Cowboy Wrestling Signs Five To 2013 Team

Oklahoma State wrestling coach John Smith announced the signing of five wrestlers to National Letters of Intent Wednesday.

"Of the five guys we signed, the two that really stand out are our young men from Ohio, Anthony Collica and Dean Heil," Smith said. "Both have accomplished quite a bit and have wrestled well. They're our first Ohio wrestlers in quite some time, and that's exciting. Zac Gentzler, the kid from Kansas that we signed late, brings a lot of winning to the program. I like what I see in Eli Hale and Davey Dolan, our two Oklahoma boys. These guys have competed on the national level and had some success. That's what we're looking for out of our state kids. These two guys lead the pack in the state."

The signees:

Anthony Collica
Solon, Ohio/Solon

Ranked No. 1 in the nation at 152 pounds entering his senior year by Amateur Wrestling News, No. 2 by WIN Magazine and No. 4 nationally by Intermat … 2012 Fargo junior freestyle national champion at 145 pounds after placing fourth in Fargo at 140 pounds in 2011 … Two-time Ohio state champion entering his senior year … Won the 130-pound title as a sophomore in 2011 and the 145-pound crown as a junior … Sports a 124-13 record entering his senior year … Age group national champion water skier when he was 12 … Good student with a 3.5 GPA … Sister, Maria, was a second-team all-state soccer player … Three-time freestyle state champion … Father was an All-America wrestler at John Carroll and mother was heavily involved in water skiing.

Zac Gentzler
Andover Kan./Central

Three-time Kansas class 5A state champion … Won titles at 103 pounds as a freshman and as a sophomore, then won the 113-pound crown as a junior … Enters his senior season with a 118-1 career record with his lone loss coming to a nationally-ranked wrestler from Missouri … Has never lost to an in-state opponent and has only been taken down once by a Kansas wrestler … Is generally recognized as the best wrestler at any weight class in the state of Kansas … Placed second at sophomore nationals in Virginia Beach and was fourth at the same event as a junior ... Good student with a GPA above 3.8 ... Older brother was a three-time state wrestling champion as well.

Eli Hale
Miami, Okla./Miami

Seventh-place finisher at the 2011 Fargo junior freestyle national championships at 112 pounds … 2012 Oklahoma state runner-up at 120 pounds … 2011 state runner-up at 113 pounds … Straight-A student with several advanced placement classes … 88-15 record with 55 pins entering senior year … All-American at freestyle duals in 2012 … Third at folkstyle nationals in 2012 … Helped build 20 houses in Mexico with his church group during the springs of 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively … Chose Oklahoma State despite being accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy, he said largely because of John Smith and the Cowboy wrestling coaching staff.

Dean Heil
Strongsville, Ohio/St. Edward

Ranked No. 1 in the nation at 132 pounds entering his senior season by Intermat and is No. 2 by Amateur Wrestling News … Enters his senior year as a three-time Ohio state champion, winning titles in the 103-pound weight class as a freshman in 2010, the 119-pound weight class as a sophomore in 2011 and the 126-pound weight class as a junior in 2012.

Davey Dolan
Berryhill, Okla./Berryhill

Enters his senior year as a three-time Oklahoma high school class 3A state champion, winning the 2010 title at 119 pounds, and the 2011 and 2012 titles at 135 pounds … Finished his sophomore and junior seasons undefeated, and has compiled an overall record of 112-4.