Cowboy Wrestling Hosts No. 19 Cal Poly

No. 4 Cowboys vs. No. 19 Cal Poly

Jan. 2, 2010 :: 7 p.m. CT :: Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,611 capacity)

The Basics

After breaking for the holidays, the fourth-ranked Oklahoma State wrestling team (3-0-1 overall) returns to action when it hosts No. 19 Cal Poly at 7 p.m. on Jan. 2 in Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Ticket Information

Season tickets for OSU wrestling cost $75 for the general public and $60 for OSU faculty & staff and senior citizens. OSU students are admitted free with ID.

Tickets for the Cal Poly dual cost $10 with the group rate $6 per person in a group of 15 or more. The group rate is only available if booked in advance.

Gameday Promotions vs. Cal Poly

OSU Students can enter an orange VESPA S50 drawing with their student ID in east lobby of Gallagher Iba Arena at Orange Rewards table. Special thanks to Amy & Malone Mitchell for their generous donation to make this program possible.

Youth/Club Teams and family members will get $6 admission. Must be booked in advance at 744-3067.

On The Air

The dual will be aired live on KSPI 93.7 FM radio in Stillwater with Rex Holt and Roger Moore on the call.

Watch The Dual Live

Fans can watch the dual live online at okstate.com. Simply go to the site, then click on “Multimedia” and roll your mouse over to “Live Events” on the left-hand side and scroll down to the dual of your choice and click the link to the video feed.

The video feed also includes the audio from the radio broadcast.

Live Stats And Play-by-Play

Fans can also follow the action online through live results and play-by-play on www.okstate.com. Simply go to the main wrestling site and click the link to the primary story on the page.

Last Meeting vs. Cal Poly – Oklahoma State 37, Cal Poly 6

Dec. 16, 2008 :: San Luis Obispo, Calif.

125: No. 15 Obenson Blanc (OSU) wins by forfeit

133: Chris Notte (OSU) dec. Jake Tanenbaum (CP); 6-0

141: Jamal Parks (OSU) dec. No. 19 Filip Novachkov (CP); 8-7

149: Eric Maldonado (CP) dec. Quinten Fuentes (OSU); 4-2

157: No. 12 Chase Pami (CP) dec. No. 10 Newly McSpadden (OSU); 3-1

165: No. 12 Brandon Mason (OSU) TF5 Joel Shaw (CP); 17-0, 3:37

174: Kevin Wainscott (OSU) dec. Ryan DesRoches (CP); 6-4

184: Jared Shelton (OSU) TF5 Ryan Smith (CP); 16-0, 6:02

197: No. 11 Clayton Foster (OSU) fall Bo Lukehart (CP); 6:10

285: No. 1 Jared Rosholt (OSU) fall Kelan Bragg (CP); 1:38

Series Capsule vs. Cal Poly

Series Record: OSU leads, 27-0-0

In Stillwater: OSU leads, 13-0-0

In San Luis Obispo: OSU leads, 11-0-0

At Neutral: OSU leads, 3-0-0

First Meeting (2/7/69): OSU 26, Cal Poly 12

Last Meeting (12/16/08): OSU 37, Cal Poly 6

John Smith vs. Cal Poly: 12-0-0

John Azevedo vs. Oklahoma State: 0-6-0

Familiar Face Comes Home

Cal Poly assistant coach Mark Perry, Jr., will be making his first trip to Stillwater as an opposing coach when the Mustangs battle the Cowboys. Perry is the nephew of Oklahoma State coach John Smith and the older brother of Cowboy freshman 184-pounder Chris Perry. A Stillwater native, Perry was a two-time NCAA champion and four-time All-American wrestling for Iowa from 2005-08. His father, Mark Perry, Sr., was a two-time All-American and a two-time Big Eight champion wrestling for the Cowboys from 1981-85.

Last Time Out – Cowboys Win Reno Tournament of Champions

The Oklahoma State wrestling team won its second straight team title at the Reno Tournament of Champions by storming through the field on Dec. 20. The fourth-ranked Cowboys finished with 154 team points, a total that was 68.5 points greater than second-place Edinboro. Sophomore 174-pounder Mike Benefiel was singled out as the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler.

In addition to Benefiel, individual champions for Oklahoma State included 133-pounder Jordan Oliver, 141-pounder Jamal Parks, 197-pounder Alan Gelogaev and heavyweight Jared Rosholt.

Benefiel Has a Smashing Debut

Making his varsity debut for Oklahoma State last week, sophomore Mike Benefiel was singled out as the Outstanding Wrestler of the Reno Tournament of Champions after pinning second-seeded Ryan DesRoches of Cal Poly in the first period of the championship bout. That result was indicative of Benefiel’s day as a whole, as he recorded two falls and two major decisions in his conquest of the bracket. Not counting his two falls, Benefiel racked up at least 13 points in each of his bouts in Reno.

