Wrestling Tripped at Oklahoma State

Sunday, January 30

Stillwater, Okla.

3:00 PM

NC State

Oklahoma State

1/30/2011 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling

Jan. 30, 2011

STILLWATER, Okla. — Fourth-ranked Oklahoma State won nine of 10 matches and rolled past NC State 43-3 in a dual match Sunday afternoon at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

 The Cowboys, who improved to 10-2-1 overall and started eight wrestlers ranked in the latest intermatwrestle.com poll, won one bout by forfeit, one by technical fall, two by major decision and three by pin. The Wolfpack, which lost for just the fourth time in its last 11 dual matches, fell to 8-6 overall.

 NC State’s one victory came from a familiar source. Two-time All-American, former national champion and top-ranked 149-pounder Darrion Caldwell hung a 3-1 decision on ninth-ranked Jamal Parks for NC State’s three points. Caldwell, who improved to 8-0, took Parks down with 12 seconds remaining in the first period for what proved to be the decisive points. Both wrestlers scored a point on escapes the remainder of the match and that was the extent of the scoring.

 For Caldwell, defeating a top 10 opponent is hardly big news. He is now 16-4 for his career vs. opponents ranked in the top 10, and 21-7 overall against ranked foes. He has won his last eight bouts against top-10 opponents, and 12 of his last 14.

Caldwell now is 102-12 for his career, good for an .895 winning percentage. Sylvester Terkay (1990-93) is NC State’s career leader for victories (122-14) and winning percentage (.897). Caldwell is second in both categories.

NC State got solid performances from 141-pounder Darrius Little and heavyweight Eloheim Palma in losing causes. Little dropped a 4-0 decision to 16th-ranked Josh Kindig, whose margin of victory came on a takedown with 46 seconds left in the first period, an escape to begin the second, and a point for riding time.

At heavyweight, OSU’s Blake Rosholt took a 7-3 decision over Palma, but held just a 4-3 lead entering the third period. Rosholt began the final stanza in the down position, escaped with 1:16 remaining for a two-point lead, then took Palma down 10 seconds later for the four-point margin of victory.

NC State will return to action next weekend. The Pack will travel to Chapel Hill to take on North Carolina on Friday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m., then will host Old Dominion on Saturday, Feb. 5. The ODU match will begin at 7 p.m.

#4 Oklahoma State 43, NC State 3
125 - Ladd Rupp (OSU) won by forfeit
133 - #1 Jordan Oliver (OSU) pinned Dale Shull at 2:45 
141 - #16 Josh Kindig (OSU) dec. Darrius Little, 4-0
149 - #1 Darrion Caldwell (NCS) dec. #9 Jamal Parks, 3-1
157 - #15 Neil Erisman (OSU) technical fall Matt Nereim, 18-2
165 - #13 Dallas Bailey (OSU) major dec. Colin Genthert, 15-2
174 - #15 Mike Benefiel (OSU) major dec. Quinton Godley, 13-2 
184 - #14 Chris Perry (OSU) pinned Nijel Jones at 2:32
197 - #3 Clayton Foster (OSU) pinned KaRonne Jones at 2:42
285 - Blake Rosholt (OSU) dec. Eloheim Palma, 7-3