OSU finished the tournament with six All-Americans, the most of any school in the tournament. The Cowboys and Minnesota both crowned two champions.

"There is no question that with all that has happened this year and with all the questions about who would win it, that in the end we basically dominated," head coach John Smith said. "That is what we hoped for all year, that is what we are capable of doing and we did it."

Johny Hendricks successfully defended his title at 165 winning a thriller, 9-8, over previously undefeated and top-seeded Ryan Churella of Michigan. Hendricks was leading 4-3 in the second period when Churella got him in a cradle for a takedown and two near fall points at the buzzer to go up 7-4. Hendricks escaped and took Churella down on the edge of the mat with 30 seconds left to tie it up. Hendricks decided to go for the win by cutting Churella and with time running out; Hendricks scored a takedown with three seconds left to a chorus of cheers and boos at the Ford Center.

"As soon as I grabbed his foot, I looked up and thought I had two," Hendricks said after his match. "I looked up and saw three seconds left and I went to the crowd after that. I knew it was over because I know I am strong enough to hold on to his ankle for three seconds."

Jake Rosholt was never threatened in the finals at 197 against Penn State's Phil Davis. Rosholt recorded a takedown and took Davis to his back for three near fall points to go up 5-0. Rosholt coasted from there and went on to defeat Davis, 10-3, for his third individual title. Rosholt is just the 15^th three-time national champion in school history and 10^th four-time All-American.

Steve Mocco had a typical match with rival Cole Konrad of Minnesota. The match went into a second tiebreaker where Mocco held a slim one second advantage. Konrad quickly turned it around when he rode Mocco for the full 30 seconds. Konrad escaped holding the lead and riding time forcing Mocco to go for a takedown. He tried a shot but Konrad countered for the takedown and went onto win 5-2.

Mocco is the first Cowboy to lose in the finals over the last two tournaments. OSU has gone 7-for-8 in the finals of the last two NCAA Championships.

Zack Esposito came back to finish third after losing in the semifinals. Esposito defeated Michigan's Eric Tannenbaum by a major decision before defeating Oklahoma's Matt Storniolo in the third-place match. Esposito won four of his six matches by bonus points to aid OSU's championship run.

Coleman Scott took fifth to earn All-America honors for the second time in his career. Scott lost to top-seeded Nick Simmons of Michigan State, 7-4, but he came back in a big way pinning Cal Poly's eighth-seeded Chad Mendes in 58 seconds. Scott had a remarkable tournament coming back through the consolation bracket with three falls and a technical fall after losing his first match.

It was a disappointing finish for sophomore Nathan Morgan. Morgan suffered two losses to finish sixth after he lost in the semifinals on Friday night. Morgan earned All-America honors for the first time in his career.

Oklahoma State won four consecutive titles for the first time since 1946. OSU won four in a row from 1940-46, no championship was held from 1943-45 due to World War II.
 

The championships is the 33rd NCAA wrestling title for the Cowboys and their first three-peat since Art Griffith led Oklahoma A&M to three straight titles from 1954-56.

Oklahoma State tied an NCAA record by crowning five individual champions. Iowa did it twice with the last time coming during the 1997 championships.

Michigan finished in second-place with 83 points. The 70 point margin also set a school record for largest winning margin and is the second highest margin of victory in NCAA history.

"This team gave the extra effort in every way," head coach John Smith said. "In every tough-tough situation, we excelled. I can name a number of situations throughout this tournament that made the difference for us putting the points that we put up, putting five guys in the finals and winning five championships."

"We had our very best performance of the season at the Big 12 and NCAA Championships. As a team and as a unit, there is no question that our best effort came at the end."

Zack Esposito was the first wrestler to take the mat for the Cowboys in the finals against Army's second-seeded Phillip Simpson. Esposito recorded the first takedown of the match to take the early lead. Esposito added a reversal early in the third period and won his first national championship with a 5-2 victory over Simpson.

"I knew he was good on top," Esposito said. "I knew when I went underneath I would have to have a spark plug to get out from under him."

"I am hurting right now, but it is all worth it. It is a great feeling."

