back at all of the Olympic teams and you see all of the OSU wrestlers."

Cormier made his second Olympic team. In 2004 at Athens, he finished fourth .

Cormier is just the fourth OSU wrestler to make two or more U.S. Olympic teams. The others were Smith, Tulsan Kenny Monday and Mustang's Kendall Cross.

All three previous two-time Olympians from OSU have at least one gold medal.

A fifth OSU wrestler, Yojiro Uetake, won two Olympic gold medals for Japan.

"That is a great accomplishment to make the Olympic team a second time," Smith said. "It is a great accomplishment for any athlete but especially in wrestling.

"I think maybe back in 2004 Daniel was just happy to make the team. Now, he can't allow himself to be satisfied. He has to refocus to win the gold medal. Making the team was just a part of the process."

Smith believes both are medal candidates. Both have a shot.

"In wrestling, this is your opportunity," Smith said. "You only get this opportunity every four years."

Guy Lookabaugh was OSU's first Olympic wrestler when he finished fourth for the USA in the 1924 Olympics.

Jack Van Bebber and Bobby Pearce became the first OSU wrestlers to win Olympic gold medals in the 1932 Olympics.

John Klein 581-8368
john.klein@tulsaworld.com
By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist

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