The O'Colly, Friday, April 19, 2024

Friday, April 19, 2024

Rubble to racing

The last time Dr. Lee Denney talked to Dr. Margaret “Peggy” Clark, Clark was sewing her daughter’s prom dress. Denney, one of Clark’s best friends, called to wish Clark a happy 42nd birthday, 13 days before a bomb blew the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building apart.

On April 19, 1995, a bomb was left in a parked car in front of the Oklahoma City building. At 9:02 a.m., it exploded, taking many of the building’s floors with it. Clark was one of the 168 lives lost that day.

A graduate of OSU’s Veterinary Medicine program, Clark was working as a USDA veterinary medical officer at the time of her death.

Denney didn’t realize Clark was in the building until hours after the bomb exploded.

“I immediately called her and got her voicemail at her home in Chickasha and said, ‘Well, where were you today?

Let me know,’” Denney said. “Wish I had never done that, but I did.”

Clark’s daughter, Dr. Rosslyn Biggs, was in Lawton, where she had finished an FFA judging competition that morning. After reports of the bombings started flowing in, Biggs’ teachers shuffled the kids back onto buses headed to Chickasha.

There, Biggs regrouped with her family at her aunt’s house. Biggs’ father went back and forth to hospitals in the city, trying to find his wife. Eventually, the family waited and watched as body after body was discovered.

While they waited to hear news, Biggs, who was 15 at the time, went back to school and participated in FFA state judging contests.

“He (Biggs’ father) sat my sisters and I down, I don’t know, probably after a couple of days, and said, ‘You know, we don’t know what the situation is going to be, but it’s going to change us, whatever comes.”

Clark was one of the last to be discovered.

“After three or four days, we knew that, then asked for the dental records from her dentist, and then there was a really great chance she had not survived,” Denney said. “And that was horrific.”

Despite losing a mother and a wife, Biggs said her father made every effort to keep life as “normal” as possible after the bombing.

He, with support from family, friends and church members, shuffled the girls around to school and their extra curricular activities. Biggs and her sisters showed livestock, played sports and participated in band.

Biggs said the Oklahoma Standard shone through in everyone who helped her family.

6 OSU alumni lost their lives on April 19, 1995:

Ann Kreymborg, ‘59, Oklahoma City

John Van Ess III, ‘49, Chickasha

Margaret “Peggy” Clark, ‘76, ‘78, Chickasha

Michael L.

Loudenslager, ‘69, Harrah

Valerie Koelsch, ‘84, Oklahoma City

William Steven Williams, ‘75, Cashion

Tragedy shapes generations

sion and disbelief, Hattie went home.

Frank was sitting next to his mother’s hospital bed when he felt the floor beneath him shake.

He didn’t know it yet, but on April 19, 1995, a bomb had been left in a parked car in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, 10 blocks from where he was.

Frank, an OSU alumnus who didn’t want to be identified by his last name, left his mom’s room searching for answers. In his mind, equipment exploded in the hospital’s basement. In reality, the daycare where his daughter worked had turned into ashes.

The possibilities became unbearable, and Frank lost consciousness. The nurses at the hospital assisted him, and after he recovered, Frank reached out to his wife, Hattie, to tell her he was OK and ask if she had heard from their daughter, Sherie.

She hadn’t. Hattie drove to Sherie’s house, but no one was home. Without cell phones for quicker communication, she decided to drive to the scene, where hundreds of first responders tried to rescue people, and worried families gathered in despair.

“At that moment, I just gave up all hope of it ever being OK,” Hattie said. “I knew the area of the building they would be in, and it was gone. It was no longer there.”

In the midst of confu-

That’s when she got the call. Their daughter, Sherie, didn’t go to work that day because her eight-month-old daughter, Hannah Munier, woke up sick.

“You can imagine the anger I felt toward the bombers and the relief I felt when I found out our baby girl and her daughter were not there,” Frank said.

On the morning of the bombing, one of Sherie’s coworkers called her and asked her to come in. Sherie missed the call because she was taking care of her baby.

When she heard the news, Sherie immediately drove to the scene. Her coworkers and the babies she watched every day were there. She had to help.

What Frank’s daughter saw changed her forever. Sherie tried to cope with the traumatic events, but the memories and the guilt of not going to work led her to develop PTSD and eventually an alcohol and drug addiction.

“The next time I saw her (after the bombing), she was not the same,” Hattie said. “She was not the same girl.” Her parents watched her go to counseling sessions or get involved with church. They constantly told her it was not her fault she didn’t go to work that day.

“Sometimes those things don’t heal,” Frank said. “People around Oklahoma City were and still are affected by it. It’s kind of like dropping a pebble in a pool of water and the ripples go out until they hit the shore. ”

OSU settles free speech lawsuit, disbands bias response team

OSU disbanded its bias response team and has already revised its harassment policy in a lawsuit by Speech First settled Monday. OSU changed its email policy for students in June as part of a separate agreement with the free speech advocacy group. In a lawsuit filed in January 2023, Speech First said the three policies chilled First Amendment rights of students. The university must “grapple with the fact that its policies violate their students’ rights,” Cherise Trump, Speech First’s executive director said in a statement Tuesday. “I hope universities learn from OSU’s experience that there is a high cost to violating students’ constitutional rights,” Trump said. OSU also agreed to pay $18,000 for Speech First’s legal fees.

A federal trial judge in Oklahoma City had dismissed the lawsuit in April 2023 because Speech First had used anonymous plaintiffs. A federal appellate court overturned that decision in early February.

OSU said it is “committed to protecting, promoting and facilitating free expression for all students, regardless of their views.” “OSU embraces its role as a marketplace of ideas, and we believe a robust public discourse is a positive contribution to the process of addressing society’s most pressing challenges, which is our charge as a land-grant institution,” the university said in a statement.

Speech First said OSU was forced to settle the lawsuit “or face an embarrassing loss in court.”

Kaytlyn Hayes

OSU settled a lawsuit with Speech First, a free speech advocacy group, on Monday. The university has agreed to review its harassment policy and disband the bias response team as a result.

Luisa

Courtesy of The Jonsteen Company

The O’Colly reporting on April 20, 1995, one day after a bomb blew the Alfred P. Murrah Building aprartment. The bombing killed 168 people.

Thoughts on Ryan Walters visiting campus?

“He taught at our high school. I don’t really like any of his ideas and political views. I didn’t know he was here, but I don’t like him. I don’t have a problem with him coming, free speech and everything. If they want to let him talk, then let him talk.

Blake Harrison

“I don’t know too much about Ryan Walters, but I did look him up, and I found that he supports the right for all children to have access to quality education. I think that everybody should have access to quality education. I think it’s pretty interesting, and I would definitely want to go hear him out because he’s an interesting guy, and I want to hear what he has to say about some of the other things I’ve heard about him.”

“I don’t know who he is, but I know many of the students talk about how he is politically and the things that he says that not a lot of people like. I know a lot of people aren’t going to like it with the things that he has planned; people aren’t going to like it. I bet a lot of people will probably feel uncomfortable about it.”

Jordan Olvera

Darius Hayes

Courtesy of ABC Ensamble

Seniors, do these things before you graduate

It’s graduation season in Stillwater.

In three short weeks, students clad in their graduation regalia will walk across the stage and into the next chapter of their lives.

