Top-ranked Oklahoma State ventures to University Park, Pa. for the 2001Cliff Keen/NWCA Natioanl Wrestling Duals. The Cowboys are five-time champsof this event, claiming titles in 1989, 1990, 1994, 1997 and 1999. Thisyear¹s event features nine of the top 10 teams nationally. The Illinois andMichigan State are the only top-10 teams not in the 16-team field.The fieldalso includes defending Division II Champion Nebraska-Omaha, Division IIIChampion Montclair State and NAIA Champion Montana State Northern. Lastyear¹s finals saw Iowa State edge Minnesota 17-16 and OSU knock off the Sooners, 19-13. The Cowboys at the Duals With five, Oklahoma State more National Duals titles than anyone. TheIowa Hawkeyes have caputred three titles (1992, '95, '96), while Penn Statehas won two (1991, '93) and Iowa State (2000) and Minnesota (1998) havecaptured one apiece. The Pokes knocked off Minnesota for the title in 1999,beating the Golden Gophers 20-17 in Iowa City. Seedings and times for the National Duals The top eight teams will be seeded straight from the NWCA Coaches¹ Pollthat was released on Wednesday. The remaining eight teams will draw fortheir first round opponents. The first round duals are scheduled to begin at9 a.m. EST on Saturday morning with the quarterfinals to follow. Thesemifinals are scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. EST Saturday night. Consolations will begin at 11a.m. EST Sunday morning with the championship round starting at 2 p.m. EST. Thompson, Walker battling at 133 A lot of coaches around the country would like to have the problem John Smith has: two top-caliber 133-pounders. Senior Charles Walker and redshirt freshman Johnny Thompson are still in fierce competition for the final starting nod. Thompson took over Walker¹s spot in the AWN poll, entering at No. 4, while Walker fell out of the rankings. Thompson has gotten the best of Walker three of four times this year. Thompson¹s last win came last Thursday during a ranking match at the OSU wrestling room. Thompson won the overtime affair, 4-3, in a tiebreaker. However, experience and a win over No. 1-ranked and defending national champion Eric Juergens of Iowa, gives the incumbent Walker a strong argument as well. Muñoz gets win No. 100 Oklahoma State senior 197-pounder Mark Muñoz recorded his 100th career win with a 3-2 decision over OU¹s Waymon May on Dec. 10th. Muñoz has improved his career record to 108-27 along with a 13-1 mark this season. Muñoz¹s 108 wins moves him into a tie for 15th-place on OSU¹s career victories chart with Kirk Mammen. He is 21 wins away from Alan Fried and Mike Farrell for second and 46 victories short of Cowboy head coach John Smith for first.. Cormier in top form OSU's 184-pound sophomore Daniel Cormier continues dominated his opposition. Now 15-0 on the season, Cormier moved up to No. 2 at 184 pounds behind two-time national champion and undefeated Cael Sanderson of Iowa State. Cormier may have turned in his most impressive performance last Sunday against second-ranked Minnesota, picking up a 19-7 major decision over fourth-ranked Damion Hahn. Cormier took the highly-touted redshirt freshman down seven times and just missed a pin at the end of the second period. Cormier also shared Big 12 Wrestler of the Week honors with Sanderson this past week. OSU rolls Michigan State OSU took care of business early, jumping out to a 10-0 lead and never looking back in a 31-3 thrashing of the Spartans. The Cowboys picked up bonus points at 197, 157 and 174. The highlight match at 133 pounds looked like afirst-period route, redshirt freshman Johnny Thompsontook seventh-ranked Pat McNamara down four times and then held on for a 11-9 win. Cowboys hold top spot in NWCA OSU held on to the top spot in the National Wrestling Coaches Association poll for the sixth-straight week. OSU received 325 votes along with all 13 first-place votes. Minnesota follows the Pokes in second with 307 votes. Iowa comes in