Former Cowboy wins three-man wrestle off to punch his ticket to London.
June 7, 2012
NEW YORK - Former Oklahoma State wrestler Coleman Scott won a three-person wrestle off as part of "The Grapple in the Big Apple" in New York's Times Square Thursday to clinch the 60 kg spot on Team USA in men's freestyle wrestling at the 2012 Olympic Games.
Due to a unique situation in which the United States had not yet qualified the 60 kg weight class, Scott's title at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials did not automatically give him a spot on the team. The top two ranked U.S. wrestlers in the class were at a tournament to qualify the class, meaning Scott was forced to beat both of them for his place on the roster.
Scott did just that Thursday, knocking off 2011 U.S. Open and 2011 U.S. World Team Trials champion Reece Humphrey, 1-0, 0-1, 1-0, in the preliminary match before winning the first and the last bouts of the best-of-three series with top-ranked Shawn Bunch, who received the first-round bye for qualifying the class.
The Scott-Bunch series provided plenty of excitement as they split first two bouts after deciding third periods and the final bout culminated with Scott producing a huge five-point move in the second period to seal his win and his place on Team USA.
A Waynesburg, Pa., native, Scott was a 2008 NCAA champion and four-time All-American at Oklahoma State. In addition to winning the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, he was undefeated in five matches at the 2012 Freestyle World Cup, finished third at the World Team Trials the last three years and was a 2008 U.S. Open runner-up.
Scott's place on the 2012 edition of Team USA marks the 41st time a former Cowboy wrestler has earned a spot on an Olympic roster. This also marks the third consecutive, and the sixth of the past seven Olympic Games featuring an OSU wrestler. When all sports are included, Oklahoma State has been represented at every Summer Olympic Games in which the United States has competed since 1924.
U.S. Olympic Trials Wrestle-Off at 60 kg Duffy Square in Times Square | New York, N.Y. | June 7, 2012
Preliminary Match Coleman Scott dec. Reece Humphrey, 1-0, 0-1, 1-0
Best-of-Three Championship Series Coleman Scott dec. Shawn Bunch, 2 matches to 1 Scott dec. Bunch, 1-0, 0-1, 7-0 Bunch dec. Scott, 1-1, 1-0, 1-0 Scott dec. Bunch, 1-0, 5-0