Before our graduates take their last final, snap their last grad photo or hit The Strip for a night of reviling, there are a few things to cross off the OSU bucket list.

Seniors, here are a few things to do before you graduate.

Cowboy Baseball

Day or night during the spring semester, O’Brate Stadium is the place to be. Food, friends and a Cowboy victory make for a perfect day. Tickets range between $10-$15, depending on demand, but entry is free if you have an All-Sports Pass. The next home game is Thursday at 6 p.m. and tickets are $10.

Calf Fry

Dust off your boots, and grab your cowboy hat. It’s Calf Fry! Stillwater’s biggest country music festival is May 2-4 at Tumbleweed Dance Hall & Concert Venue. If you can pull yourself away from studying, head out for all three days, or only one, and experience a summer send-off fit for a Cowboy. Concert on Washington Street Coney’s on The Strip isn’t a place only for good food and drinks. Next to the Stillwater favorite sits a stage where local and student bands make a name for themselves. The concerts are free and a great way to spend a night out.

Release Rader, a student-run music club on campus, is hosting a music festival from 4 p.m. to midnight on May 3. The festival will feature more than 10 student bands and is free.

Eskimo Joe’s

People, you have four weeks left, and not eating at Joe’s is a crime. Go to Joe’s before you graduate.

It’s that simple.

OSU Museum of Art

The OSU Museum of Art on Husband Street is home to many wonderful works, including the current exhibit titled, “Memories & Inspiration,” Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art. The Museum is open from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., TuesdaySaturday.

Theatre Production

If you have yet to go to one of the many productions of the OSU Theatre Department, there is one show left this semester. Students work tirelessly to bring drama and fun productions to the OSU stage. The next production is titled “May We All,” a country-themed performance with shows Friday-Sunday.

The Lakes: Boomer and Carl Blackwell Lakes with walking trails. Need I say more? To make your final weeks in Stilly fun, you need only a picnic blanket and a nice day.

The Ranchers Club Ranchers promises a fancy atmosphere and some fine dining options for Cowboys. If you have the funds and want to treat yourself, it’s a great place to have a nice meal to celebrate graduation.

Taylor’s Restaurant Taylor’s is a studentrun eating option on campus. From 11 a.m.1:15 p.m., Tuesday-Friday, you can enjoy a meal your fellow students prepared with a new weekly menu. Check it out in Nancy Randolph Davis and make a reservation online.

Theta Pond

The end of the year is always a mixture of stress and anticipation. If you need to take a break, claim a bench at Theta Pond. Do not leave campus without spending an afternoon chilling at the quaint pond. (Throwing the goalpost in during Homecoming does not count as a visit.)

Graduation Pictures

Many graduates are out taking pictures, but you don’t need a professional to do it. Grab a friend and go for a photoshoot. Have fun and capture memories you will remember forever.

Enjoy these last few weeks, Cowboys.

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lifestyle

Annual Euphoria Fashion Show approaches

On Friday, students in the Department of Design and Merchandising are hosting the 13th annual Euphoria Fashion Show.

It will take place in the ConocoPhillips Alumni Center at 8 p.m.

Euphoria is a student-run event. The runway show will feature garments that junior and senior students, majoring in Fashion Design and Production, designed.

A few of the design themes include women’s business wear, a fairytale inspired line, beach resort style and around the world designs.

Student designer Kaitlin

Ayers’ designs are based on the theme, “These boots are made for walking.” It combines western wear and elements of the adolescence of girlhood, as well as female empowerment, as emphasized in the Nancy Sinatra song.

“It’s about leaving behind the past and moving forward,” Ayers said. “And kind of lace up your boots and just keep going.”

Student designer Presley Turner’s inspiration was the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson in her line, “The Fairest of Them All.” It will be complete with a light, whimsical feel.

“I just love when people take something and make it their own,”

Turner said. “So that’s what I’m trying to do.”

The event will give students the chance to gain hands-on experience planning and executing all aspects of a high-profile event. The ticket proceeds go toward the department and supporting student scholarships.

Ayers said she is excited for the show and to see the different designs of her classmates.

“I think all of our collections are very different,” Ayers said. “So you really get a taste of everything. And each design plays into who that person is, and I feel like you get to know that person from seeing their designs.”

The show is open to the public, and tickets are available online.

Yoga In The Garden unites community, promotes mental health

The OSU Botanic Garden may be perfect for things such as weddings and senior pictures, but yoga?

For some, yoga and the Botanic Garden may be a match made in heaven. On a sunny, 88-degree afternoon with a slight breeze in the air, OSU students and faculty attempted to fix the stresses of their days through yoga. For two OSU students, it’s how they met and continue to be friends.

Students Abisha Dhital and Anisha Sharma met at a previous yoga event. They have come for the last couple of weeks and have bonded over their South Asian culture.

“It makes us feel like we are at home,” Dhital said. “This session was really good for me for the stress and stuff, so we kind of like it. And I met her through this.” Sharma shares the same sentiment as her new friend. She encourages people to get involved because of what it has done for her.

“I love wellness stuff, and I feel like it is one of those things that’s within my taste,” Sharma said. “It’s a community I think I could build because of the recurring nature, and I feel like the fact that we are South Asian and yoga is a part of our culture that it helps.”

The event took place Wednesday evening at the Botanic Garden and hosted about 50 members of the community, spanning ages of 18-80. Events like these help students and faculty members escape from their daily stressors, especially with finals coming up.

In the serene atmosphere, yoga instructor Carol Bender led the group in the exercise. She’s led group yoga for the past two decades and has seen all sorts of people. She said she believes that yoga plays a huge role in resetting your mind, and it doesn’t matter who you are.

“It’s just important,” Bender said. “No matter what age you are, yoga can be catered into whatever state you are in, so that’s the joy of it.”

Farshid Jahanshahi is proof of that. A sociology professor at OSU, Jahanshahi has done yoga for more than 30 years. Jahanshahi said he believes it is the best thing for you.

“I was not feeling good, and I’m in much better shape than I have been all day,” Jahanshahi said. “And she (Bender) is the most perfect teacher ever for yoga. I have been with her for a couple of decades.”

It’s not just Jahanshahi that has high praise for Bender. Sharma also believes that instruction is the key factor in what makes a good yoga session.

“You can tell that the instructor (Bender) knows what she’s doing,” Sharma said. “Because there’s lots of time people just make you do a bunch of stretches, but she knows what she is doing and it makes you feel at ease.”

Combine an experienced instructor with a group of active members who stayed engaged throughout the 45-minute session, and you will have an event to remember.

The last event will happen on Wednesday evening.

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Courtesy of Zach Collett Students who participate in the Euphoria Fashion Show prepare for it all year. On Friday, they will present their work on the runway.

Charlie Thomas

Carol Bender, the yoga instructor, has been leading group yoga for 20 years.

Hayden Alexander Staff Reporter

Charles Thomas O’Colly Contributor

Ava Whistler Staff Reporter

OK Superintendent Walters event angers audience, inspires protests

out Walters’ voice until the event ended barely 15 minutes after it began.

Isley Hunter anxiously carried a protest sign to Ryan Walters’ town hall event, worried about what may happen next.

“But when I came here, I was so elated,” Hunter said. “(I) just felt my fingers buzzing with excitement because it feels like I’m not alone.”

A group of protestors who also opposed Walters’ viewpoints met Hunter at the event, carrying signs of their own. Walters did not receive as warm of a welcome.

