Great First a CENTURY

Of the 86 NCAA Tournaments contested in collegiate wrestling, 34 times Oklahoma State has raised the trophy. Cowboy wrestlers have won 139 individual titles. The University of Iowa is second with 80. In dual meet competition, OSU IS AN ASTOUNDING 1,046-122-24 ALL-TIME ENTERING 2015-2016

The Olympic legacy is also unmatched. Eleven gold medals have been claimed by Cowboys with at least one OSU grappler competing in every Olympiad from 1924 to 1976. At the 2012 London Games, Coleman Scott wrestled to a bronze medal.

All told, there is no trophy case large enough to house all the hardware earned by Oklahoma State wrestlers over the last century.

The true measure of a program, however, has more to do with those who shaped it, those who set standards from the outset and made sure each succeeding generation knew the sacrifice required to maintain a championship level. Their names will always be part of the wrestling lexicon: Gallagher, Griffith and Roderick Those three coaches led the program from 1916 to 1969, and that trio combined for 26 national team titles.

It started with a man, Edward C. Gallagher, who never wrestled, but became the “father of collegiate wrestling.” Oklahoma A&M’s first physical education major, Art Griffith , continued that legacy, developing his own style and making sure the post-World War II collegiate athletic scene would include the sport of wrestling. The next leader of the orange and black, Myron Roderick , added to his talented roster of rural stock by bringing in outsiders — national and international.

The next half-century provided new coaches with new ideas and kept the program among the nation’s elite.

The fourth coach, Tommy Chesbro , brought a style all his own with stars and more memories. Joe Seay coached the Cowboys to a pair of national titles with one of his pupils, John Smith, becoming arguably the best the sport has produced.

Smith was asked to resurrect a program in desperate need following NCAA sanctions in 1992. Two years later, there was a championship, and a decade’s worth of rebuilding later, there were four straight to bring the total to 34.

Hall of Fame coaches, superstar athletes and stories to fill endless volumes. That is Oklahoma State wrestling.

“There really is no comparison,” said Smith, entering his 25th year as head coach. “Coach Gallagher built something special, and to look what the program has accomplished over the last century is pretty remarkable.

“A standard has been set, and every wrestler who puts on that singlet has to understand what that means.”

One hundred years of wrestling. Immeasurable impact with infinite stories to tell.

Following In Big Footsteps

ART GRIFFITH , a 1924 OAMC graduate, had many challenges. Following in the footsteps of a legend topped the list, but at the same time, he had to beat those coaches who trained their charges in the Gallagher style. Instead of leverage and power, Griffith taught diversion and counter-attacking with speed.

“There was a time when everything kind of looked the same; every wrestler worked the same holds and techniques,” said Art’s son, Jack, in 2004. “(Coach Griffith) would have a bunch of different styles. No two wrestled the same.”

Like his predecessor, Griffith’s numbers speak for themselves: 78-7-4 in dual meets with eight NCAA titles. Also like his mentor, A&M’s second coach contributed much more to the growing sport, including what is known as “chain wrestling” and the initiation of a scoring system to further enhance that development.

Griffith’s final year, 1956, saw A&M host the NCAA Championship. A fiery senior named Myron Roderick won his third title and would finish fourth at the 1956 Tokyo Olympics. Griffith recommended that his star pupil succeed him and make sure that Oklahoma State University, renamed in 1957, continued the tradition created by OAMC.

Roderick, at the age of 22, kept OSU at the top of the wrestling ladder. With collegiate athletics’ increased profile in 1950s America, Roderick knew that a broader recruiting base was necessary. More wrestling programs meant more choices and Oklahoma did not have the population to provide all the necessary stars needed for championship-level teams.

Outside of the state line, those stars included Masaaki Hatta , son of the director of Japanese amateur wrestling, and Yojiro Uetake, perhaps the best to ever don an orange and black singlet. Uetake did not lose a collegiate match in 57 tries. HE WAS A THREE-TIME NCAA CHAMPION AND WON OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALS FOR JAPAN IN 1964 AND 1968.

Said Roderick of Uetake, “He was the best collegiate wrestler I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of them.”

During his induction into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame last summer, Uetake said, “I still think (Roderick) is the best coach I’ve ever seen.”

Uetake knew 1960 Olympic champions Doug Blubaugh and Shelby Wilson trained in Stillwater. So in order to be an Olympic gold medalist, Uetake felt Oklahoma State was the place to be.

