David Taylor Defends Cowboys Over 5 Big 12 Title Continuous Defeats

No pain, no gain! And all your life’s losses will lead you to win better. That pretty much reflects David Taylor‘s experience in getting crowned his first conference title. It was his debut season as head coach, and what a grand breakthrough, indeed! But did the team have it easy? Well, no! There were ups and downs, and yet, the Cowboys pushed through it all.

What were these ups and downs? 5 straight-up defeats, you see! Yet, the team didn’t collapse. The Cowboys were tied with Northern Iowa at 149.5 points, given those defeats, right ahead of the title decider. We had Troy Spratley, Tagen Jamison, and Dean Hamiti Jr. losing in extra time, followed by Dustin Plott and Luke Surber losing by decisions. However, later, Wyatt Hendrickson picked up the pieces.

And what did Taylor have to say about their close shave? “I mean, you’re talking about you’re wrestling the number one guy in the country; you’re a two-time national champion. I mean, I think DJ did a great job. You got to capitalize, you know, at the end. You know, I think I think DJ continued to score; you know, let’s keep scoring, but Keegan’s a great wrestler; he’s been in those situations a lot, found a way to win tonight. Well, we got that match in; it’s a good match for us. We didn’t get in; we got it tonight. We got a feel now; we got to make some adjustments.”

What came as a shocker to most was this very loss. As it was top-seeded Dean Hamiti Jr. from OSU and Missouri’s two-time national champ Keegan O’Toole were set to put on a show. While the first period went scoreless, Hamiti got an escape and a takedown in the second. However, O’Toole got it right back in the third at a 7-4 win, handing Hamiti Jr. a rather unexpected loss.

But yes, it was not smooth sailing for the Cowboys given the five back-to-back five losses. But like it’s said, all your losses will lead you to bigger wins. David Taylor has given it his all this season and ultimately the team rallied to pull through.

The night of losses ended on a winning note for David Taylor

It started with Troy Spratley losing to Jett Strickenberger for the third time this year. While it looked liked Spratley was in control, he got caught underneath and the latter pinned him, with Strickenberger ending up with the takedown. And that set the scene for the subsequent losing streak, with Jamison falling to Cael Happel in overtime soon after.

At 184 pounds, Parker Keckeisen from Northern Iowa went up against Oklahoma State’s Dustin Plott in a big match. Keckeisen sealed the deal by cruising to an 8-1 win against Plott. Then, we had Oklahoma State’s top-seeded Luke Surber facing Northern Iowa’s third-seeded Wyatt Voelker. The latter won it, taking a lead at 4-1. Surber escaped to make it 4-2, but Voelker held on for the win.

So how did the tables turn for the Cowboys? Well, Wyatt Hendrickson ensured there was light at the end of the tunnel.It was Hendrickson’s win that boosted the team’s score and gave them the overall victory.

But interestingly enough, he wasn’t aware that the team’s standings were all tied when he hit the mat. He said, “I kind of caught myself. I wanted to watch my guys because I love my team. I want to support them and watch them wrestle. But I did a good job of staying in the back. I wasn’t paying attention to that (team scoring),”  as reported in the Oklahoman.

With the conference title all wrapped up, David Taylor now looks towards the NCAA Championships later this month. As far as coaching debuts go, Taylor’s is one for the history books. But is there one more chapter left to be written in Philadelphia? It all comes down to the showdowns on the mat.