Oklahoma State University Athletics
Dieringer Finishes Third at Olympic Trials, Makes National Team
April 10, 2016 | Cowboy Wrestling
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Oklahoma State wrestling star Alex Dieringer entered his first senior-level freestyle tournament on Sunday and by the end of the day was named a US National Team member, finishing third at 74 kilograms at the Olympic Team Trials.
"I'm excited about it. I'm happy to be on the US team and help out whoever gets the spot and help them out for the Olympics," Dieringer said.
Three-time NCAA champion and 2016 Hodge Trophy winner Dieringer began the day with a dominant 10-4 quarterfinals win over Adam Hall at 74 kg. He jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead, but action from Hall made it 6-4 at the break. With only 30 seconds left in the match, Dieringer threw Hall for four points to seal the win.
In the semifinals, Dieringer found himself against 2012 Olympic Trials finalist Andrew Howe. Dieringer struck first with a hard-fought takedown to lead 2-0 after the first period, but the lead was cut in half after Dieringer was hit with passivity. Similar to the Cowboy's first match, there was a four-point throw within the final 30 seconds, but Dieringer was on the wrong side of things and was not able to recover. Howe won the match, 5-2.
Dieringer went 2-0 on the consolation side of the bracket and won the challenge bracket third-place match, allowing him the opportunity to wrestle for true third against Nick Marable, who finished second in the challenge bracket. The match had national team implications as the top-three wrestlers at each weight would compete on behalf of Team USA in several international tournaments and receive national team funding.
Due to passivity late in the first period of the true-third match, Dieringer was put on the shot clock but was unable to score, resulting in a point for Marable. Shortly after, Marable was put on the shot clock and his inability to score gave Dieringer a point to tie it up 1-1. Dieringer was put on the clock once again with less than a minute remaining in the match, but this time Dieringer responded, forcing Marable to step out of bounds for one point. He held onto the lead for the remaining 30 seconds to win the match 2-1 and earn a spot on the National Team.
"It's the Olympic Trials, and those words together sound pretty cool," Dieringer said. "It's been a pleasure to be able to compete here in this arena. It's pretty cool to be able to come here and take third. It's not what I wanted, but I'm happy with how it ended."
The Cowboys started the day slow, with Obe Blanc (57kg), Clayton Foster (86kg) and Tyler Caldwell (86kg) falling early.
Cayle Byers gave the Cowboys their first win of the weekend, picking off JT Felix, 4-3, in his first match of the day at 97 kilos. Byers trailed 1-0 at the break but busted loose with two takedowns at critical times to win the match 4-3. He had a tough quarterfinals match against JD Bergman and fell 5-2.
The next three Cowboys pushed themselves to their respective semifinals, including Dieringer.
2012 Olympic bronze medalist Coleman Scott had a tight match with Joe Colon in the 57-kilo quarterfinals before hitting a slick duck-under for a takedown into an ankle lace. The sequence earned the Cowboy 10 points for a 14-4 technical fall.
In the semifinals, Scott matched up with hometown hero Tony Ramos, who he led 2-0 after the break. Ramos responded with two takedowns for a 4-2 lead but with only one second to spare, Scott was awarded a takedown. However, the Cowboy lost the match on criteria as Ramos had two takedowns compared to only one Scott takedown. Scott later forfeited out of the tourney.
Also competing at 74 kilograms was two-time NCAA champion Chris Perry, who went up 6-0 quickly in his quarterfinals match with a takedown and two sets of exposure points less than a minute into the bout against Kevin LeValley. No points were scored the rest of the match and Perry moved on to the 74-kilo challenge bracket semis with a 6-0 win.
There, he faced Marable of Sunkist Kids. The two exchanged points throughout the match, but it was a four-point move from Marable that made the difference in the 10-6 decision. Perry injury defaulted out of the tournament.
Day two of the Olympic Team Trials determined that no Cowboy wrestlers would represent Oklahoma State in the 2016 Rio Olympics as none of the former Cowboy standouts won their respective weight classes. This is only the third time in school history that OSU wrestling has not produced an Olympian.
Although there will be no Oklahoma State wrestlers on this year's Olympic Team, there will be some orange power in Rio as OSU head coach and two-time Olympic champion John Smith will be joining NBC Olympics as an analyst for the Rio Games in August.
"It's definitely a different and cool experience," Smith said. "It's a new perspective from coaching. You have to maintain your intensity. I was able to get comfortable with it this weekend, calling the Trials, and I'm excited for the opportunity in Rio."