OSU’s Turning Point USA chapter hosted State Superintendent Walters for a town hall event in the Engineering North Building on Wednesday. Protesters expected him at the front door, and a loud, unhappy crowd met him in the lecture room.

The room erupted into clapping and chaos as Walters encouraged students to “never back down to a woke mob.” Chants and screams drowned

“There were people that were hoping for open dialogue, but I feel like tonight’s event was definitely a success,” said Michaela Tucker, a student who helped organize the event. “Maybe not a success for open dialogues, but I think it definitely opened the door wide open for it, and it’s something that we want to work towards.”

Tucker said Turning Point hoped students and Walters could participate in an open dialogue, which she said was a civil conversation. She said an open dialogue meant people could agree or disagree civilly, and both sides of the story could be heard.

Tucker acknowledged most of the protesters were calm and nice, and they had questions they wanted to ask. She said when some audience members get too passionate, it can ruin the event for everyone.

Tucker said she did not believe an open dialogue was achieved Wednesday, but it was achievable. Hunter, despite attending the event to protest, said everyone deserves a voice, including Walters.

Some groups of students shouted

for Walters to acknowledge his role in the death of Nex Benedict, a transgender student who died following an altercation with other students in an Owasso High School bathroom.

Levi Montgomery attended the protest and said Benedict’s death made him realize he needed to do more. He said he believed Walters is to blame for Benedict’s death, and anybody who supports Walters is turning a blind eye to the damage he is doing.

Some protesters were angry about Walters’ October statement on how “the transgender game needed to stop.” Others inside the town hall event screamed profanities as Walters declared there are only two genders.

Some of the protesters were members of oSTEM (Out in STEM), an organization for students in STEM who are members of the LGBTQ+ community. Hunter is vice president of oSTEM, and Montgomery is president.

“This is people’s lives we’re talking about,” Montgomery said. “This is people’s existences, their loved ones, their children, their families. This is just another part of what being human is, I mean, looking into gender and what it

OSU, OK State Regents for Higher Education complete first required free speech training

means to people.”

Camden Roberts, a member of OSU’s Turning Point chapter, said it was not discouraging to have people disagree with his group, though it was disheartening to see people who were unwilling to hear other people’s side of things.

“We just like to provide an open forum for people to learn, discuss, debate and disagree,” Roberts said. “But unfortunately, some people only know how to disagree by drowning out those that they don’t agree with.”

Roberts said everyone is person first, and their political beliefs come next. He said people should retain a sense of community, respect and care for each other.

After Walters’ quick departure, students stuck around to have conversations among each other.

Some are willing to continue the conversation beyond the event. Montgomery said if anyone in the community is struggling or needs help, he is always available to talk. He can be reached at leigh.montgomery@okstate.edu.

“It’s really not hard to just love people for who they are, and let them be who they want to be,” Montgomery said.

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The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education held its first Free Speech Training Program on April 11, beginning efforts to train administrators and higher education officials.

Deans, department heads and other officials who deal with free speech policies or complaints must complete First Amendment training every two years or when they are hired, according to 70 O.S. § 3205. House bill 3543, which Gov. Kevin Stitt signed April 2022, establishing the Oklahoma Free Speech Committee for the Regents. The Regents’ policy 2.28 also established the committee, with the purpose of giving recommendations for free speech policies, training and complaints.

This training is among the Regents’ first step toward complying with the statute.

The Regents’ committee is also reviewing OSU’s free speech policies.

The training was held at the University of Central Oklahoma, where faculty filed into an auditorium to learn about the basics of the First Amendment and how it applies to higher education institutions.

Andy Lester, a former member of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and lawyer, spoke and moderated a panel during the training. He said freedom of speech is essential for college campuses.

“Let’s be clear, freedom of expression is a central core principle for our public institutions of higher education,” Lester said. “Of course, the ideas of different members of a college or university community will often quite naturally

conflict, but it is not the proper role of a college or university (to) attempt to shield individuals from ideas and opinions they find unwelcome, disagree (with) or even deeply offensive. With that said, our colleges and universities should greatly value civility. Today’s college students are tomorrow’s leaders.”

The training had Joseph Thai as its featured speaker. Thai, an associate dean and professor of law at the University of Oklahoma, gave a lecture about the basics of the free speech clause’s application to college campuses.

He discussed the varying degrees of protection based on context. For example, he said professors could impose a rule on their classes that students cannot disrupt class based on content-neutral restrictions.

As college campuses continue to evolve and serve as a space for political or social discourse, Thai said it is more important than ever to know about freedom of speech.

“We know, as Andy (Lester) touched on, and as you have certainly followed from the news, that free speech controversies have been roiling our campuses across the country, from elite institutions like my alma mater, Harvard, to institutions closer to home, like my employer the University of Oklahoma,” Thai said.

Pointing to issues of controversy, such as when OU’s chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity did a racist chant that spread across the internet, Thai said there is a difference between protected and unprotected speech. Although hate speech is protected, fighting words, true threats and incitement are not.

Thai used Cohen v. California (1971) as an example to demonstrate the importance of free speech to society. “The court said that

freedom of expression is powerful medicine in a society as diverse and pompous as ours,” Thai said. “It is designed and intended to remove governmental restraints from the arena of public discussion, putting the decision as to what views shall be voiced largely in the hands of each of us, in our students, in the hope that use of such freedom or alternately produce a more capable citizenry, and a more perfect polity.”

Brandee Hancock, deputy general counsel and chief legal officer to OSU President Dr. Kayse Shrum, spoke during the panel portion of the event.

Hancock said that trainings, such as this, are important for faculty members to participate in. It informs them of their rights and the rules they can impose on students. Specifically telling faculty members what they cannot do, as opposed to what they can, is often more helpful, she said.

“I always quote a member of one of our communications team, who shall remain nameless, who says, ‘If you’re talking, you’re losing,’ and that’s usually what I’m thinking about when we’re talking about should we say something or should we not?” Hancock said.

Although there are no plans for the next free speech training, Hancock said in an email after the event that the Regents recorded it and that it will be available to anyone who could not make it in person. She said OSU plans to have all administrators and department heads complete the training by the end of the year.

Hancock said though the training was the only planned event to specifically discuss freedom of speech, other training OSU offers cover the topic during the academic year.

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Speech First also has successfully challenged the bias response and harassment policies of the universities of Michigan, Texas and Central Florida. Trump called OSU’s policy an “insidious bias reporting system that told students to anonymously report on one another for ‘bias.’” The university also agreed to rewrite its harassment policy to include speech protections that Trump said can no longer punish students for expressing their views. Under the settlement, OSU agreed to take “reasonable steps to remove all references to the Bias Incidents Response Team from its websites and other publications.” An error message now shows up when navigating to the old page on OSU’s website, and the team has been eliminated. The old OSU policy defined bias as a “disproportionate weight in favor of or against an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or

against an individual, a group or a belief.” OSU has changed its harassment policy under the settlement to be defined as “unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the University’s

Michael Jane’t

Students crowded the entrance to the Ryan Walters town hall event holding signs and chanting in protest. Signs read phrases such as “diversity isn’t scary” and “hold Walters accountable.”

Bella Casey

Newly appointed CEAT dean overcame odds, finds success

Raynee Howell Staff Reporter

In the 1980s, the percentage of the college-aged population attending college in China was less than 5%.