Johny Hendricks renewed his rivalry with fourth-seeded Mark Perry of Iowa. Hendricks won the first two meetings in tight matches that were not decided until the final buzzer sounded. This match was similar to the first two matches. Hendricks got a takedown in the first period and rode Perry for the next three minutes after Perry chose down. Hendricks all but sealed the match with a reversal late in the third period, and beat Perry for the third time this year with a 5-2 decision.

"I knew it was going to be exactly what it felt like," sophomore Johny Hendricks said after winning his first national title. "To actually win this one, it surpasses all of them. Each time you get up there it feels like the first time

Chris Pendleton has had a decided edge against Missouri's Ben Askren the last two years. Pendleton has won seven of the eight meetings, and this one was no different than any of the other meetings this season. Pendleton got the first takedown and stayed after Askren throughout the match. Pendleton defended his title with a 10-5 decision over Askren.

Jake Rosholt met Northern Iowa's Sean Stender who was riding high after upsetting Lehigh's Jon Trenge in the semifinals. Stender recorded the first takedown of the match, just like the previous meeting in Cedar Falls. Rosholt quickly turned it around getting an escape and a takedown to take the lead. Stender got a takedown with 30 seconds remaining to tie the match, but Rosholt escaped with 13 seconds left and won OSU's fourth title by beating Stender 5-4.

Steve Mocco and Minnesota's Cole Konrad have been the two best heavyweights all season. Mocco won the previous two matches against Konrad in overtime. This match went into overtime just like the previous two did. Mocco tried a foot sweep early in the sudden victory period and caught Konrad with it to take him down for the title.

The five championships sets a new school record for Oklahoma State. The Cowboys had totaled four titles on six occasions with the last time coming in 1942.

Freshmen Coleman Scott and Daniel Frishkorn both placed in their first national tournament. Scott finished in eighth-place at 125 after losing to Minnesota's Bobbe Lowe in the seventh-place match. Frishkorn finished in fourth-place after losing to Lehigh's Cory Cooperman in the third-place match.
 

The Cowboys scored 123.5 points, 41.5 points ahead of runner-up Iowa (82 points). Lehigh and Ohio State each recorded 77.5 points for a tied for third, while Nebraska rounded out the top five with 73.5 points.

Chris Pendleton captured the team's lone individual title with his 11-4 decision over Ben Askren of Missouri. Pendleton struck first scoring off a low single, and then put Askren on his back for two. After an Askren escape, Pendleton then recorded another takedown to take a 6-1 lead heading into the second period.

The Lemoore, Calif., native recorded the only points in the second with an escape, but extended his lead with a takedown in the third period. Askren then reversed Pendleton to cut his lead, but couldn't hang on as Pendleton went on to win his first national title.

Zack Esposito notched a second-place finish after dropping a 9-3 decision to Harvard's Jesse Jantzen. Esposito fell behind early after Jantzen notched a takedown and a trio of back points. He could never get going as Jantzen built up loads of riding time and took any offense out of Esposito.

Tyrone Lewis dropped a tough 5-2 decision to Lehigh's Troy Letters. Letters recorded a takedown and a pair of back points and that is all the he needed as he held off a fury of attempts by Lewis.

In the consolation semifinals, Johnny Thompson battled Travis Lee in a high scoring affair. Lee struck first with a takedown but Thompson then scored an escape. Thompson tied the score with an escape to open the second, and then pulled out the "snake" to record a trio of back points and a takedown.

The Oklahoma City, Okla., native took a 7-3 lead into the third period only to see Lee cut the lead to one with an escape and takedown. After Lee cut Thompson, a flurry began and the Cowboy came out on top with a takedown. But Lee quickly scored a reversal to make the score 10-8. But that is as close as he would come as Thompson held on to record the victory. With the win, he advanced to the third-place match.

After advancing to the third-place match, Thompson scored a pair of takedowns en route to a 6-3 decision over Cal Poly's Darrell Vasquez. With the win, Thompson ended his career at OSU as a four-time All-American, placing second, first, first and third.

Jake Rosholt advanced to the third-place match with his 5-3 win over Illinois' Bryan Glynn. Rosholt scored a pair of takedowns in the first period, and that was all that he needed as he went on to earn the victory. In his third-place match, Rosholt scored a pair of takedowns in the first period and held off a fighting Paul Bradley (Iowa) to seal the victory, 6-5.

