NORMAN, Okla. - The 2009 Big 12 Wrestling Championships came down to the final two bouts. The madhouse of a finish saw Iowa State and Nebraska leave Lincoln as co-champions.

Could 2010 in Norman top that?

Heading into the finals, the Cyclones led Oklahoma State by 1 ½ points. The host Sooners, hanging around, were 6 ½ back of the Cowboys.

Fasten your seat belts.
In the end it was Oklahoma State claiming top honors, edging Iowa State, 70 ½ to 69. The Cyclones, also champions in 2007 and 2008, went 2-4 in their finals matches while the Cowboys went 3-3, including Clayton Foster's 10-6 win over Missouri's Max Askren in the 184-pound final.

"It was a team effort, as it always is in this tournament," said OSU head coach John Smith, who's led the Cowboys to nine Big 12 titles. "We had a lot of tough wins. Jamal Parks coming back twice was big for us. We had a lot of contributions.

"But I don't think we wrestled as well as we are capable. The main thing is that we are taking nine to the NCAA Tournament."

Iowa State also qualified nine with 184-pounder Jerome Ward taking fifth in a weight with four allocations. Oklahoma also advanced nine with Missouri six and Nebraska four in a league with 37 allocations.

When Foster beat Askren it put the Cowboys up in the team race by 7 ½ points. 
ISU's defending NCAA champion Jake Varner then beat rival Craig Brester of Nebraska, 5-2, at 197 with All-American David Zabriskie edging OSU's two-time All-American Jared Rosholt in the second overtime.

Zabriskie, who is now 6-3 all-time against Rosholt, needed a pin to push ISU ahead.
Kevin Jackson's squad lost opportunities at 125 where redshirt-freshman Andrew Long (23-6) lost to Oklahoma freshman Jared Patterson (28-9) and at 165 where Jon Reader (22-4) lost to Missouri's Nick Marable (32-3). The Cowboys won a head-to-head battle at 133 where redshirt-freshman Jordan Oliver (28-2) beat senior Nick Fanthorpe, 6-2, with a slick, Pennsylvania-influenced five-pointer in the second period.

Parks (28-5) rallied to beat OU's Zack Bailey, 3-2, in the 141-pound final. The sophomore scored a takedown with :15 showing for a 3-2 victory. It followed up a narrow victory in the semifinals where he beat Todd Schavrien, 7-6, with a late rally and also avenged a Bailey victory just two weeks ago.

Foster (19-3) beat Ward in overtime to advance to the finals.

At 149, OU's Kyle Terry (26-2) won his second Big 12 title, beating Iowa State's Mitch Mueller, 4-2. The Sooners, who finished a solid third with 64 points, also won the title at 157 where Shane Vernon (20-5) beat OSU's Neil Erisman, who avenged a regular season loss to ISU's Andrew Sorenson in the semifinals.

Nebraska's Stephen Dwyer (24-3) beat OSU's Mike Benefiel (31-4) in the 174-pound final, 9-5.

Oliver and Patterson shared OW honors.

"I didn't find out until about a week before the first (Bedlam) match that I was coming out of redshirt," said Patterson, a four-time state champion in high school. "I've just tried to take it one match at a time. (Assistant coach) Sammie Henson pulled me aside and said we are going to make you a national champion.

"I'm glad I didn't redshirt." Oliver, like his coach, knows he and his team can wrestle better - 165-pounder Alex Meade finished fourth and 197-pounder Alan Gelogaev went 0-2.
"To think I was voted Outstanding Wrestler with all these great wrestlers in the Big 12 Conference, it feels great. I didn't even think I was in the conversation" Oliver said. "I thought Clayton or maybe Patterson might get it."

Varner (26-0) lost to Brester in the 2009 Big 12 finals.

"I wrestled my match like I always do," said Varner, who beat Brester in the 2009 finals. "I really try to stick to my game plan. Once you start changing things is when you start to get in trouble. Nothing really sticks out about the match.

"It's nice to win Big 12s but our goal is in two weeks when it really counts. We would rather have that one than this one. This tournament really prepares you for the NCAAs which is three days."

The Cyclones picked up key points in the bronze medal bouts when Sorenson (26-7) beat Missouri's Patrick Wright at 157 and at 174 where Duke Burk (17-13) edged Oklahoma's Jeff James. However, Dalton Jensen (13-14) watched a late lead evaporate and lost to Schavrien (25-10).

Oklahoma State was 1-2 in its third-place matches, getting a decision by Chris Notte (23-8), but suffering losses at 149 by Luke Silver and at 165 by Alex Meade.

Meade (28-8) was 3-0 against Sooner freshman Tyler Caldwell (27-12) during the regular season but dropped a 4-0 decision.

Looking for a few extra points? Notte had a major decision in the consolation semifinals. Silver had a pin in his consolation semi.

"They all add up in the end, especially when you are talking about this tournament," Smith said.

Oklahoma made a push in the consolations and entered the final round just 6 ½ behind Oklahoma State. With four in the finals, Jack Spates' squad wasn't completely out of the running.

Long's pin, Varner's major decision, and Zabriskie holding off Missouri's Mark Ellis in overtime, gave ISU the early lead.

The Cowboys escaped a trio of close calls.

Parks trailed Schavrien, 4-3, after a second-period ride-out but rallied with a pair of takedowns down the stretch for a 7-6 victory.

Foster gave up a reversal and takedown in the second period to trail Ward, 5-4, heading to the third. An escape tied it at 5-5 and the two headed to overtime where, after a scoreless one minute, Foster escaped then rode out his 30-second tiebreaker for a wild, 6-5, win. Ward then dropped a bout to OU's Erich Schmidtke and finished fifth.

Marable was able to earn a second stalling call in the final period to beat Meade, 2-1, in their semifinal bout. The Tiger senior beat Meade in overtime in the regular season meeting.
The NCAA Championships are March 18-20 in Omaha, Neb.

Mad scramble
One of the best scrambles any wrestling fan has ever seen took place during the 174-pound consolation semifinals. James and Missouri's Dorian Henderson spent almost a minute of the third period …. Get your hands on some video of the match and check it out. It's well worth it.