Oregon State
Oklahoma St
Cooley Earns Upset Win In Oregon State Loss
December 17, 1999 | Wrestling
Dec. 17, 1999
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State's Jason Cooley, ranked 10th in the country at heavyweight, upset sixth-ranked David Anderton on Friday night but the 20th-ranked Beavers lost to third-ranked Oklahoma State 29-6 in a non-league wrestling dual meet at Gill Coliseum. Oregon State (1-2 overall, 1-1 Pacific-10) will be at Southern Oregon on Saturday night for a dual meet against the team ranked fourth nationally in the NAIA.
The Beavers managed two wins against an Oklahoma State (3-0-1, 1-0-1 Big 12) lineup that features a wrestler at every weight who is nationally-ranked by at least one of the two major polls. Besides Cooley's 10-8 decision over Anderton, Oregon State's fifth-ranked Eric Jorgensen took a 9-7 decision over 15th-ranked Shane Roller at 157 pounds before a crowd of 1,217.
"Oklahoma State wrestled really well," Oregon State head coach Joe Wells said. "They seized the momentum. They did the basic things better than we did ... they had two or three wrestlers who were super athletes, but we just needed to do a few things differently."
Cooley, outweighed by 60 pounds against Anderton, gained an immediate advantage when he scored a takedown just 15 seconds into their match. Cooley still held a 7-5 lead when he chose to start the third period in a neutral position, and Anderton evened the match with a takedown with 1:34 remaining.
Cooley scored a reversal just 12 seconds later to go back in front 9-7, then Anderton cut the gap to 9-8 when he escaped with 41 seconds left. Neither wrestler scored from then on until Cooley was awarded his point for riding time.
"He's a thrower, and he's dangerous in the first round," Cooley said of Anderton. "He's got eight pins, and most of those have come in the first round. I wanted to stay away from his underhooks, stay solid and wrestle my match."
Cooley, who won his sixth straight match to improve to 11-2 this season, was also able to handle the challenge of not being overwhelmed by superior size.
"I wrestle (teammate) Andy Bowlby every day, and he's a great person to have in the room," Cooley said. "The same with (graduate assistant coach and former OSU heavyweight) Mat Orndorff. I get a lot of work against big guys. A lot of it is technique - you keep your head up and your hips in. You can't get extended against those guys or they flatten you out."
At 157 pounds, Jorgensen was still in a 6-6 tie after Roller escaped with 24 seconds left in the second period. But Jorgensen scored a takedown with 10 seconds left in the period to take the lead for good at 8-6, giving him his 13th straight win and a 13-1 record this season.
The Beavers had several other close matches that went Oklahoma State's way.
At 133 pounds, Ben Richards lost 8-6 to seventh-ranked Charles Walker but Richards was within 7-6 when he scored a reversal and three-point near fall in the final six seconds of the second period. At 125, 17th-ranked Nathan Navarro was beaten 6-3 by 16th-ranked Jeff Ragan after the score had been tied 3-3 entering the third period. At 184, Isaac Weber lost a tough 2-0 decision to 16th-ranked Pat Popolizio and at 174, Nathan Coy fell 4-0 to Tony Gansen in a match that was scoreless entering the third period.
NO. 3 OKLAHOMA STATE 29, NO. 20 OREGON STATE 6
(Current Amateur Wrestling News national rankings in parentheses)
149 - (3) Reggie Wright, Okla. St., tech. fall Andy Frey, Ore. St., 25-10 (7:00). 157 - (5) Eric Jorgensen, Ore. St., dec. (15) Shane Roller, Okla. St., 9-7. 165 - (9) Ty Wilcox, Okla. St., tech. fall Don Kersey, Ore. St., 18-3 (7:00). 174 - Tony Gansen, Okla. St., dec. Nathan Coy, Ore. St., 4-0. 184 - (16) Pat Popolizio, Okla. St., dec. Isaac Weber, Ore. St., 2-0. 197 - (3) Mark Munoz, Okla. St., major dec. Clint Wilson, Ore. St., 19-8. HWT - (10) Jason Cooley, Ore. St., dec. (6) David Anderton, Okla. St., 10-8. 125 - (16) Jeff Ragan, Okla. St., dec. (17) Nathan Navarro, Ore. St., 6-3. 133 -(7) Charles Walker, Okla. St., dec. (19) Ben Richards, Ore. St., 8-6. 141 - (4) Jamill Kelly, Okla. St., major dec. Shane Cunanan, Ore. St., 17-7.