third this week, while Iowa State is fourth. The Cowboys are also ranked atop the Intermat poll following their win over previously No. 1-ranked Minnesota. New edition Head coach John Smith¹s wife Toni gave birth to their third child on the morning of Jan. 2 at 1:55 a.m. Cecelia Rene Smith weighed in at six pounds and 11 ounces, she was the first baby born in the new year at Stillwater Medical Center. Cecelia is the Smiths¹ third child, Joseph is now four and Isabella was born in March of 1999. Head coach John Smith In his ninth season on the OSU bench, John Smith owns a career record of 129-19-3. Smith¹s Cowboys claimed the national title in 1994 and have captured five conference championships during his tenure, including the Big 12 title last season. Smith also wrestled for the Cowboys from 1984-88, posting a 154-7-2 record and capturing two national championships. On the international stage, Smith won Olympic Freestyle Gold in 1988 and 1992 along with World Championships in 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1991. In 1990, Smith was honored as the only wrestler ever to win the James E. Sullivan Award, honoring the nation¹s top amateur athlete for the previous year. John Smith¹s career coaching record YEAR DUAL RECORD PCT. BIG 8 / 12 NCAA 1992-93 4-7-0 .364 1993-94 13-1-0 .929 1st 1st 1994-95 13-3-1 .794 2nd 7th 1995-96 15-3-1 .816 1st 6th 1996-97 21-0-0 1.000 1st 2nd 1997-98 20-0-0 1.000 1st 3rd 1998-99 23-0-0 1.000 2nd 3rd 1999-00 12-5-1 .658 1st 5th 2000-01 8-0-0 1.000 Total 129-19-3 .864 5 titles 1 title Tyrone Lewis gets hot Redshirt freshman Tyrone Lewis is beginning to show why he was considered one of the top freshman in the country. Now 15-3, he has won nine-straight matches, pinning 5 opponents and picking up a 21-6 technical fall in the another during his string. Lewis has posted nine pins and two technical fall on the season. Gallagher-Iba Arean opening The Cowboy wrestling team christened the OSU Athletic Center, home of Gallagher-Iba Arena, with a 33-3 thrashing of the 16th-ranked Oregon Ducks. Senior All-American Reggie Wright picked up the first win in OSU¹s new digs with a 15-8 decision of Tony Overstake. The first pin came at 174 pounds, redshirt freshman Tyrone Lewis stuck Oregon¹s Luke Larwin in 1:03. The evening¹s estimated attendance of 3,047 was the largest crowd for an OSU dual this season. Cowboys bag sixth-straight Reno title The Cowboys dominated en-route to their sixth-straight Reno Tournament of Champions title. The Pokes scored 192.5 points and crowned six individual champions. Arizona State finished second with 120.5 points and two titlest. Matt Brown (125), Johnny Thompson (133), Jerrod Sanders (141), Reggie Wright (149), Tyrone Lewis (174) and Daniel Cormier (184) finished first, while Ty Wilcox lost a heartbreaker, 6-5, to ASU¹s third-ranked Steve Blackford. Bonus Points Bonus points are the key to many dual wins. Major decisions, technical falls and pins are key in deciding those tight duals. The following are OSU¹s bonus point leaders for the 2000-01 season. Wrestlers Percentage Billy Gabel(157) 83% (10/12) Daniel Cormier (184) 73% (11/15) Tyrone Lewis (174) 72% (13/18) Mark Muñoz (197) 64% (9/14) Reggie Wright (149) 50% (8/16) Ty Wilcox (165) 50% (6/12) Cody Stites (125) 50% (6/12) Charles Walker (133) 50% (5/10) Johnny Thompson (133) 44% (8/18) James Huml (285) 44% (8/18) D.J. Radnovich (285) 36% (5/14) Shane Roller (157) 31% (4/13) Jerrod Sanders (141) 25% (3/12) Pokes romp over second-ranked Golden Gophers The question of number one was answered in Minneapolis last Sunday. Top-ranked Oklahoma State won six of 10 matches and cruised past second-ranked Minnesota in front of 9,625 fans at the Williams Arena. OSU picked up bonus points at 184, 197 and 285 pounds, including falls from Mark Muñoz (197) and James Huml (285). At 125 pounds, OSU¹s No. 9-ranked Matt Brown pulled the upset of the day with a 4-3 win over third-ranked Leroy Vega. Cowbo