Oklahoma State's Run Of NCAA Wrestling Titles In Danger

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) _ Oklahoma State's streak of four straight NCAA wrestling titles is in danger of ending as the Cowboys finish the opening day of the national tournament in suburban Detroit

Friday, March 16th 2007, 7:53 am

By: News On 6

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) _ Oklahoma State's streak of four straight NCAA wrestling titles is in danger of ending as the Cowboys finish the opening day of the national tournament in suburban Detroit in seventh place.

Missouri's 174-pounder Ben Askren won three matches to extend his winning streak to 84, while Minnesota took the lead over the Tigers in the team standings.

Askren's victories helped the Tigers hold second place at the end of the second round. Missouri had 29-and-a-half points, trailing Minnesota's 34. Iowa State was third with 27-point-5, Penn State had 24 and Iowa rounded out the top five with 20. OSU had 18.

While his teammates struggled, OSU's Johny Hendricks had one of the easiest first days among the top seeds. The two-time defending 165-pound champion needed just 72 seconds to pin Cal State-Bakersfield's Daniel Atondo in the first round, then picked up a 21-to-5 win over Purdue's Justin Fraga.