Bixby freshman Blankenship taking the reigns for Cowboys at 125 pounds

Rowdy Baribeau Staff Reporter

Just before OSU’s 125-pound match against Northern Colorado, fans in Gallagher-Iba Arena were serenaded with the Native American song, “Beautiful Way,” by Northern Wind blaring from the speakers.

On short notice, freshman Zach Blankenship would make his debut.

The result would not favor the young wrestler from Bixby as he wrestled No. 17 Stevo Poulin and lost 5-0. Nor would his second one against West Virginia, where he wrestled the No. 8 125-pounder in the nation and reigning All-American Killian Cardinale and lost to a 14-4 major decision.

Until Trevor Mastrogiovanni is cleared from an unknown injury to wrestle at 125 pounds, all signs point to Blankenship being the starter. Cowboy coach John Smith assured that, “my options right now are Zach Blankenship. Period.”

Even though Blankenship’s results last Friday and Sunday were not up to his standard, those close to him know that his true potential is nowhere close to being reached.

Before OSU, Blankenship was the pride of the Bixby Spartans. As a two-sport athlete, Blankenship excelled on the mat and on the gridiron as a tailback. A weight-room warrior and an academic assassin, Blankenship boasted a 300-pound power clean and a 4.7 GPA. He was also Bixby’s class president.

Blankenship won a lot in high school — a lot. He has almost as many rings as he does fingers with four Oklahoma state championships in football and three state titles in wrestling, posting a 116-5 career record.

The record is impressive, especially while wrestling in Oklahoma’s highest division. What may be more impressive is that Blankenship didn’t wrestle full-time. When Blankenship joined the wrestling squad, he would after the state championship game. He would wrestle from December to February every season at Bixby. In four years, Blankenship wrestled a total of eight months and was a three-time state champion.

Shane Roller, an OSU wrestling alumnus, coached Blankenship since he was 6. Roller was a three-time AllAmerican. Knowing that Blankenship has yet to be in a wrestling room for a full season, he’s aware that there’s plenty to be learned, especially on the stage of Division I wrestling.

Roller is encouraged that Blankenship is in a room full time, wrestling against top-tier competition at a historically successful wrestling program. Just as he was once a part of championship teams at OSU, he knows iron sharpens iron, and Blankenship will benefit from the position he’s found himself in.

“His ceiling is really high and he’s gonna get a lot better being in that wrestling room at OSU,” Roller said. “The other athletes up there, the great coaching staff they have up there, they’re gonna get him ready and he knows that. He’s trusted in the process, he knows he’s young and a lot of freshmen go through some adversity and he’ll respond the right way just because of what kind of person he is.”

Blankenship’s emergence at the 125-pound weight class may have come earlier than expected, but it’s not a surprise to Bixby wrestling coach Ray Blake, who described Blankenship as “a high-character kid.” Blake only got to coach Blankenship for one season, but the impression he left on him stands out among the others.

“It was an absolute pleasure coaching him,” Blake said. “He’s the type of athlete that as a coach, you’re never nervous when he steps out on the mat. I knew he was going to give maximum effort no matter what and it was going to lead to his best results. I was always confident in him, he’s an extremely hard worker who competes to the utmost of his abilities.”

Blankenship is not only an accomplished-student athlete, but a natural leader. His leadership abilities were prevalent at Bixby and Blake attributes much of the team’s success last year to his leadership.

“We had reached the dual state finals a couple times, we were nationally ranked,” Blake said. “It was definitely in part due to his leadership and him, helping elevate the people around him.”

Blankenship isn’t the most intimidating wrestler at first-glance due to his stature. He isn’t a tall, chiseled wrestler. Instead, he’s short with a compact build, especially in his lower body. With quads that rival an NFL player’s, explosiveness is one of Blankenship’s best attributes as a wrestler.

“I think it’s funny because people think that he’s small when he’s out there, but I think that’s actually the weight cut,” Blake said. “I think he cuts into his muscle mass a little bit right now making 125. Once he figures out how to make that weight while also keeping his strength up, people are going to see that he’s actually not small, he’s pretty darn strong.”

In wrestling, freshmen go through adversity more than the average second, third-year guy. Blake is certain that Blankenship will not end his wrestling career at OSU the way he started it.

“Once he’s their full-time starter, and I don’t know when that’s going to be, I think the more time he gets in competition, he’s going to catch up to the people around him pretty quickly,” Blake said. “I’d say that’s Zach’s greatest asset, is his competitiveness. He’s a competitor. He doesn’t like to lose and it motivates him like nothing else. I truly believe that he could be a multiple-time All-American and challenge for a national championship at Oklahoma State.”

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Edited

by Patti Varol and Joyce Lewis

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