A young Hanchen Huang was one of the rare exceptions. Huang, the newly appointed dean of College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology, grew up in an underdeveloped village north of Beijing. Against all odds, he graduated with a bachelor’s and master’s degree from two accredited universities in China. Huang then transitioned from China to the United States to attend UCLA. Huang said he could barely speak English when he first arrived in the U.S. Despite the challenges that arose from the language barrier, Huang remained positive and grateful for those who helped him along the way.

“I had a Ph.D. adviser that was both knowledgeable and also considerate, and (they) helped the transition tremendously,” Huang said. “I benefited from a lot of help from the university. It was challenging, but it was also rewarding.”

Over the years, Huang has held countless university positions across the U.S and has continued to work toward providing the same opportunities for other students. Most recently, the Oklahoma A&M Board of Regents appointed him as the new dean of the CEAT on March 8. He said one of his main focuses for OSU is to expand enrollment in the engineering program to reach the demand for engineers in the state of Oklahoma.

“The state had about 3,000 new positions for engineers and technological professionals and in the entire state; the colleges and universities only graduated about 1,500,” Huang said. “We have a big gap and that represents opportunities for us to grow.”

Huang’s first university position, other than professor, began in 2013 when he became the Chair of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering at Northeastern University. Nader Jalili, the previous

associate chair, said Huang’s strongest skill was his ability to communicate and interact with students. He formed the student advisory council to focus on student needs and wants for the college programs. Jalili said Huang would honor the students any opportunity he had.

“Also, in recognizing a student’s leadership and recognition, he was putting a lot of thought into having nice events for students, recognizing them for their achievements, whether it was a teaching assistantship or research assistant, or leadership or entrepreneurship or even outreach,” Jalili said.

Jalili said Huang is a good leader who allowed each member of the department to thrive independently. Jalili also said Huang managed the department well as the “glue” that held it together.

Years later, Huang had a lasting impact on the College of Engineering at the University of North Texas. Under his leadership as dean, he helped grow graduate enrollment by about 400%, annual research awards by around 90% and the ranking of the graduate program by 14 places.

Angus McColl, the assistant dean of strategic partnerships at UNT, had the opportunity to work with Huang. McColl said Huang’s first priority was taking care of people, but he still had a great vision for taking UNT to the next level.

“He came in with this compelling vision,” McColl said. “He said ‘You know, it’s my job to take care of what’s been handed to me and make it better.’”

McColl said Huang had the faculty members thinking about what they could do with the buildings over their shoulders and with the money and resources available to them. Huang spent many hours walking around the building to monitor the students, faculty and facilities.

Huang’s level of care inspired McColl, and he became close friends with Huang because of their shared passion.

“You can’t make everybody happy all the time, but I think he did a good job of leading from the angle of, ‘Let me try and do the best I can for the

Into

the Streets serves community in partnership with Shrum, State of Orange

Jocelyne Perez Staff Reporter

On Saturday, Into the Streets, a community service organization, had its spring semester clean-up event.

Into the Streets hosted a community clean-up starting at 8 a.m., where OSU students and Stillwater residents gathered at Wes Watkins Center. They were then sent to freshen up the job sites that local Stillwater residents had requested. The event served as a day of hands-on community service to give back to Stillwater.

or agencies they clean up through a simple sign-up. Homes, nonprofits, such as Wings of Hope, and school districts are typical areas students are sent to clean up.

This year, students checked in about 7:45 a.m., had a complimentary breakfast and got free merchandise including a T-shirt. The students then watched the opening ceremony, which had a special appearance from Shrum.

Puckett said students experience the rewarding part from getting to see the community members.

most people,’” McColl said.

Huang made friends out of many of his colleagues. Jim Williams, a former faculty member at UNT, said he thinks the world of Huang, not only for his success at the college, but also on a personal level.

“We would often have lunch, at least every month, and talk about what things he was working on or thinking about,” Williams said. “I think he viewed me as a neutral third party and that we could talk about these things without being inappropriate; I told him I don’t talk about our conversation content with anybody.”

Williams said he never heard anyone complain about Huang. He described him as more than just an intelligent guy, but also a warm, approachable person who cares for people. He said OSU is fortunate to have Huang as the dean.

Jovette Dew, a CEAT faculty member of 28 years, was a part of the large, diverse search committee who hired Huang. The committee included a higher-up, several faculty members and a graduate student. She said she is excited to see the future of CEAT after watching Huang’s presentation.

“I hope to see us explore and tap into some different industries that we can do more senior design projects with and recognize the great things that our faculty are doing,” Dew said. “And how we can support the state, the state of Oklahoma and actually support the world; I think he can move us in that direction.”

Huang has high hopes for his coming years as dean.

With his previous years of experience, Huang has shown his priority lies in increasing education and opportunity for students. One of his main beliefs in achieving this is the absence of complaining.

“I think the hardship of early life might have something to do with shaping that belief, but that is certainly my belief,” Huang said. “I tell myself not to complain but rather come up with solutions and take proactive steps to shape the future; I benefit, the people around me benefit and it positively impacts society and positively impacts myself.”

Into the Streets President Rachel Kate Puckett said she was thrilled with the event’s turnout, especially with this year’s collaboration with OSU President Dr. Kayse Shrum. “This year we added on the collaboration of State of Orange, which is Dr. Shrum’s project that she’s been working on,” Puckett said. “We knew our Into the Streets (event) was going to be a lot bigger this year.” Puckett said she was excited to have her event picked and to have Shrum’s support. Puckett has been a member of the organization since her freshman year and fell in love with being able to help her community. Into the Streets has a team of about 20 executives who work together throughout the year to put on the event. The work going into the event includes student involvement, sponsorship groups, logistics and the addition of State of Orange this year. The organization’s members select the homes

“A lot of the time students don’t get off campus much,” Puckett said. “Or are just around people their age. Getting to be face-to-face and talk to someone who (has) been within the community... being able to serve them is just super rewarding.”

Success from Into the Streets can be measured in many different ways. The organization sees all the nitty gritty aspects of success and also success that people are being served and the needs of the community are being met.

“It really does make a huge difference for these people,” Puckett said. “Something as simple as raking leaves or cleaning up a garden... it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but to our homeowners, it helps them continue to have their independence and live in their homes.”

Puckett said she has nothing but love for her executive team and gratitude for getting to serve the Stillwater community. To find more information about Into the Streets, visit @okstate_its.

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Payton Little

Hanchen Huang was selected as the new College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology in March.

Annual fly-in

Ava Whistler Staff Reporter

The Flying Aggie’s 8th annual Fly-In hosted more than 500 attendees and 24 planes.

But it wasn’t only the numbers that contributed to the overall success of the event. Aviators, aviation enthusiasts, vendors, community members and families gathered at the Stillwater Regional Airport for an afternoon of aviation on Saturday.

The event was an opportunity to fundraise for the Flying Aggies.

More than 20 planes clustered together on the runway. Attendees stood in line beside each aircraft waiting to talk with the pilots and climb inside the cockpits to look around. Certain pilots offered food trucks parked at the outskirts, and aviation groups tabled inside the flight center.

“My favorite part is all the pilots that get to fly in,” Flying Aggies Vice President Sarah Schafer said. “They’re all so passionate about their aircraft, and they love

coming in and putting them on display. They do it out of their free time, too. We don’t pay them.”