Benefiel redshirted as a true freshman at Northwestern in 2007-08 before transferring to St. Louis CC in Meramec, Mo. Benefiel enrolled at Northern Oklahoma College for summer school in 2009 before coming to OSU in time for the fall, 2009 semester.

Rosholt Approaches OSU Career Top 25

Senior Jared Rosholt, already a Big 12 champion and two-time All-American, continues to etch his name into the OSU record books.

Rosholt claimed his 100th career win when he toppled No. 10 Ben Berhow of Minnesota by an 8-6 score in sudden victory on Dec. 4,

With 106 wins now under his belt, he is only four wins away from cracking into the all-time top 25 at OSU.

Cowboy Upper Weights Mean Business

As many observers expected going into the season, the upper weights at Oklahoma State have been a strong point.

The quartet of 174-pounder Mike Benefiel, 184-pounder Clayton Foster, 197-pounder Alan Gelogaev and heavyweight Jared Rosholt has combined to string together a 59-3 overall record and a 11-1 dual match mark.

OSU Starters Are Bonus Point Specialists

Oklahoma State wrestlers have not only been winning individual bouts this year, they have been dominating. With 48 combined pins, the 10 wrestlers who comprise the Cowboys’ starting lineup have already exceeded the season pin total of last year’s starting lineup.

The OSU starters have combined to rack up bonus points in 80 of their 142 victories this season (56.3 percent).

Parks Getting Results vs. The Ranked

Sophomore 141-pounder Jamal Parks has won his last three bouts against ranked opponents. The Tulsa Union HS graduate was a 5-3 winner over No. 12 Zack Bailey of Oklahoma on Dec. 1 before coming back to hand No. 10 Mike Thorn of Minnesota a 4-1 defeat on Dec. 4. He added a 3-2 win over No. 10 Chris Drouin of Arizona State in the semifinals at the Reno Tournament of Champions.

Meade Takes Home Wrestler of the Week Honor

After his upset win over No. 2 Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota on Dec. 4, Oklahoma State redshirt freshman 165-pounder Alex Meade was recognized as the Big 12 wrestler of the week for the first time in his young career.

Winning Is The Family Business

Jared Rosholt is the second member of his family to hit the 100 career win mark at OSU, as older brother Jake was 104-21 from 2003-06.

The only other set of brothers to win 100 for the Cowboys were the Smiths. John’s 152-8-2 record from 1984-88 leads all OSU wrestlers, with brother Pat going 122-4-2 from 1990-94 and Lee Roy going 114-13-4 from 1977-80.

Speaking Of Family…

John Smith is coaching a pair of his nephews this year in true freshmen Chris Perry and Zach White. Perry is the son of John’s sister, Cathy and White is the son of Smith’s sister Mary Ann.

Both Perry and White are expected to redshirt this season.

Trading Spaces

Three returning OSU starters from last year are suiting up at new weight classes this year, with Chris Notte moving from 133 pounds to 125 pounds, Chris McNeil moving from 184 pounds to 174 pounds and Clayton Foster moving from 197 pounds to 184 pounds.

All three were NCAA qualifiers last year, but are cutting down this year as a result of the increased talent in the OSU wrestling room.

Red, White and OSU

A quartet of Cowboys represented the United States on the international scene during the summer of 2009, with John Smith coaching the USA senior freestyle team at the FILA World Championships in Herning, Denmark, head assistant coach Eric Guerrero serving as head coach for Team USA at the FILA junior freestyle world championships in Ankara, Turkey and Jordan Oliver and Chris Perry both suiting up for Team USA at the FILA junior freestyle world championships.

Oliver won bronze in the 60-kilogram bracket and Perry placed sixth in the 84-kilogram bracket at junior worlds.

Foster Has Team USA Experience As Well

Though he did not suit up in the Stars and Stripes this past summer, 184-pounder Clayton Foster represented the USA at the 2008 FILA junior world freestyle championships and had a nice showing, winning the bronze medal at the event.

Call Him “Z”

Oklahoma State 197-pounder Alan Gelogaev is one of the most talked-about wrestlers in the country.

Born in Chechenya, Gelogaev claims Moscow, Russia as his hometown. Prior to enrolling at OSU, he trained for five years under Russian wrestling legend and nine-time world champion Buvaisar Saitiev in Siberia.

During his training in Siberia, he connected with former Cowboy Olympian Daniel Cormier and followed Cormier to Stillwater, where he is now mentored by six-time world champion John Smith.

His nickname, “Z” comes from his middle name, Zelim.

Fargo Champions Everywhere

The 2009-10 Oklahoma State roster includes a staggering seven different Fargo junior freestyle national champions. The list:

Clayton Foster 2006

Albert White 2006

Mike Benefiel 2007

Jon Morrison 2007

Jordan Oliver 2007

Jamal Parks 2007

Chris Perry 2008