2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships: Klimara gets upset, 7 Cowboys advance

The Oklahoma State wrestling team went 7-3 with two bonus-point wins during the first round and are currently tied with Missouri and Michigan for fifth place with 10 points after session one on Thursday morning at the 2016 NCAA Championships in front of 17,761 fans at Madison Square Garden.

Ohio State holds a slight lead in the team race with 16.5 points, half a point ahead of second-place Penn State. Ohio State posted a 6-2 record to open the tournament and scored bonus points in all six wins. Nebraska (13) and Iowa (11) round out the top four teams.

Two-time national champion Alex Dieringer and Chandler Rogers picked the bonus-point wins for the Cowboys. Top-seeded Dieringer at 165 pounds pinned Austin Trott of Gardner-Webb in 2 minutes, 22 seconds for his 11th fall this season. Rogers, seeded ninth at 174, led 3-2 going into the third period and scored a reversal and a four-point nearfall with riding time for a 10-2 major decision over Rustin Barrick of Bucknell.

The road to becoming an All-American became a lot easier for Rogers, who saw No. 2 seed Brian Realbuto of Cornell, No. 3 seed Blaise Butler of Missouri and No. 4 seed Ethan Ramos of North Carolina all get upset by unseeded wrestlers in the opening round.

The Cowboys day didn't start off well with back-to-back losses.

At 125 pounds, No. 6 seed Eddie Klimara was upset by unseeded Conor Youtsey of Michigan in a thrilling 7-6 bout. Both were returning All-Americans in this weight class. Gary Wayne Harding, unseeded at 133, fell to Josh Alber of Northern Iowa by 10-6 decision.

Then the Cowboys rolled off six straight wins.

At 141, top-seeded Dean Heil fended off Javier Gasca of Michigan State for a 4-1 win. Anthony Collica found himself in a 2-0 hole early, but scored four takedowns en route to a 11-8 decision over Joey Delgado of Oregon State. Collica will face 2014 national champion Jason Tsirtsis of Northwestern next round.

Joe Smith trailed his entire match, but mounted a thrilling comeback for the win over Jake Ryan of Ohio State in a bout against coach's sons. Smith scored two takedowns and forced a stall call to tie it 9-9 to force sudden victory. The true freshman was able to scored another takedown on a wild scramble for the decision.

Eighth-seeded Nolan Boyd kept the Cowboys rolling after Dieringer and Rogers wins. Boyd controlled the match, but two takedowns by Alex Utley of North Carolina with less than 30 seconds left provided a scare. The OSU junior held off the charge and with a riding time earned an 8-5 decision.

Despite winning the Big 12 championships Preston Weigel was unseeded and drew No. 3 Brett Pfarr of Minnesota. Pfarr comfortably earned a 5-1 decision to send Weigel to the consolation bracket.

Fourth-seed Austin Marsden scored a takedown in the closing seconds of the first period, which propelled him to a 5-1 decision over Riley Shaw of Cleveland State at heavyweight.

The second session will begin at 6 p.m. (CT). All the action can be viewed live on ESPNU.

Team Standings

1. Ohio State - 16.5

2. Penn State - 16

3. Nebraska - 13

4. Iowa - 11

T5. Oklahoma State - 10

T5. Michigan - 10

T5. Mizzou - 10

T8. NC State - 9

T8. Virginia Tech - 9

T10. Rutgers - 6.5

T10. Illinois - 6.5

First round results

125: Conor Youtsey (MICH) dec. No. 6 Eddie Klimara (OSU), 7-6

133: No. 15 Josh Alber (UNI) dec. Gary Wayne Harding (OSU), 10-6

141: No. 1 Dean Heil (OSU) dec. Javier Gasca (MSU), 4-1

149: No. 11 Anthony Collica (OSU) dec. Joey Delgado (ORST), 11-8

157: No. 6 Joe Smith (OSU) dec. Jake Ryan (tOSU), 11-9

165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (OSU) fall Austin Trott (GW), 2:22

174: No. 9 Chandler Rogers (OSU) MD Rustin Barrick (BUCK), 10-2

184: No. 8 Nolan Boyd (OSU) dec. Alex Utley (UNC), 8-5

197: No. 3 Brett Pfarr (MINN) dec. Preston Weigel (OSU), 5-0

285: No. 4 Austin Marsden (OSU) dec. Riley Shaw (CSU), 5-1

Second round schedule

141: No. 1 Dean Heil (OSU) vs. No. 10 Randy Cruz (LEH)

149: No. 11 Anthony Collica (OSU) vs. No. 6 Jason Tsirtsis (NW)

157: No. 6 Joe Smith (OSU) vs. Bryce Steiert (UNI)

165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (OSU) vs. No. 16 Devon Gobbo (HARV)

174: No. 9 Chandler Rogers (OSU) vs. Casey Kent (PENN)

184: No. 8 Nolan Boyd (OSU) vs. No. 9 Matt Miller (NAVY)

285: No. 4 Austin Marsden (OSU) vs. William Miller (EDIN)