Frank Kimmel was one such pilot, and was a Flying Aggie at OSU from 1988-1992. He has stayed in touch over the years, donating to the flight team and for the first time, bringing his own aircraft to the event this year.

“It’s an opportunity you don’t normally get, to see them up close, walk up to them and touch them,” Kimmel said.

The Flying Aggies are a ‘tight-knit group’ that dates back to the 1940s, Garrett Fazio said. Fazio was the historian for the Aggies in 2017, and helped plan the Fly-in event that year. He now flies with Envoy Air in Dallas.

Fazio and Kimmel agreed the event was the perfect opportunity to reconnect with old friends, alumni and Flying Aggies members. For families and aviation lovers, the event was also an exciting chance to receive handson education about the world of aviation.

Raynee Howell Staff Reporter

Almost exactly one year after the groundbreaking of the Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center at OSU-Tulsa, the newest mental health hospital, the Donahue Behavioral Center, at OSU-OKC, has broken ground.

On March 28, The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services held a ceremony to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new mental health hospital at the Student Center on the OSU-OKC campus. Many guest speakers representing ODMHSAS, OSU, the state of Oklahoma and the U.S. spoke about the future of mental health care in the state.

“It’s a great day to celebrate an important milestone in improving access to quality health care for those struggling with mental illness,” said Kyle Wray, OSU senior vice president of system affairs. “OSU takes to heart our land grant mission, which calls us to use our talents and our resources to help our great state solve its most pressing challenges and help Oklahomans live healthy and productive lives.”

The new facility will replace the Griffin Memorial Center, the primary hospital for mental health in Oklahoma. With the state ranking fifth nationally in the rate of mental illness, according to ODMHSAS, the facility can no longer provide efficient care across the state. Its facilities can house only 120 Oklahomans at a time.

The Donahue Behavioral Center will have upward of 300 beds with a portion set aside for adolescents. It will also have an urgent recovery center for those in crisis who need immediate care. It is set to open as early as 2026.

Before the project, ODMHSAS reached out to OSU with the intention to partner to address the need for psychiatric care in Oklahoma. The values of advancing mental health resources aligned with the one health initiative represented in OSU President Dr. Kayse Shrum’s strategic plan. As a land grant institution, OSU faculty agreed to embark on another mission to serve the state.

“It’s important for our students to know that Oklahoma State University believes in addressing mental health challenges and providing the care that’s for meeting those needs, both on our campus as well as in the state of Oklahoma, and in this case in

Oklahoma City,” Wray said. Stephanie Bice, a U.S. representative, agreed with Wray about the importance of total wellness in the state. She said the work being done can ensure that all Oklahomans have the necessary resources.

“This is an investment that will continue to expand the one health goal of Oklahoma State, which seeks to increase the quality of research and care through all fields of medicine,” Bice said.

The opening of the hospital, in Bice’s opinion, is “stepping up to the plate” to provide services the state lacks.

Alongside OSU and ODMHSAS, many private corporations also contributed to the creation of the hospital. Allie Freisen, ODMHSAS commissioner, dedicated part of her speech at the groundbreaking event to those who made expanding access to behavioral care in Oklahoma possible.

“I hope that you know those of you that have invested dollars, time, blood, sweat and tears into this project that we take it enormously seriously,” Freisen said. “And that we will absolutely be providing high quality evidencebased care to those that come to us in extreme and desperate need.”

“Open

Many struggle so hard to take this step, not wanting to give up their independence; not wanting to humble themselves before God. In the Psalms, David said: “When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all the day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.” (32:3-5 NLT)

It seems so simple, and it is! Yet, so many

struggle with honesty and humility. These qualities are of great importance with God. The truth is another has paid the penalty for your sins and mine. That is the good news! What we could not do (get rid of our sins), Jesus did by dying in our place. Therefore, “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven,whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” (Ro.4:7-8 NIV)

Again, blaming friends or relatives will not help; getting religious does not help, thinking you are among the “better” people does no good. Trust what God has done for you through Christ. Get honest and humble yourself before God. Confess your sinfulness, and God will freely forgive. You will be free of guilt and stand innocent before God. Then you can begin a lasting and fruitful relationship with this great and loving God.

Connor Fuxa

The Flying Aggies hosted its 8th annual Fly-In on Saturday as a

Courtesy of OSU News

From left: Sen. Roger Thompson, ODMHSAS Commissioner Allie Friesen, Cullen Sweeney and U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Bice break ground on a $150 million mental health hospital.

Cowboy Up plan to add micro-credentials for students

Baylor Bryant Staff Reporter

The Cowboy Up Task Force has a plan to help prepare students for the workforce using micro-credentials.

In spring 2023, Director of Graduate Studies Stephanie Link created the Cowboy Up plan to supply students with extracurriculars and projects that will fit into their degrees, granting them experience for the workforce. In fall 2023, the Cowboy Up Task Force begun with 18 members across four campuses to aid the Cowboy Up plan.

Link said finding new pathways for students to get degrees will enable more equitable practices.

“There are many students who maybe are able to only take a couple of classes here and there and then they have to work to pay their tuition,” Link said. “If they are really strategic about their planning with the help of our new advising system here on campus, we are able to help them think about how those classes could be packaged together to get a micro-credential.”

Link is one of the 10 faculty fellows for strategic initiatives under the Provost’s Office. She is the faculty fellow for preparing the future workforce, which led her to create the Cowboy Up plan. Micro-credentials are short, focused credentials consisting of activities, projects and other measurable careerbased courses that provide career skills that prepare learners for the workplace, according to OSRHE.

Link and the Cowboy Up task Force are in the middle of modifying the banner system, the internal reporting system for reporting credit and noncredit experiences of students, to be proposal being submitted to the Office of the Provost and the President on May 15. If approved, the plan will go into action in fall 2025.

About 61% of workers

will require retraining between now and 2027, according to Link’s presentation to the Faculty Council at its monthly meeting on Feb. 13.

Link said the Cowboy Up plan will improve access to workforce development education at OSU.

“It will enhance our equity across our student populations,” Link said. “And that learner populations and that learners across the state, no matter if they are first time degree seekers or alumni of our university or beyond, they are able to seek a benefit from our educational system.”

The Cowboy Up plan’s micro-credentials are not only for the standard student. The Associate Dean, Engineering Extension Professor of Professional Practice said the Cowboy Up plan is designed for anyone who wants to further their hands-on career skills and become ready to get into the workforce.

“We’re getting away from that 18 to 24-year-old,” Ed Kirtley said. “Our students are anybody in Oklahoma and beyond who needs to improve their skill set. To get a job, keep a job, advance. We’re going after everyone.”

Kirtley, a member of the Cowboy Up Task Force, said the Cowboy Up plan is about giving learners real world skills.

“I think that was part of President Shrum’s vision all along that we will become more than just an institution that provides college degrees,” Kirtley said. “We would prepare the workforce to be successful.”

Kirtley said some of the micro-credentials will fit into the regular curriculum.

“So it won’t have any effect on their time,” Kirtley said. “In other cases, it might be a weekend seminar. It might be something every Wednesday night for four hours, for four weeks that they’ll find time for it. Some of them may actually have college credit for them.”

The micro-credentials would not be a burden on professors. Kirtley said faculty

would be able to come forward with ideas and offer to teach a micro-credential through a seminar or weekend program on a subject they find important.

