Cowboys Declaw Tigers In Season Opener

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Josh Maxson (OSU Sports Information)
11/16/2000


Stillwater, Okla.    Oklahoma State's wrestling team opened the 2000-01 campaign with a sound 29-6 win over the Missouri Tigers in front of 2,580 at Broken Arrow High School on Friday night.    John Smith¹s Cowboys go to 1-0 on the season with the win.    Shane Roller came out with a fury, dominating the Tigers¹ 157-pounder David Neff. Roller racked up 12 first period points on his way to a 16-1 technical fall.     No. 3-ranked Reggie Wright started slowly in the 149-pound match, but turned it on in the second period to post a 17-7 major decision over Kenny Burleson.     At 141 pounds, Jerrod Sanders major decisioned the Tigers' J.P. Reese 12-3. Sanders fired shots at will against Reese, picking up five takedowns.    At 174 pounds, the match opened with redshirt  freshman Tyrone Lewis suffering a 4-0 loss in his first-ever start for the Cowboys. Missouri's No. 8-ranked John Kopnisky escaped with the win after riding Lewis the entire second period to give the Tigers the early lead.    Pat Popolizio got the Cowboys back on track with a 5-3 decision over the Tigers' Ry Stone. The win tied the dual at 3-3.    All-American Mark Muñoz decisioned a tougher-than-expected Dante Stone, 8-5. Muñoz took control of the match with a third period takedown to escape with the win.     At heavyweight, James Huml scored a 7-5 decision that wasn¹t as close as it appeared, as Hertzog slipped several throw attempts in the second period.    Missouri¹s true freshman Justin Spates showed why he was the top 125-pound prospect in the nation last year, decisioning Matt Brown 3-1.    The Cowboys picked up bonus points at 133 pounds with Charles Walker's 10-2 major decision win over MU¹s Jesse West. The major decision pushed the OSU lead to 13-6.    Tony Gansen rounded out the scoring for the Cowboys with a 7-1 decision over Mark Vollmar.