Originally published at: Podcast Ep. 639: Wyatt Hendrickson Shocks The World
Ranking Hendrickson’s win among other great OSU moments.
The Rulon Gardner comparison is spot on. Aleksandr Karelin was the 3 time defending gold medalist and hadn’t been defeated in 13 years of international competition before the match against Gardner.
Great emergency podcast @CarsonCunningham
The Jackson/Kalkbrenner match was in Gallagher-Iba. I was there in the stands at floor level and I’ll never forget it.
I was at the NCAA tournament when Dan Gable was upset by Larry Owens in 1970. I had seen Gable wrestle when Iowa State came to Gallagher Hall. It was obvious that he was the greatest college wrestler of the modern era. Seeing him get upset was on par with seeing Gable Steveson getting upset by Wyatt. But I don’t care where it ranks because watching it happen was the greatest thrill from following Cowboy wrestling for the past 59 years .
I hope the accomplishments of the team doesn’t get overlooked. Finishing 3rd without any points from Surber, no points from 133 because Witcraft didn’t make the tournament. Teague Travis surprisingly making a return and 149 suddenly became relevant. 3 finalists! Who expected that? 2 champions! So just a magical season. What can the coaching staff do with Spratley for 2 more years? That should be great to see. He will attack more is my guess. We are not overtaking PSU, but we already surpassed Iowa. What this team did this season reminded me of the glory days of OSU wrestling. Excitement over Cowboy wrestling has been rekindled. Fans need to turn out regardless of who OSU is wrestling. New guys at 133, 149, 157, not sure which weight Teague Travis will be. I suspect 157, 165, 174, 184, 197, heavyweight. I can’t recall the outstanding highschool wrestler from Illinois who wrestled last year for us as a freshman and just was not ready. He was not used to losing and I think that did a number on him. I would think Cael Hughes at 133 or else he challenges Jameson for 141. I think the top high school commits we already have don’t arrive until 2026. We know A.J. is not coming back here. Welcome mat is rolled out for Big Ten transfers.