Cowboys battle the Big 12

With the dual season behind them, 10 Oklahoma State wrestlers are looking forward to the Big 12 Championship and the opportunity to solidify a spot in the NCAA tournament.

The Cowboys travel to Norman, where they will battle four talented Big 12 teams at 11 a.m. Saturday in McCasland Fieldhouse.

The fourth-ranked Cowboy's stiffest competition will come from second-ranked defending Big 12 champions Iowa State.

The Cyclones, who shared the 2009 Big 12 title with Nebraska, are looking to topple the competition as they bring nine top-20 wrestlers to the tournament led by top-ranked 2009 NCAA champion Jake Varner.

Nebraska, which is the only unranked team in the tournament, appears to have the most difficult road ahead as they bring seven wrestlers who will compete in their first Big 12 Championship.

Experience has typically been a decisive factor in the tournament and for two of the toughest weight classes in the conference, OSU is bringing polar opposites.

At 197 pounds, eighth-ranked sophomore Alan Gelogaev will have his hands full as he competes in his first Big 12 Championship against a weight class that features the top-two wrestlers along with the sixth and tenth-ranked wrestlers at that weight class.

On the other end of the spectrum is senior Jared Rosholt who is competing in his fourth and final Big 12 tournament. Rosholt won the tournament in 2008 and was runner-up his freshman season in 2007.

Like Gelogaev, Rosholt is competing at a weight class that is teeming with talent. And both wrestlers are at weight classes where all five competitors are guaranteed spots in the NCAA Championship.

"I think that it's likely you could see the champion at the NCAA tournament come out of the Big 12 in both those weight classes," OSU coach John Smith said. "For us, it's definitely two weight classes that are important for us in the conference tournament as far as having any kind of chance of winning."

For Rosholt, the Big 12 Championship is an opportunity to face similar, if not better, competition as what he will see at the NCAA Championships.
Rosholt said the fact that he is guaranteed a spot in the tournament relieves some of the pressure that accompanies a wrestler who is fighting to continue his season.

"Unless you're in a position where you can't go to the nationals, Big 12 can be a big tournament, but at heavyweight we're probably all going to go," Rosholt said. "The Big 12 is pretty much a warm up for nationals in my mind."

One OSU wrestler's Big 12 experience will be much more stressful as freshman Jordan Oliver is fighting to capture one of the two automatic NCAA bids at 133 pounds. However, seventh-ranked Nick Fanthorpe of Iowa State and sixteenth-ranked Kendric Maple of Oklahoma are looking to score upsets and hand Oliver his first Big 12 loss.