WRESTLING NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS : Oklahoma State Wins Title Again

Oklahoma State won two individual titles and made a strong showing in the consolation round to gain its second consecutive title Saturday at the 60th NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.

The Cowboys built an 8 1/2-point lead during the afternoon session, after opening the day tied with Arizona State, and clinched their 29th title when Oklahoma’s Joe Reynolds defeated ASU’s Thom Ortiz, 7-3, at 142 pounds.

Oklahoma State had clinched the championship before its first finalist set foot on the mat. Freshman Pat Smith, top-seeded at 158, won an 11-7 decision over Scott Schleicher of Navy. Defending 177-pound champion Chris Barnes of OSU repeated with a 10-2 decision over Minnesota’s Marty Morgan. Iowa also won two individual titles but was nosed out by Arizona State for second place. Oklahoma State finished with 117.75 points, ASU 104.75, and Iowa 102.75.

The Hawkeye individual championships were won by Terry Brands, at 126 pounds, who beat Nebraska’s Jason Kelber, 3-2; and his twin brother Tom Brands, at 134 pounds, beating top-seeded Dave Zuniga of Minnesota, 9-7.

Cal State Fullerton finished 24th, the highest finish ever for the Titan team.

Fullerton heavyweight David Jones, ranked ninth nationally before the tournament, lost to Jon Llewellyn of Illinois, 8-5, in a third-place match.

Jones had defeated Llewellyn, 7-6, in Friday’s quarterfinals before losing to Penn State’s Greg Haladay on a criteria decision in the semifinals. Jones defeated Navy’s Brett Bourne, 3-1, in overtime of the consolation semifinals to reach the third-place match.

Jones finished 25-5-2 and his fourth-place finish is the highest ever by a Fullerton wrestler.