High Noon Highlights (3/21): Cowboy wrestling tries to defeat Penn State, how a Cowgirl softball player has improved her swing

It’s high noon...

Wrestling will try to dethrone Penn State:

With the NCAA Wrestling Tournament getting underway later today. This is a must-read for Cowboy fans that want to understand exactly what it’s going to take to overthrow the favorite to win the title, Penn State.

“We need to focus on our early matches and bonus points will make a difference,” Cowboy coach John Smith said. “I think we’re definitely a distance away from them, but that distance can be closed by great performances and that’s what we’ve got to focus on.”

Bonus-point victories have been a staple of Penn State’s runs at the NCAA tournament, coupled with deep runs by multiple wrestlers – with four individual national champions a year ago.

But the Cowboys are hopeful they have a team that could potentially duplicate the numbers Penn State amasses.

And having four wrestlers ranked in the top four of their respective weights gives reason for Oklahoma State to potentially be a top contender to track down Penn State.

The Cowboys have top two seeds in the first two weights on the mat, with redshirt junior Nick Piccininni earning the No. 2 seed at 125 and redshirt freshman Daton Fix moving into the top seed at 133 after winning a Big 12 Conference title. {Stillwater Newspress}

“It Takes a Special Person”

Speaking of wrestling, Oklahoma State star Daton Fix discusses what it takes to be a wrestler and the respect athletes in the sport have for one another.

Sydney Pennington has worked on her swing:

Cowgirl Softball player Sydney Pennington has put a lot of effort into making sure that her swing has improved from last season. Jordan Bishop of the Stillwater Newspress looked at just how much it took for her to start hitting better.

Sydney Pennington studies her bat swing so much she might as well add it to her course schedule at Oklahoma State.

Whether it is hand placement, stance or timing, she is constantly trying to find the perfect swing. The sophomore works on it countlessly and watches tape of herself in order to have the best at-bats she can possibly have.

OSU fans have seen what Pennington can do even when her swing is in a funk, as her power is able to overcompensate for the missed angles sometimes, with each of her home runs last season actually being mishit, she said.

So just imagine what she can do when she hits them square.

That’s what Pennington hopes for each times she walks into the batter’s box and what she has been fine-tuning since the offseason and believes she has found the combination she is most comfortable at.

“We have been messing around with some things and trying to see what makes me hit the best in games,” Pennington said. “I got my leg kick back a little bit and I think that gives me some more power at the plate and makes me mentally think that I am hitting the ball harder. Not that I am, but sometimes you need that.” {Stillwater Newspress}

Cowgirl Coverage Podcast:

In this week’s episode of Triple Play Sports Cowgirl Coverage Podcast, Chris Young stops by to talk about how Cowgirl Tennis has started Big 12 play. Take a listen here: