The 133-pounder won both of his matches during the first day of the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Scottrade Center on Thursday. It was a major shift from two weeks ago, when Scott's Big 12 Conference hopes were sunk in the first round.
And it was a good day overall for the Cowboys, who also have Nathan Morgan (141) and heavyweight Jared Rosholt alive in the championship bracket. Morgan won his first match of the day by technical fall and then pinned Cornell's Adam Frey in the second round.
For Scott, who was a runner-up last year, the first day couldn't have gone much better.
"I have to prove to everybody that I'm still the No. 1 guy at my weight class,” Scott said. "I'm just going to try to dominate everyone and do what I have to do to get to the top of that podium.”
Getting past the first match helped ease him into a routine.
"For me, especially since my sophomore year when I lost the first match the last two years, I've been nervous that first round,” he said. "I came out with that win, and I should have beaten that kid a lot worse. I'm having fun right now, and I'm just going to keep winning and working hard.”
Morgan lost in the finals at the Big 12 Championships and even surprised OSU coach John Smith with his first-day showing on Thursday. But Smith said Scott needs to improve.
"Nathan looked good,” Smith said. "There were things that I haven't seen out of him in quite some time, just being aggressive. He has the right attitude out there. Coleman has to wrestle better than he has the last two matches.”
As for the team race, the Cowboys are still in the picture. Oklahoma State will go into today's action tied for sixth place with Missouri at 23.0 points. Iowa leads the team standings with 29.5 points.
Losses by Brandon Mason (174) and Jack Jensen (184) didn't help OSU much, though.
"A little bit of our inconsistency showed today,” Smith said. "Brandon Mason didn't really show up in either match. There was some good and some bad. We're just not strong enough right now. When you're working with guys who must wrestle hard to win, there's no room for error.”
With two wins, including one by fall Thursday, Rosholt continued his strong season. The sophomore will now get another crack at Iowa's Matt Fields this morning. Fields beat Rosholt 4-3 in January.
"I'm looking forward to that for sure,” Rosholt said. "That's going to be intense going into the semis. I'm looking forward to that. I'm not going to give up easy points.”
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