With stars like Uetake, Roderick coached the Cowboys to a 140-10-7 dual meet record and seven NCAA championships.

Tommy Chesbro was next to mentor Cowboys. His 15 years produced more stars and some of the most memorable moments, including Daryl Monasmith’s Gallagher Hallshaking victory over Iowa State’s FRANK SANTANA , a reigning national champion, in the 1978 Big Eight finals, and Mitch Shelton’s dramatic pin of STEVE “DR. DEATH” WILLIAMS in the 1982 Bedlam battle.

Monasmith’s victory has become the stuff of legend.

“My match (with Santana) is only eight minutes of 100 years of excellence,” Monasmith said. “I am humbled and so proud that when that 1978 Big Eight (Tournament) is discussed, people smile when they think back to that moment.

“I am honored and blessed to be a part of the OSU wrestling family. Never could I imagine having so much fun with teammates, fans, coaches and students as I did during those four years in Stillwater. And to be included in conversations of great wrestlers and great moments over the 100 years is truly an honor.”

OKLAHOMA STATE RECORD-HOLDER

INGEBORG LOEVNES HAS MADE HER MARK WEARING THE NEON-ORANGE RUNNING SINGLET ON THE TRACK AND CROSS COUNTRY COURSE.

NEXT SUMMER, THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THE COWGIRL WILL BE WEARING THE RED, BLUE AND WHITE OF HER NATIVE NORWAY AT THE 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES. AND A YEAR FROM NOW, SHE’LL DON A WHITE LAB COAT AS SHE RESUMES MEDICAL SCHOOL. YOU READ THAT RIGHT — RESUMES.

The SCANDINAVIAN SENIOR BEGAN HER COLLEGE CAREER STUDYING MEDICINE for two years at the University of Oslo before venturing overseas. Her home country’s path to becoming a doctor differs from the curriculum in the United States.

“We finish high school one year later so we’re basically done with all the general-ed classes in high school,” she explains. “In Norway, you sort of have your pre-med and med school combined in one six-year program, and you don’t have any general classes. You only take classes related to med school.”

Initially, Loevnes had no desire to become a physician.

“A lot of people who go to med school have always had this dream of becoming a doctor,” she says. “I was never like that. GROWING UP, I DIDN’T REALLY KNOW WHAT I WANTED TO DO. THE ONLY THING I KNEW WAS THAT I WOULD NOT BE GOING TO MED SCHOOL. I DIDN’T WANT TO BECOME A DOCTOR.”

That attitude began to change thanks in part to a required science class.

STORY BY CLAY BILLMAN | PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRUCE WATERFIELD

“In my final year in high school I had to take biology, and I found out I actually really liked it,” Loevnes says.

and cross country, says he originally recruited Loevnes while she was competing in high school.

“I was pretty high on her. Ingeborg was one of the best kids her age in all of Europe,” Smith recalls. “I went over there and visited with her and her mother. When she decided take a year off, we stayed in touch, and I THOUGHT MAYBE SHE’D COME TO OSU EVENTUALLY.

“BUT ONCE SHE GOT INTO MED SCHOOL — WHICH IS REALLY DIFFICULT — SHE WAS NO LONGER ON MY RADAR. In my recruiting travels through Europe I’d bump into her or her mother every once in a while, say ‘Hi’ and that would be it.”

“My original plan out of high school was to come to OSU,” Loevnes says. “I started to talk to Dave as early as he was allowed to recruit me and I was pretty set on coming here, but then I changed my mind. I didn’t really know what to do. When I started med school the next year, I guess it was always in the back of my mind that I might want to take a year off and come here, but I didn’t say it to anyone. I wasn’t really sure.”

In 2014, Loevnes reached out to Smith.

“She contacted me and said, ‘Hey, I think I want to take a break from med school and come over to the U.S. and run. Is it possible?’ Fortunately it was. AND HERE SHE IS.”

Getting Loevnes enrolled at OSU was no easy task, Smith says, simply because the two academic paths didn’t align.

“Some of her credits transferred and some of them didn’t because she had very specific, high level classes,” he explains.

Credit Smith and OSU’s academic and compliance staff who helped put the puzzle together. Loevnes enrolled in the fall of 2014 and was classified as junior eligibility-wise.