Micro-credentials will provide students and learners with a way to gain credit and experiences in their career.

Vice President of Student Services Ina Agnew said microcredentials will provide a way

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for students or graduates to show what they know. “With a micro-credential it’s gonna show here are all the competencies that I have achieved,” Agnew said. “Here are the things that I’ve mastered, here are the skills that I have and here are the additional credentials that I bring to the table.”

Link said Cowboy Up has a second prong to its aims, which is to ensure access to quality education in itself. “When we are teaching our learners here at OSU, there’s value in the education itself to create critical thinkers and problem solvers that are going to address the major challenges that our state and our region are going to be facing in the future,” Link said. “So that education is the ultimate need for the workforce in our state.”

Courtesy of Stephanie Link

Stephanie Link, the director of graduate studies, created the Cowboy Up plan to give students microcredentials to help them pursue extra curricular projects that will help with their careers.

Legacy . . .

Continued from 1A

Without knowing, Frank and Hattie lost their daughter that day, and though they said they will always have that pain with them, they hold tight to what they have built together, 60 years of marriage, five kids and 16 grand children.

Munier may not remember anything from that day, but her life was shaped by it.

At 9, she moved in with her grandparents, because, though her mother was alive, Munier lost her mom on the day of the bombing. Sherie struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. But her family never left Munier’s side.

Sherie spent the 12 years

after the tragedy living with the images of the bombing. She died in 2007.

“What she saw changed her forever,” Munier said.

At 32, Munier is starting to rebuild her life, and she said thinking about the bombing brings conflicting feelings. In one way, Hannah said she lost her mom. In another, not being there that day was an opportunity to keep living. Even through the ups and downs, Munier said she wants to always remember her mom with love.

“That day is almost a part of my character,” Munier said. “I have struggled a lot and made a lot of mistakes, but I always think of the bombing, and God could have taken me out that day, but he didn’t. There must have been a purpose for me somewhere, He had a plan.”

news.ed@ocolly.com

Racing . . .

“I probably will never know every act of people’s kindness, but they did it not because they needed to be recognized,” Biggs said.

While Biggs and her family tried to find a sense of normalcy, Denney was struggling to rationalize the violence.

Denney and Clark were one of 10 women in their veterinary medicine class of 60 students at OSU. They met through a mutual friend and clicked, quickly becoming close.

Through the years of friendship, attending each other’s weddings and keeping in touch as they had kids, Denney said Clark’s death was shocking.

“It is absolutely senseless to go and murder people that you have no idea the mother they are, the daughter they are, the sister they are, the grandmother they were going to be, the wife they are; the holes that it leaves in a family are so extensive,” Denney said.

Her absence is still felt today in her family and friends’ lives.

Through Biggs’ work with OSU, the USDA and the veterinary medicine program, she has met other professionals who knew her mom. They tell her stories of Clark that give Biggs a view of her mother she never got to experience herself.

Brian Espe is the person who stands out most, Biggs said, when she thinks about her mother’s funeral. Through the flood of people who poured out of the church after the service, Biggs remembers him.

“That’s her boss. That’s Brian Espe. “He lost all of his people that were there that day.” Clark worked for the USDA under Espe. On the day of the bombing, Clark had car trouble and planned to switch cars at the Murrah Building before making her way to Stillwater to teach accreditation at OSU’s veterinary school. Clark, along with some of her coworkers, were lost in the bombing. As Biggs pursued veterinary medicine, Espe became a mentor for her.

family members.

Each year, her family participates in the Oklahoma City Memorial MarathonRun to Remember in honor of Clark. Along with matching T-shirts, they visit Clark’s memorial chair in the fifth row, the same floor as the USDA offices.

“If you watch any of the footage from that day, there’s kind of a gray-haired gentleman with a mustache that’s coming down the ladder with the firemen, he’s kind of on his rear end coming down and seated,” Biggs said.

Despite their loss, Biggs’ family has been involved in many of the bombing’s memorial activities. Her aunt, Susan Winchester, served as the Chairman of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. One of her sisters, Blayne Arthur, the Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture, serves on the conscious committee, which is composed of survivors and

Although April 19 brings dark memories, Clark said she takes it as a moment to remember the positives of her mother. The strong woman who was a leader in veterinary medicine, an excellent cook, exceptional seamstress and an even better mom. “Certainly the day and the events surrounding the bombing have changed us, right? How could they not? But they don’t define us and who we are or where we’re going,” Biggs said. “But it’s opportunities like this and others to talk about it where we get to share the positive things.”

Continued from 1A news.ed@ocolly.com

Courtesy of Hannah Munier Sherie and her daughter Hannah Munier in a magazine after the tragedy. Sherrie and Munier were supposed to be inside the building on the day of the bombing.

Courtesy of Rosslyn Biggs

Margaret “Peggy” Clark, was one of 168 lives lost in the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995. She was an alumna of OSU’s Veterinary Medicine program, where one of her daughters works today.

How OSU, Garcia have become the right fit

Garcia said he likes to think he’s even keel on the mound. His teammates would say otherwise. And with good reasoning. Garcia, a senior left-handed pitcher for Oklahoma State, often maintains his composure in games, regardless of the situation. A basesloaded strikeout or home run, his face stays stone cold.

“You all don’t see it, but we do, and he pitches with this ‘screw you’ type of mentality,” OSU two-way player Carson Benge said. “He’s a lot like a silent assassin out there. You’ll

just look up there (at the scoreboard), and it’ll be like the seventh inning. He’s (given up) no hits and it’s kind of like, ‘Whoa.’ He just works really fast.”

But an occasional flare of emotional outroar will seep out. And when it does, his teammates remind him of it when he arrives back at OSU’s dugout. “We’re just joking of course,” pitcher Brian Holiday said with a laugh. “We all love Sam.”

However, Garcia isn’t being cocky. It’s merely his competitive nature, which coach Josh Holliday has often described as one of the more cutthroat ones he has coached in 12 years, despite Garcia’s rather mellow persona. After transferring from High Point, Garcia was named the Cowboys’ starter ahead of their season opener.

Why Scott could be Smith’s replacement

Oklahoma State is searching for a coach for the first time in 33 years.

On April 11, coach John Smith announced his retirement after more than three decades at the helm. Associate head coach Coleman Scott was named the interim head coach moving forward as OSU embarked on its mandatory five-day public search, according to Oklahoma State Law.

However, that “interim” tag could be removed in the near future. And in the minds of a multitude of current and former OSU wrestlers, that may be for the better.

On Monday morning, during his retirement press conference, Smith was asked a bevy of questions regarding his future and the moments leading up to his announcement. But there was one big one.

Why now?

“I brought Coleman (Scott) back,” he said. “We had a great year this year. Implemented some things, made a difference.”

Smith alluded to the rejuvenation adding a younger mind provided to a program that had fallen behind in a variety of aspects of college athletics – the transfer portal, NIL among others.

“It’s made my job a hell of a lot easier,” Smith said. “That’s for sure.”

After

a lifetime in wrestling, what’s next for John Smith?

Of everything surrounding John Smith’s retirement, having him around the house every day drew the most concern.

Especially for his wife, Toni, Smith joked. “She was really worried about me being around all the time. She literally was worried about it,” he said during his retirement press conference on Monday. “I told her, ‘Hey, your days are going to change.’ No, she’s supportive.”

