OKLAHOMA CITY — The University of Minnesota won the battle but lost the war.

Gopher heavyweight Cole Konrad won his much-anticipated match with Steve Mocco in the tournament’s final bout, but it was the Cowboys who had the last laugh, crowning two champions and outdistancing UM, 122-84. Oklahoma was third with 80.5. Iowa was a distant fourth with 70 points.

“This tournament is not so much about the start. It’s about the finish,” said OSU head coach John Smith. “In the end it was our student-athletes who bonded together and got us this win. On Friday morning we hit it hard and that allowed us to gather some momemtum that we carried over into (Saturday).

“We will have some rebuilding to do for next season. But that doesn’t mean we will have a poor season. Building means we will have to take individuals who don’t have any credentials and turn them into champions.”

After securing the team title on Friday night, the Pokes, who claimed their fourth-consecutive NCAA trophy, went out about collecting medals. Sophomores Coleman Scott and Nathan Morgan joined senior Zack Esposito on Saturday morning in picking up All-America honors.

On the raised stage of the Ford Center on Saturday, it was Johny Hendricks and senior Jake Rosholt who stole the show.

Rosholt finished his career with a third NCAA title, thoroughly dominating Penn State’s Phillip Davis, 10-3, in the 197-pound finals. In four All-America seasons, Rosholt, from Sandpoint, Idaho, was 20-1 in NCAA tourney matches.

“I thought about winning my last match in this uniform and being able to go up into the stands and hug my mom,” said Rosholt, whose brother Jared is expected to be the team’s heavyweight next season. “(Tracey Rosholt) has been a rock when times were tough. It was pretty special to be able to enjoy this with my family.”

Jesyca Rosholt was a star on Karen Hancock’s soccer squad.

The senior 197-pounder had a scare in the first round, avoiding a cradle situation against Michigan’s Willie Breyer before going on to win 21-9. The rest of the weekend, Rosholt was never challenged.

Hendricks’ match was much different as Michigan’s top-seeded Ryan Churella, who brought a perfect record into the finals, cradled the Edmond Memorial product in the second period and, had he had a few more seconds, may have ended it.

It gave Churella a 7-4 lead with one period to wrestle.

Hendricks, the champion a year ago, however, would not be denied.

He escaped for 7-5 and skated the boundary for a 7-7 takedown with 40 seconds to wrestle. Hendricks cut Churella for 8-7 and, once again, scored a takedown right at the edge of the mat with :03 showing.

“I was worried because I had his leg up with 15 seconds left ... but I had been there four times before and didn’t score,” Hendricks said. “The fifth time I was going to club him to get him off balance and get that leg.

“That was too close for comfort.”

Hendricks (29-1) had a close call in the semifinals, beating American’s Muzzafar Abdurakmanov, 4-3, on a stalling call that many non-OSU fans felt was bogus. Adding to the fans’ displeasure was a bit of showmanship during a quarterfinal win and again after his finals win.

“That’s Johny Hendricks,” said Smith.

“It was amazing,” added Hendricks. “I knew I had to do it (in OKC). If I don’t win another title, I wanted to make sure I did it here.”

For Mocco, seeking his third title in a fourth trip to the finals, it came down to a second overtime tiebreaker. After over 10 minutes of wrestling — or pushing and shoving — Konrad escaped, had a riding time advantage and countered a late Mocco shot for a 5-2 win.

Mocco finishes his college career with a 135-6 record with three of the losses coming to Konrad this season.

Esposito finished his career with a 120-12 record and a bronze medal. The Three Bridges, N.J., product dropped a semifinal decision to Iowa’s Ty Eustice on Friday night, but came back with a vengeance to take third with two wins on Saturday morning.

Esposito was a three-time All-American and was the champion in 2005 after losing in the 2004 finals.



Second best

This week’s attendance was 95,501, the second most for an NCAA Tournament. In 2000, 96,944 watched in St. Louis.

The tournament is in Auburn Hills, Mich., next March.



Rookie split

True freshman Dustin Schlatter finished 42-1 with a win over Iowa senior Ty Eustice in the 149-pound finals. A second rookie, Cornell’s Troy Nickerson, lost to Indiana’s Joe Dubuque, who won his second, at 125 pounds.



OW

Missouri junior Ben Askren, second fiddle to former Cowboy Chris Pendleton for two seasons, was named Outstanding Wrestler after rolling through the 174-pound bracket. OU’s Wes Roberts held Askren to 6-4. The rest of Askren’s scores read like: 9-2, 19-3, 21-6 and 14-2. The final score came in the finals against unbeaten Jake Herbert of Northwestern.

Askren finishes 44-0.



The takedown

Iowa State senior Nate Gallick completed a perfect 37-0 campaign with a win over Edmond North product Teyon Ware. Gallick scored “the” takedown in the first period and went on to a 3-2 victory in the 141-pound final.

Ware was a four-time All-American and two-time champ, beating Gallick for the 2005 title.



Pins trophy

Iowa’s Mark Perry earned the Most Falls Trophy with four pins. He scored 22 1/2 of the Hawkeyes’ points and had more than Gallick (22), a champion. Perry, from Stillwater, lost to Herbert, but came back finish third at 174.



Maybe next year

Minnesota had two champions and a silver — Roger Kish lost to Oregon’s Shane Webster, who happens to be coached by Ricky Stewart, an assistant to former Cowboy Chuck Kearney.

Minnesota entered the week ranked No. 1, but finished with just four All-Americans and in second place.

“Last year we were fifth and O-State was winning everything,” said former Cowboy and longtime UM boss J Robinson. “We came here to win. We had two champions and three in the finals.

“But I remember talking to the booster club last year and if I had told them that we were going to have three in the finals, win the Big Tens and go 21-1 in duals they would have been happy.

“A year ago everybody was conceding this thing.”



Fighting back

Penn senior 133-pounder Matt Valenti (36-2) did not wrestle during the 2004-05 season after having shoulder surgery before the season. He was an All-American in 2004 and did not place in 2003 as a freshman.

This weekend, Valenti, who last lost on Dec. 2 in the finals of the Las Vegas Tournament, beat Nos. 2, 3 and 5 on his way to the title. Saturday night he beat Purdue’s Chris Fleeger.