“IT WAS A LONG AND COMPLICATED PROCESS TO GET ME ELIGIBLE TO COMPETE,” Loevnes says, “Since I had gone to university for two years they had to consider me as a transfer, but to be eligible to compete, I had to be following a plan. You can’t go to med school as an undergrad here in America, but enough of the classes I took back home managed to fit into my degree so that’s the first two years, but I’ve been in a lot of general ed classes because that’s what I had to make up — American government, comp and all those classes.”

Loevnes plans to graduate in the spring with a University Studies degree and then go back home and finish med school next fall, although she may have to make up or retake some med school courses when she gets back to Oslo.

“I’m not sure. I just know that I will have a really busy year ... but I think it’s worth it.”

Loevnes says it’s common for Norwegian students to take some time off from med school, but a two-year hiatus is unusual.

“A lot of people in the program, especially if you’re on the younger side, take maybe half a year or a full year off. ORIGINALLY I HAD ONLY PLANNED TO COME

HERE FOR A YEAR. I just felt like I needed to do something else. I think I was just a bit overworked. It’s hard trying to do med school and run competitively at the same time. SCHOOL AND ATHLETICS ARE REALLY SEPARATED IN NORWAY, ESPECIALLY MED SCHOOL.”

Upon arriving in Stillwater last August, Loevnes immediately showed signs of being one of the Cowgirls’ top runners. A stress-fracture delayed her progress, however.

“She got hurt within 10 days of being here and was out for the entire cross country season,” Smith says. “She ran indoors at the very end of the season and ended up getting fourth in the conference in the 3K, but she was running on about half training. She just went out and did it.”

For the 2014 outdoor track season, Loevnes made a splash in the steeplechase, a grueling 3,000meter event on the oval with four 30-inch hurdles plus a fifth barrier featuring a water pit. At Stanford’s Payton Jordan Invitational in May, she shattered the school record by nearly 13 seconds with a personal best of 9:48.89.

She won her heat at the NCAA West Regional before the injury bug bit her again.

“She ran the regional meet and looked fantastic,” Smith recalls. “Won her race into nationals and looked like a million bucks. A day later she said, ‘My calf’s really tight, I probably need to take a day off.’ After a few days, it started to seem like more than just race soreness. We got to Eugene (Ore.) hoping that more time off would get that calf to loosen up.”

As the national championships approached, Loevnes still hadn’t been back on the track.

“A few days before her race, we went out to try jogging a few miles and just see how it felt. She jogged about 100 meters and said, ‘There’s no way. I can’t run on it.’ From that point on we treated it like it was another stress fracture — probably the most common injury in track and field. We said let’s just take six to eight weeks off, get over it completely and be able to start back.”

“IT WAS HARD BEING AT NATIONALS AND NOT BEING ABLE TO RACE,” she says. “I talked a lot with Dave and that sort of helped me figure out that I have to be more careful with how much I’m running. It made it easier to accept that I have to adjust a bit what I do training-wise because I don’t want to go through that again. That’s not how you want your season to end.”

“We just have to keep her healthy,” Smith says of the 201516 campaign. “INGEBORG GETS AEROBICALLY FIT VERY QUICKLY. She will cross-train really hard in periods of injury to the point where she’s very strong aerobically, ready to go, so when she starts running it feels easy to her. The problem when you’re cross training and swimming and running in the pool using the underwater treadmill is that you’re not loading your bones the same way you are when you run. So she’ll come back from a period of time off and go out for a few runs, feel really good and think she’s ready to start running hard. Her whole career I think she’s been prone to do more than she’s ready for. So we’re really keeping the reins tight on her this year. SHE’S STARTING TO FEEL REALLY GOOD RIGHT NOW, AND HER NATURAL INCLINATION IS TO GO.

“We need to go conservatively because if we don’t, she might run herself into another injury. That might mean she sacrifices a few places at the conference meet or at nationals, but we’re trying to keep her healthy for a full year and not have interruptions like she’s had her whole life.”

“RIGHT NOW I’M REALLY CAREFUL WITH WHAT I’M DOING,” Loevnes says. “I’m not allowed to run as much as I would like. I have to go to the pool instead and aquajog. That’s probably why I’m still healthy so it’s nice to at least be running.”

Despite growing up in a running household, Loevnes considers herself a rookie on grass.

“I’m a senior and on the older side of the girls on the team right now, but at the same time, I feel like I’m a freshman when it comes to cross country running.”

