Cowboys defeat Chattanooga 29-9; Thompson gets upset

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Ryan Teubner (Oklahoma State Sports Information)
11/15/2003


Oklahoma State's top-ranked wrestling team posted its first win of the season, 29-9, over Tennessee-Chattanooga Friday night in Gallagher-Iba Arena.   UTC came storming out winning the first two matches. Matt Pitts decisioned Cody Stites, 6-5, and Josh Keefe shocked the crowd with his 11-9 upset over Johnny Thompson.     "It was the same thing last year," Head Coach John Smith said. "That style is going to expose some weaknesses and it did tonight. There is a reason we wrestle them at the beginning of our season, we can emphasize a particular style that we don't get in the practice room."     Rusty Blackmon captured his first win as a starter after pinning Drew Roberts in 41 seconds. The Cleveland, Tenn., native used a foot sweep in the first four second of the match before earning the fall.     Zack Esposito and Chris Pendleton each earned technical falls for the Cowboys. Esposito used a double-leg takedown early in the first period to grab a quick 2-0 lead. The Three Bridges, N.J., native then racked up a trio of three-point nearfalls and a pair of two-point nearfalls en route to the 2:17 technical fall.     Pendleton took a 4-0 lead into the second period, and built an 11-0 lead after two periods. The Lemoore, Calif., native then scored a takedown and his second three-point nearfall of the match to clinch the technical fall.     Kevin Ward battled high school teammate Jake Yost to a 4-3 decision. Ward, a native of Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., scored a takedown in the second period to take a 2-1 lead. Yost quickly tied the score at 2-2 after an escape. Ward would then score on a reversal in the third period to record his first win as a starter.     "We are going to have to wrestle a lot better than we did tonight," Smith said. "You have to give some respect to the people that wrestled hard. Expectations are high here, and those expectations are to win every match, all 10 of them.     "It's hard to accomplish that, but don't take away (Zack) Esposito's performance," Smith said. "I thought Tyrone (Lewis) had a workman's performance, Chris Pendleton got after it too."     Brett Munson moved up two weight classes to wrestle at 184 pounds, but fell to UTC's John Davis, 5-4.     Tyrone Lewis and Ronnie Delk each earned decisions for the Cowboys. Lewis defeated Jon Sioredas, 9-5, while Delk decisioned Michael Keefe, 20-15.     The Cowboys return to action Sunday, Nov. 16, when they travel to East Lansing, Mich., to take on the Michigan State Spartans.