But the lives of Smith and his family will change after he announced his retirement on April 11 after 33 years as Oklahoma State’s wrestling coach. That’s a job that requires a huge commitment of time and energy. For the first time since early childhood, wrestling won’t command that from the now 58-year-old Smith.

So, what’s next? “You can’t believe the

number of people that ask me, ‘What are you going to do?’ ‘What are you going to do when you get bored?’ ‘Make sure you’ve got enough to do,’” Smith said. “I said, ‘Listen, ‘I’m probably going to get bored, but I can promise you one thing. I’m not going to wish I was still coaching.’” That’s because, as Smith said several times Monday, he felt “complete” with his coaching career, just as he felt complete with his time at USA Wrestling when he took the OSU coaching job. He’d done everything he set out to do and was leaving on good terms. His legacy at OSU was complete and set in stone, but he had other areas that weren’t complete that he said he hoped to work on with the newfound time.

“People make your legacy. You don’t. I’m not worried about my legacy. I’m worried about my legacy with my children,” Smith said. “… A lot of times we forget about being the legacy of our own family. I’ve got some work to do. I need to spend some time with a couple of my children that I haven’t had a lot of time with. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”

Sam

Payton Little

John Smith wants to spend more time with family during his retirement.

Payton Little CUTLINE

Daniel Allen Staff Reporter

Daniel Allen Staff Reporter

Since, a star has emerged for Holliday and pitching coach Rob Walton.

Through nine starts and 49 1/3 innings, Garcia holds a 3.47 ERA and a team-high 69 strikeouts. His opposing batting average is at a career-best .210.

A year ago, such a spotlight didn’t feel realistic.

After earning All-Big South Conference honors as a sophomore, Garcia had a career-worst 7.57 ERA in 2023.

This season has been the opposite. Now, he’s emulating his sophomore form. The competitive fire that once defined the left-handed strikeout machine has resurfaced.

“He seems confident again,” his father, Tony, said. “He’s just so calm. And (he) gets better with every outing.

“He looks like himself again, and it’s been fun to watch.”

Since growing up in Wilmington, North Carolina, Garcia always liked to do stuff on his own.

He seldom asked for help in school, making it a point to learn on his own time. Garcia always wanted to be independent. With that, came his competitive nature.

“I love winning. Always have,” Garcia said. “Losing has never really been an option for me. Whether that be in sports, school, life, whatever.”

“He relished that,” Tony said. “He relished the opportunity to come in and compete and get his team out of whatever jam they were in. He loved doing that.”

A productive high school and travel career resulted in his commitment to Furman. However, budgetary issues within the university led to the school dropping its baseball program after the cancellation of the 2020 season, and Garcia was released from his letter of intent.

“That was hard on Sam,” Tony said. “You spend that much time being recruited by a certain coaching staff and a certain program and then just like that, it’s all gone.”

After reaching out to coaches weeks ahead of the late signing period, High Point contacted Garcia. Shortly after, and signed.

He was set for the future, but rockier roads loomed ahead.

Garcia hadn’t inherited lofty preseason expectations until his junior season. As a sophomore, Garcia catapulted himself into the college baseball limelight. Starting as a backend reliever, quality outings progressed Garcia within the pitching staff. He went from closer to midweek starter to a Sunday starter.

“Things kind of evolved for me from there,” Garcia said. “It all happened so fast.”

Garcia finished with a 1.94 ERA, and .213 opposing batting average. But instead of his stock continuing to climb, things took a turn for the worst.

Garcia played baseball, basketball, swimming and track, but baseball always piqued his interest. So, in late middle school, Garcia progressively shifted his focus toward baseball. Like in other sports, Garcia was a do-it-all player, but he quickly proved his worth on the mound and at first base. The thrill of high-pressure situations at those positions intrigued him.

In his second start, against Alabama, Garcia surrendered six runs in 4 2/3 innings. He said he felt like he didn’t know what hit him. He struggled to manage the dreadful feeling of failure.

Instead, he faltered, and his productivity worsened. His ERA continued climbing and weeks later, Garcia was demoted to the bullpen.

“What’s admirable about that junior year is that he kept battling,” Tony said. “He wanted the ball. He kept battling, and as difficult as that year was on him, he didn’t quit.”

He finished the year with a 7.57 ERA, and his future was uncertain.

“As a parent, in that moment, you go from experiencing highs and highs to that,” Tony said. “And we do hold a little bit of angst thinking about it. And you feel for him.”

The plan at that point became clear – graduate in three years and enter the transfer portal. Within a month after the end of High Point’s season, Garcia did both.

*****

Mary Garcia received a phone call from an unfamiliar number in early June – a 405 area code.

When she answered, Holliday spoke.

“I still have the call log saved on my phone,” Mary, Garcia’s mom, said. “I still laugh about it today.”

Garcia had received many offers from local schools, including a couple of Power Five programs. OSU was different regionally than what Garcia had initially expressed interest in. But Holliday persisted.

“His Cape Cod coach basically told us not to worry about those numbers,” Holliday said. “Weird year for him. It happens. It’s baseball.

Stribling is healthy, looking to compete for a Big 12 title

Ashton Slaughter Assistant Sports Editor

While De’Zhaun Stribling was on the sidelines watching his fellow wide receivers “ball out” last season en route to a Big 12 Championship appearance, he selfishly wanted to be out there.

Although a record-setting Brennan Presley season and breakouts from Rashod Owens and Leon Johnson III came from Stribling’s broken left wrist suffered in Oklahoma State’s bye week, he wanted to be out there, competing for a title spot.

Now a redshirt junior, in the mix of a highly touted receiver corps, he hopes to replicate his production from the beginning of last season. And more.

“There’s unfinished business,” Stribling said. “I have a lot I want to show and do, and ultimately, I just want to help this team be great.”

Since the “freak accident” in practice — where Stribling ran a go route and, after trying to make a play, fell on his wrist, ending his season — he’s played the cheerleader role for his teammates and has rehabbed to a healthy, explosive state this spring.

Despite his recovery, he’s pulling the reins back when needed. He’s knowing

when enough is enough, in hopes that his limitations now will lay the groundwork for another dominant showing from the OSU receiver unit.

With Presley in the slot and Owens and Stribling on the outside, the expectations are high, and Stribling feels opposing defenses will have trouble containing the group.

“You got to kind of pick your poison, like what you want to do (and) how you want to scheme us up,” he said. “It’s exciting for our perspective; we have so many guys, so many athletes. “No matter what you do, you’re kind of wrong.”

The receivers and the rest of the team this spring have been clear that their goal is to make it back to Arlington and play in the College Football Playoff. Stribling’s no different. While his teammates want to play on that field again for a title, he just wants to play on the field. Period. “Big 12 championship is one of my goals, especially since I didn’t play in it last year, and just the bigger thing is that I’ve never been a part of a winning team,” Stribling said. “I’ve never been a part of a team that won a championship. So I just really want to be a part of something like that.” sports.ed@ocolly.com

“We understood that, and at the same time were in need of left-handed pitching. We thought Sam was a perfect fit because of his (6-foot-4) frame and his success he’d produced in years past.” Mary informed her son, who was competing with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Summer League in Massachusetts. Weeks later, Walton flew to Cape Cod to watch Garcia pitch and discuss pitching philosophy and mechanics. After that meeting, Garcia was sold. Less than one month later, he committed to OSU.