This cross country season, Loevnes showed the talent and toughness that made her an HONORABLE MENTION ALLAMERICAN on the track — with no signs of inexperience slowing her down.

“When you’re racing, you’re racing,” she says. “You don’t really think that much. It’s basically all out. It’s more about being smart when it comes to training. When the gun goes off, you’re not holding anything back. I give it my all.”

Loevnes led the Cowgirls to their firstever Big 12 Conference championship, a Midwest Regional title and a seventh place finish at Nationals — the OSU women’s best finish since 1989. Loevnes placed 35th at the NCAA Championships, earning All-American honors

Smith says she isn’t the most gifted athlete, but her combination of physical and mental strengths makes Loevnes a formidable competitor.

“She’s not extremely fast. Pretty good mechanics, but not great. SHE RUNS VERY EFFICIENTLY. SHE’S GOT A REALLY GOOD AEROBIC STRENGTH. SHE’S PATIENT IN THE WAY SHE RACES. SHE DOESN’T PANIC. SHE’S VERY MENTALLY TOUGH.

“Ingeborg is very knowledgeable about training and her sport,” he adds. “She’s a very focused individual. She understands how the process works. She’s had to deal with some ups-and-downs, and luckily she’s mature and she can handle that.”

Those traits translate well to the steeplechase, Smith adds.

“SHE RUNS WITH A LOT OF CONTROL AND POISE, WHICH IS WHAT YOU NEED IN THE STEEPLE — you’ve got to pace yourself right in that thing.

“Ingeborg will probably make the Olympic team for Norway next year in Rio. She has a great shot at it. She’s got big goals and knows where she wants to go and is pretty dialed in on getting there.”

This coming spring, Loevnes needs to shave several seconds off her time to make the 9:45.00 Olympic standard in the steeple. It’s a goal Loevnes hadn’t thought possible until becoming a Cowgirl.

“It’s kind of surreal to think that I actually have a chance,” Loevnes says. “It’s a realistic goal. When I came to OSU last fall, it was in the back of my mind, but I didn’t really think about it that much because it just seemed too far away.”

Smith says having a handful of world-class athletes as teammates has helped changed the mindset of the entire Cowgirl squad.

“ Natalja Piliusina WON AN NCAA TITLE AND HAS OLYMPIC HOPES. Monika Juodeskaite RECENTLY MADE THE LITHUANIAN OLYMPIC TEAM IN THE MARATHON. Kaela Edwards AND Savannah Camacho HAVE EACH BEEN SECOND AT NATIONALS, AND THOSE TWO WOMEN CAN CONTEND FOR OLYMPIC SPOTS. Clara Nichols IS ANOTHER ONE WHO’S GETTING THERE.

“I think that’s the beauty of being around a group of athletes with big goals. Talking about it — realistically pursuing it—changes the way you think. It changes what’s possible in their minds, JUST BEING AROUND PEOPLE WHO ARE TALKING ABOUT MAKING OLYMPIC TEAMS, BEING ALL-AMERICAN, WINNING NATIONAL AND CONFERENCE TITLES. They see each other as friends and teammates who have upsand-downs just like they do.”

Loevnes agrees.

“I see those girls working out every day. I know they’re super talented, and they work really, really hard. But I see them in workouts, and they’re human. They have good days and bad days like I have, like everyone has.”

Despite a relatively short stint in Stillwater, Loevnes will leave a lasting legacy on the Cowgirl program.

“I wish she’d come to OSU right out of high school,” Smith says. “To have four or five years with her would’ve been outstanding. But I’m thankful for the two years we got with her because she’s had an impact on our team.

“Five years from now when she’s a former Olympian — maybe even a two-time Olympian — we’re going to say, ‘That’s Ingeborg. She went to Oklahoma State and look what she’s out there doing.’ And at some point she’s going to be one of the best doctors in Norway.

Whatever is happening in your life, there’s a good chance your college experience helped you get to where you are today. When you reflect on that time, you may be overwhelmed by fond memories — meeting your spouse, celebrating a big football win, pulling an all-nighter to study or laughing with people who became your lifelong friends. Today’s Oklahoma State University students are having the same experiences as they pursue bright orange futures. Visit OSUgiving.com to learn how you can be a part of their journey.

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STORY BY GENE JOHNSON PHOTOS / OSU ATHLETICS ARCHIVES AND COURTESY