Cowboys extend streak with 23-16 victory

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ Top-ranked Oklahoma State used a pin by Zack Esposito at 141 pounds to begin a rally that led to its seventh straight wrestling victory over No. 4 Oklahoma. <br><br>The Sooners built

Monday, December 9th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ Top-ranked Oklahoma State used a pin by Zack Esposito at 141 pounds to begin a rally that led to its seventh straight wrestling victory over No. 4 Oklahoma.

The Sooners built a 16-3 lead by winning four of the first five matches Sunday night. Esposito then came through with a pin of Nate Parker to start a run of five straight victories as Oklahoma State won 23-16.

``Definitely the turning point in the match,'' said OU assistant coach Barry Weldon. ``Any time you get pinned in a big match, it affects momentum. It gets things going in the other way.''

The Cowboys followed Esposito's victory by getting wins from Jerrod Sanders at 149, Shane Roller at 157, Tyrone Lewis at 165 and Chris Pendleton at 174.

``These guys knew what they had to do,'' said OSU coach John Smith, who held out two regulars. ``We put ourselves in a situation where if anything had gone against us in the final five matches, we could have gone home with our heads down.''

Oklahoma wrestled without head coach Jack Spates, who is recovering from a mild heart attack. Spates had an angioplasty last week and is recuperating at home.

``We tried to downplay the situation so we could focus on the task at hand,'' Weldon said. ``My first reaction is we got outwrestled.''