Oklahoma State results
April 10, 2016 :: Carver Hawkeye Arena :: Attendance – 22,333
57 kg/125.5 pounds
Joe Colon (Titan Mercury WC) dec. Obe Blanc (Titan Mercury WC), 15-10
Alan Waters (Missouri Wrestling Foundation) dec. Obe Blanc (Titan Mercury WC), 10-9
Coleman Scott (Sunkist Kids) TF Joe Colon (Titan Mercury WC), 14-4
Tony Ramos (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC) dec. Coleman Scott (Sunkist Kids), 4-4
74 kg/163 pounds
Chris Perry (Titan Mercury WC) dec. Kevin LeValley (Buffalo Valley RTC), 6-0
Nick Marable (Sunkist Kids) dec. Chris Perry (Titan Mercury WC), 10-6
Alex Dieringer (Cowboy WC) dec. Adam Hall (Titan Mercury WC/Wolfpack WC), 10-4
Andrew Howe (New York AC/Sooner WC) dec. Alex Dieringer (Cowboy WC), 5-2
Alex Dieringer (Cowboy WC) tech fall Logan Massa (New York AC/Cliff Keen WC), 10-0
Alex Dieringer (Cowboy WC) dec. Adam Hall (Titan Mercury WC/Wolfpack WC), 6-3
Alex Dieringer (Cowboy WC) dec. Nick Marable (Sunkist Kids), 2-1
86 kg/189 pounds
J'Den Cox (MWF) dec. Clayton Foster (GRIT Athletics/Wyoming RTC), 7-7
Richard Perry (New York AC) fall Clayton Foster (GRIT Athletics/Wyoming RTC), 3:40
Richard Perry (New York AC) dec. Tyler Caldwell (Sunkist Kids), 10-4
Jake Herbert (New York AC/Cliff Keen WC) dec. Tyler Caldwell (Sunkist Kids), 4-3
97 kg/213 pounds
Cayle Byers (Titan Mercury WC) dec. JT Felix (Titan Mercury WC/Cliff Keen WC), 4-3
JD Bergman (New York AC/Ohio RTC) dec. Cayle Byers (Titan Mercury WC), 5-2
Micah Burak (Titan Mercury WC) fall Cayle Byers (Titan Mercury WC), 0:44
"I'm excited about it. I'm happy to be on the US team and help out whoever gets the spot and help them out for the Olympics," Dieringer said.
Three-time NCAA champion and 2016 Hodge Trophy winner Dieringer began the day with a dominant 10-4 quarterfinals win over Adam Hall at 74 kg. He jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead, but action from Hall made it 6-4 at the break. With only 30 seconds left in the match, Dieringer threw Hall for four points to seal the win.
In the semifinals, Dieringer found himself against 2012 Olympic Trials finalist Andrew Howe. Dieringer struck first with a hard-fought takedown to lead 2-0 after the first period, but the lead was cut in half after Dieringer was hit with passivity. Similar to the Cowboy's first match, there was a four-point throw within the final 30 seconds, but Dieringer was on the wrong side of things and was not able to recover. Howe won the match, 5-2.
Dieringer went 2-0 on the consolation side of the bracket and won the challenge bracket third-place match, allowing him the opportunity to wrestle for true third against Nick Marable, who finished second in the challenge bracket. The match had national team implications as the top-three wrestlers at each weight would compete on behalf of Team USA in several international tournaments and receive national team funding.
Due to passivity late in the first period of the true-third match, Dieringer was put on the shot clock but was unable to score, resulting in a point for Marable. Shortly after, Marable was put on the shot clock and his inability to score gave Dieringer a point to tie it up 1-1. Dieringer was put on the clock once again with less than a minute remaining in the match, but this time Dieringer responded, forcing Marable to step out of bounds for one point. He held onto the lead for the remaining 30 seconds to win the match 2-1 and earn a spot on the National Team.
"It's the Olympic Trials, and those words together sound pretty cool," Dieringer said. "It's been a pleasure to be able to compete here in this arena. It's pretty cool to be able to come here and take third. It's not what I wanted, but I'm happy with how it ended."
The Cowboys started the day slow, with Obe Blanc (57kg), Clayton Foster (86kg) and Tyler Caldwell (86kg) falling early.
