Cowboy Wrestling Cruises To 25-13 Bedlam Victory

The No. 2 ranked Oklahoma State wrestling team cruised to a 25-13 Bedlam victory over Oklahoma Sunday afternoon.

OSU's win is its fourth-straight over the Sooners and the Cowboys improved the all-time series mark to 129-26-10.

"I thought this was going to be a tougher match," coach John Smith said. "I thought there could be some battle matches. They have a lot of guys in the middle of the road that are pretty competitive. If you would've told me that we were going to win it 25-13, I probably would've thought it was a good match on our part. After watching it and being exposed to a couple of areas, especially down wrestling, we just really struggled."

Oklahoma State's Jordan Oliver and Cayle Byers were big contributors with a pair of take downs on the afternoon.

Oliver's fall came in just 1:30 after a handful of takedowns, including one in the first second of the bout. The junior moves to 3-0 on the year and his pin over OU's Derek Geiges marks his third first-period fall of the season.

"I'm just trying to get out there and get bonus points for the team," Oliver said. "I want to put points on the board and make guys wrestle, not letting them just stand around. I'm just feeling a lot more comfortable getting on top of guys. If a cradle or pin is there, I'm going to take it."

Byer's pin over OU's Keldrick Hall came in more dramatic fashion. Holding on to a 2-0 lead late in the final period, he was able to turn Hall with less than 30 seconds left and earn the fall in 6:41. His bonus-point win marked his seventh of the year and it built the Cowboys' dual lead to an out-of-reach 15-6.

"I wanted to score in the first period this match, but I just wasn't creating angles," Byers said. "I figured if I kept putting pressure on him the conditioning would do the rest."

Senior Jamal Parks began the dual for Cowboys with a 4-3 decision over No. 11 Nick Lester at 149 pounds. Parks earned a takedown in the first and second periods to take a 4-3 lead into the third and successfully fought off Lester's attempt to turn him throughout the final two minutes.

Oklahoma won four bouts on the day including Matt Lester's 8-3 win over OSU's Albert White. Lester, ranked No. 11 among 157 pounders, evened the score after he earned two 3-point near falls in the second period to defeat No. 9 ranked White. Lester trailed 2-1 after the first period, but knotted six points in the second and two in the third off an escape and 3:05 of riding time.

Bubby Graham defeated Dallas Bailey 6-2, No. 4 Jarrod Patterson defeated Jon Morrison 4-0 in the 125 pound match and in the 141 pound class No. 6 Kendrick maple defeated No. 9 Josh Kindig 13-3.

"Again, we found out what we need to work on going forward," said OU head coach Mark Cody. "Our preparation is right on the money at this point of the season. We were right in there. Coming into this dual I thought it was going to be very close and certainly much closer than it was. You can't go out and give up pins and takedowns. We have a lot to work on and I look forward to the next time that we see Oklahoma State."

Other Cowboy wins included a 5-3 decision from senior Chris McNeil over OU's Nolan McBryde at 174 pounds, a 7-1 decision from Chris Perry over OU's Erich Schmidtke at 184 pounds and 15-2 major decision from junior Alan Gelogaev over OU's Kyle Colling at heavyweight.

The Sooners have two weeks off before traveling to Chicago, Ill., to compete in the Midlands Championships from Dec. 29-30.

The Cowboys are scheduled to return to action Dec. 18 when they travel to Reno, Nev., for the Reno Tournament of Champions.

Bout Results:
(Dual started at 149 pounds)

149: No. 2 Jamal Parks (OSU) dec. No. 11 Nick Lester (OU); 4-3
157: No. 11 Matt Lester (OU) dec. No. 9 Albert White (OSU); 8-3
165: Bubby Graham (OU) dec. No. 16 Dallas Bailey (OSU); 6-2
174: Chris McNeil (OSU) dec. Nolan McBryde (OU); 5-3
184: No. 6 Chris Perry (OSU) dec. No. 13 Erich Schmidtke (OU); 7-1
197: No. 4 Cayle Byers (OSU) fall Keldrick Hall (OU); 6:41
285: No. 3 Alan Gelogaev (OSU) MD Kyle Colling (OU); 15-2
125: No. 4 Jarrod Patterson (OU) dec. Jon Morrison (OSU); 4-0
133: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (OSU) fall Derek Geiges (OU); 1:30
141: No. 6 Kendric Maple (OU) MD No. 9 Josh Kindig (OSU); 13-3