Johny Hendricks lost a close battle to Illinois' Alex Tirapelle, 4-1. Tirapelle recorded the only takedown of the match early in the first period and then built up riding time to secure the riding time point. Hendricks dropped down to the fifth-place match where he faced Iowa State's Travis Paulson.

In that match, Hendricks scored a pair of takedowns in the first period to take a 4-2 lead heading into the second period. Paulson was riding Hendricks for over a minute before Hendricks shook him off, cradled him and then pinned him. In his first year in the starting lineup, and as a redshirt freshman, Hendricks became an All-American.

Will Gruenwald ended his career as an All-American and placed seventh this year. In his match against Scott Coleman of Iowa State, he fell behind early 2-1 but came back in the second period, and scored an escape and a takedown to capture the lead.

The Skiatook, Okla., native rode Coleman for well over a minute in the third period to seal the victory with the riding time point.

OSU ended the season as NCAA Champions, Big 12 Champions and the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals Team Champions. The team crowned seven All-Americans and an individual national champion.
 

The Cowboys won in convincing fashion with 143 team points. Minnesota came in second with 104.5 points, while Oklahoma chipped in 78 points to finish third. Rounding out the top fiver were Lehigh with 69 points and Arizona State with 65 points.

The 143 points the Cowboys scored were the most ever by an OSU team. The previous high was 117.

Johnny Thompson and Jake Rosholt both captured individual titles for the Cowboys.

The Cowboys clinched the title during the consolation semifinals with four of the five wrestlers winning.

In the finals, Thompson faced off with Minnesota's Ryan Lewis in a rematch of last year's finals, while Jake Rosholt battled Scott Barker of Missouri.

Thompson won his second individual title after defeating Lewis, 5-3.

The two wrestled to a scoreless first period. Lewis notched the first points of the match with an escape in the second. Thompson then scored on a double leg takedown to take the 2-1 advantage.

Lewis tied the score at 2-2 after recording an escape at the end of the second.

The now two-time National Champion went up 3-2 after scoring an escape to open the third. The Oklahoma City, Okla., native captured his second takedown of the match to extend his lead to 5-2.

Thompson went on to win his second individual title as he held off Lewis in the final minute.

Rosholt entered the tournament as the 10th seed and came out as No. 1. He captured the title after romping Barker in a 13-5 major decision. The Sand Point, Idaho, native recorded two takedowns in the first period to take a 4-2 lead heading into the second frame.

Barker cut the lead to 4-3 with an escape to open the second, but that would be the closest he would come.

Rosholt didn't let up in the third period as he record a trio of takedowns and a two-point near fall en route to the title.

Shane Roller pinned his way to a third-place finish. Roller cradled Scott Owen of Northern Illinois in 5:30. The Bixby, Okla., native took a 5-0 lead after scoring a takedown and cradling Owen to end the first.

Roller then recorded the fall with :30 seconds left in the second period.

In the third-place match, Roller faced defending National Champion Luke Becker of Minnesota. Roller went from a front headlock to the "snake" to record the fall in :34.

Pendleton notched a third-place finish after cruising through the consolation semifinals with a :17 pin, the quickest in the tournament, over Oregon's Shane Webster. The Lemoore, Calif., native captured third after manhandling Arizona State's Curtis Owen, 17-4.

Pendleton only had a 2-1 lead at the end of the first, but extended his lead to 13-3 after the second period. He then recorded a pair of takedowns in the final period to notch the victory.

Muhammed Lawal wrestled his way to a third-place finish after defeating Nebraska's Justin Ruiz, 5-3, in the consolation semifinals, and Sean Stender, 7-4, in the third-place match.

Jerrod Sanders defeated Boise State's Colin Robertson, 3-2, to advance to the third-place match. Sanders notched a fourth-place finish after falling to Jesse Jantzen of Harvard, 5-3.

Tyrone Lewis captured his third All-America honors after defeating John Clark of Ohio State, 12-6, in the fifth-place match.

The Cowboys ended the year at 17-0, Big 12 Champions and National Champions.