Cayle Byers gave the Cowboys their first win of the weekend, picking off JT Felix, 4-3, in his first match of the day at 97 kilos. Byers trailed 1-0 at the break but busted loose with two takedowns at critical times to win the match 4-3. He had a tough quarterfinals match against JD Bergman and fell 5-2.
The next three Cowboys pushed themselves to their respective semifinals, including Dieringer.
2012 Olympic bronze medalist Coleman Scott had a tight match with Joe Colon in the 57-kilo quarterfinals before hitting a slick duck-under for a takedown into an ankle lace. The sequence earned the Cowboy 10 points for a 14-4 technical fall.
In the semifinals, Scott matched up with hometown hero Tony Ramos, who he led 2-0 after the break. Ramos responded with two takedowns for a 4-2 lead but with only one second to spare, Scott was awarded a takedown. However, the Cowboy lost the match on criteria as Ramos had two takedowns compared to only one Scott takedown. Scott later forfeited out of the tourney.
Also competing at 74 kilograms was two-time NCAA champion Chris Perry, who went up 6-0 quickly in his quarterfinals match with a takedown and two sets of exposure points less than a minute into the bout against Kevin LeValley. No points were scored the rest of the match and Perry moved on to the 74-kilo challenge bracket semis with a 6-0 win.
There, he faced Marable of Sunkist Kids. The two exchanged points throughout the match, but it was a four-point move from Marable that made the difference in the 10-6 decision. Perry injury defaulted out of the tournament.
Day two of the Olympic Team Trials determined that no Cowboy wrestlers would represent Oklahoma State in the 2016 Rio Olympics as none of the former Cowboy standouts won their respective weight classes. This is only the third time in school history that OSU wrestling has not produced an Olympian.
Although there will be no Oklahoma State wrestlers on this year's Olympic Team, there will be some orange power in Rio as OSU head coach and two-time Olympic champion John Smith will be joining NBC Olympics as an analyst for the Rio Games in August.
"It's definitely a different and cool experience," Smith said. "It's a new perspective from coaching. You have to maintain your intensity. I was able to get comfortable with it this weekend, calling the Trials, and I'm excited for the opportunity in Rio."
Oklahoma State results
April 10, 2016 :: Carver Hawkeye Arena :: Attendance – 22,333
57 kg/125.5 pounds
Joe Colon (Titan Mercury WC) dec. Obe Blanc (Titan Mercury WC), 15-10
Alan Waters (Missouri Wrestling Foundation) dec. Obe Blanc (Titan Mercury WC), 10-9
Coleman Scott (Sunkist Kids) TF Joe Colon (Titan Mercury WC), 14-4
Tony Ramos (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC) dec. Coleman Scott (Sunkist Kids), 4-4
74 kg/163 pounds
Chris Perry (Titan Mercury WC) dec. Kevin LeValley (Buffalo Valley RTC), 6-0
Nick Marable (Sunkist Kids) dec. Chris Perry (Titan Mercury WC), 10-6
Alex Dieringer (Cowboy WC) dec. Adam Hall (Titan Mercury WC/Wolfpack WC), 10-4
Andrew Howe (New York AC/Sooner WC) dec. Alex Dieringer (Cowboy WC), 5-2
Alex Dieringer (Cowboy WC) tech fall Logan Massa (New York AC/Cliff Keen WC), 10-0
Alex Dieringer (Cowboy WC) dec. Adam Hall (Titan Mercury WC/Wolfpack WC), 6-3
Alex Dieringer (Cowboy WC) dec. Nick Marable (Sunkist Kids), 2-1
86 kg/189 pounds
J'Den Cox (MWF) dec. Clayton Foster (GRIT Athletics/Wyoming RTC), 7-7
Richard Perry (New York AC) fall Clayton Foster (GRIT Athletics/Wyoming RTC), 3:40
Richard Perry (New York AC) dec. Tyler Caldwell (Sunkist Kids), 10-4
Jake Herbert (New York AC/Cliff Keen WC) dec. Tyler Caldwell (Sunkist Kids), 4-3
97 kg/213 pounds
Cayle Byers (Titan Mercury WC) dec. JT Felix (Titan Mercury WC/Cliff Keen WC), 4-3
JD Bergman (New York AC/Ohio RTC) dec. Cayle Byers (Titan Mercury WC), 5-2
Micah Burak (Titan Mercury WC) fall Cayle Byers (Titan Mercury WC), 0:44
Players Mentioned
/ Cowboy Wrestling
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