STILLWATER, Okla. – Oklahoma State wrestling has signed seven athletes to national letters of intent for the 2012-13 academic year, the program announced today.
Jordan Rogers, widely considered the best high school wrestler in the nation at 182 pounds, highlights the Cowboys’ recruiting class.
“The level of wrestling at Oklahoma State is just phenomenal,” Rogers said. “The opportunities they have there outside of the collegiate season with freestyle and international wrestling played a big role. That’s one of my favorite things to do is to wrestle freestyle and my goal is to go win the Olympics and World Championships. Coach Smith has already done it, so you can’t really go wrong with that.”
Five of OSU’s signees are from the state of Oklahoma, including brothers Kyle and Brian Crutchmer from Tulsa Union, Chase Ferman from Broken Arrow, Conner Cline from Blackwell and Landry Chappell from Guthrie.
Kyle Crutchmer was the 2011 6A state champion at 171 pounds, while Brian Crutchmer is a two-time 6A runner-up at 135 pounds.
“It’s definitely cool having my brother sign with the same school,” Kyle Crutchmer said. “We are pretty close and it will make things easier on us. I’m looking forward to hanging out with all the guys. I met them on an official visit and they all seemed really cool.”
His brother showed the same excitement to sign with the Cowboys.
“OSU is like a family with all the tradition they have there,” Brian Crutchmer said. “I like the coaches a lot and it just seemed like the right place. Me and my brother both decided we were going there. I like the way they do things.”
Case Garrison, who grandfather, Walt Garrison, played football for OSU and the Dallas Cowboys, is another big name on the list. He helped lead Graham High School in St. Paris, Ohio, to its 11th-straight state title last year and is considered one of the top high school wrestlers in the country at 135 pounds.
The remaining three signees are all Oklahoma high school state champions.
Ferman claimed the 6A state championship at 135 pounds in 2011. He also went 34-2 and placed second in the 2011 Junior Greco-Roman Fargo Nationals at 135 pounds. He was a high school teammate of current Cowboy Zach Skates.
Chappell won the 2011 5A state championship at 215 pounds and holds a 7-1 all-time in the state tournament. He is also a football and baseball standout for Guthrie.
The final signee is Conner Cline of Blackwell. Cline won the Oklahoma 4A state title at 112 pounds to close his junior year in 2011.
Cowboy Wrestling Signees (Listed Alphabetically by Last Name):
Landry Chappell – Guthrie, Okla. (Guthrie High School) Chappell won the 2011 5A state championship at 215 pounds and is 7-1 all-time in the state tournament. He played linebacker for Guthrie’s football team and had 178 tackles and five sacks in 2010. He also played baseball was named to the first team of the Oklahoman's All-Big City team. The Guthrie mayor named Sept. 6 “Landry Chappell Day” in honor of his athletic and academic achievements.
Conner Cline – Blackwell, Okla. (Blackwell High School) Cline won the Oklahoma 4A state title at 112 pounds to close his junior year in 2011.
Brian Crutchmer – Tulsa, Okla. (Union High School) Crutchmer was the class 6A runner-up as a sophomore and junior at 135 pounds. He was also a Freestyle All-American in 2011.
Kyle Crutchmer – Tulsa, Okla. (Union High School) Crutchmer won the class 6A state championship at 171 pounds in 2011. He was named a Freestyle All-American in 2011 and also plays safety for Union’s storied football program.
Chase Ferman – Broken Arrow, Okla. (Broken Arrow High School) Ferman won the 6A state title in 2011 at 135 pound and was a high school teammate of current Cowboy Zach Skates. HSWrestling.net rates him as the No. 10 prospect at 135 pounds nationally. He went 34-2 in 2011 and placed second in the 2011 Junior Greco-Roman Fargo Nationals at 135 pounds. He also placed fourth in the 2010 Junior Greco-Roman Fargo Nationals at 130 pounds.
Case Garrison – St. Paris, Ohio (Graham High School) Garrison helped lead St. Paris Graham to its 11th-straight state championship with a second-place finish at 135 pounds last year. He was named an honorable mention for the best 135-pounder by HSwrestling.net. Wrestling USA Magazine ranked him No. 7 among high school freshman and sophomores at 125 pounds as a freshman at Bishop Lynch in Texas. Garrison is the grandson of former Oklahoma State and Dallas Cowboy fullback Walt Garrison.
Jordan Rogers – Spokane, Wash. (Mead High School) Rogers is wrestling at 182 pounds for Mead High School in Spokane, Wash. He is the preseason No. 1-ranked wrestler nationally in his weight class by several outlets including Intermatwrestle.com and WIN Magazine. In the 2010-11 season, he won the ASCIC National Championship in Greco and Freestyle at 171 pounds, earning a pin or tech fall against every opponent. The two-time winner at the WIAA State Championships was also a double champion at the FILA Cadet Nationals in Ohio, where he was named Outstanding Wrestler, and represented the United States at the FILA Cadet World Championships in Hungary in August. Rogers also received All-America honors at the Fargo ASICS Championships for his third-place finish in Greco and second-place finish in Freestyle.