“I thought Sam was competing good, but wasn’t finishing,” Walton said. “But Sam had more of an over-rotational delivery which created a lot more misses in the (strike zone), and I thought that could be fixed. He just needed some work.” It’s been a success for both sides. Garcia altered his de -

livery slightly, but enough to eliminate some pitch command issues. And thanks to Walton’s coaching style, Garcia is back to his successful ways, and OSU has reaped the rewards.

Garcia has been a driving force behind the No. 15 Cowboys’ success. Should that continue, Holliday and Co. might have attained the portal steal of the offseason.

Don’t credit Holliday. He’ll be the first to say it. Garcia’s persona on the mound wouldn’t indicate it, either. But so far, his numbers have.

“Sam’s a kid you can easily root for because of who he is,” Holliday said. “Watching him succeed is so fulfilling because of what he gives us and how invested he is in winning. Hopefully he can continue that success moving forward.”

7th, Austin; 10th) and are less than 90 miles apart. Their residents argue about breakfast tacos, culture and the Spurs. They often don’t see eye-to-eye; full of pride for their city. Being from there myself, I will never say Austin is better than

and San Antonio and everything in between.” Oklahoma and Texas are like that, too. They’re border rivals with residents who love their state, hate the other and will

die before they admit the other is better. New Oklahoma State basketball coach Steve Lutz — like many before him — isn’t an Oklahoman. He’s a Texan. OSU’s athletic program prides itself on recruiting and developing the best talent in the state. It’s what football does, softball excels at and women’s basketball is trying to do. Men’s basketball, like all sports, though, needs the bluechip recruits from Texas. That’s where Lutz can dominate. Sure, OSU would love to build a team full of local kids. Former coach Mike Boynton wanted that, too. It’s not like OSU never recruited in Texas. But Oklahomans never filled out the whole roster. Lutz will probably try to continue to get top instate players — like OSU players who eventually entered the portal Brandon Garrison and Rondel Walker. When he needs a program-changer, he’ll look at his home state. Lutz began his career in Texas and coached in the Lone Star State for 16 years. When he wasn’t, he kept one foot in. At Purdue, he played a major role in recruiting eventual All-American Carsen Edwards from Atascoctia, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Texas produces the most college basketball players of any state. Oh, and the No. 1 recruit in the state in the 2025 class is from Lutz’s hometown — San Antonio. Lutz’s

Nick Becker

Sam Garcia has a career-best .210 opponent batting average. Payton

How a wiffle ball game helped OSU regroup

There wasn’t an angry holler, animated conversation or bad vibe from Oklahoma State coach Kenny Gajewski after his team lost the series against Iowa State last weekend.

Instead, he took an untraditional route in prepping his squad for the series finale. It didn’t even require a softball. The Cowgirls had just dropped a pair of games to the Cyclones: a 2-0 shutout loss followed by 5-2 defeat. It was a surprising outcome that included more struggles at the plate, which prompted someone close to Gajewski to notice something.

“A friend of mine said, ‘Hey, you got to just get back to having fun,’” Gajewski said. Gajewski came to the same conclusion. He knew he needed smiles on faces more than a pregame warmup. So, the Cowgirls ditched part of their routine to play a wiffle ball game ahead of the series finale, which brought out the good vibes and helped OSU regain the joy it had been missing.

Players, coaches and trainers were drafted onto

teams by captains, which saw players like Jilyen Poullard and Caroline Wang get picked atop the board. Gajewski joined in, too, as a pitcher.

Quickly it became a casual, amusing game, which revived the Cowgirls’ spirits and helped take weight off their shoulders. They were having fun again, and all it took was a plastic bat and ball from Target.

“I made our girls choose teams like on the playground days, and so that was kind of funny to watch that,” Gajewski said. “...I watched them running around and laughing and talking trash. I was like, ‘We’re back.’”

After the wiffle ball shenanigans, OSU made early work of ISU in game three with a 10-2 run-rule win. Although the series had already been decided, the Cowgirls posted 11 hits with four home runs to get back in the win column.

Then, on Wednesday, OSU scored five runs in the fifth inning at Wichita State to score a comeback 6-5 win against the Shockers, taking down the team that always presents the Cowgirls problems.

Albeit two games, OSU hasn’t lost since it warmed up

with a wiffle ball game and has plated 16-combined runs in its last two outings, one more than it did in its previous four games.

“I should have done it a week ago,” Gajewski said Tuesday. “I should have done it the first couple of times we struggled.”

Losing the series against ISU also helped OSU players catch better sight of the parity in college softball and the overall landscape of the Big 12: it’s competitive. The Cowgirls weren’t the only top-dog team to lose last week. Seven of the top-10 ranked teams lost, including No. 1 Oklahoma, which lost to BYU. After the Sooners defeat, OU’s Kinzie Hansen said, “There’s only been one perfect person on this planet, and he didn’t play softball.”

Gajewski and his staff showed Hansen and OU’s postgame comments to their team to emphasize that with the parity that exists, winning games isn’t easy.

“Don’t put those crippling expectations on yourself,” Poullard said. “I think that was the biggest takeaway (from listening to Hansen), like, you can’t be perfect.”

Wiffle Ball Draft

Kenny Gajewski said the Cowgirls picked teams for their wiffle ball game, playground-style, with Karli Godwin and Rosie Davis serving as captains.

According to Gajewski’s memory, Jilyen Poullard and Caroline Wang were the first two picks and the pitchers were selected toward the end of the draft.

Like the Cowgirls did, The O’Colly softball writers Parker Gerl, Ashton Slaughter and Gabriel Trevino drafted their own wiffle ball teams from the softball roster.

Connor Fuxa

The Cowgirls warmed up with a wiffle ball game last weekend to start having fun again.

Smith...

There are other areas in which he wants to dedicate himself, too.

For starters, he has 35 cows – currently in calving season – waiting on him at his Stillwater farm. Faith is big for Smith and his family, and he said he wants to work with his Catholic church. To build off that, he wants to start giving his time to other causes. Maybe even little league wrestling.

“When you work your whole life, I’m really excited about volunteering,” Smith said. “I’m looking at what I can be a volunteer at.”

Naturally, OSU fans will wonder if any of Smith’s time will be volunteered championing the OSU program and helping where needed. Smith said he wants to continue giving back to the sport however he can, but he’s not quite sure when or at what level yet. On a radio segment Wednesday, Smith said one of his missions in retirement is getting wrestling back to 10 weights at the Olympics.

Interim coach Coleman Scott wants Smith to enjoy retirement and isn’t pushing him for anything.

“Whatever he wants, that’s the way I put it,” Scott said. “Whatever he wants. Coach has done so much for me already. Whatever he wants. Now, will I lean on him? Will I go chat with him? Absolutely.” OSU Athletic Director Chad Weiberg is in the same camp.

“The great thing is he’s going to be right here in Stillwater, so I know he’s just a phone call away,” Weiberg said. “Anything that I need, or we need help with, and I know he’ll be there just like he always has been. So, he’ll be as busy or maybe busier in some ways, but at least he’ll be doing exactly what he wants to do when he wants to do it.”

Smith is an outdoorsman, so he said to expect plenty of that. Former OSU assistant coach and current Wyoming coach Mark Branch said they used to go on fishing trips together.

And despite the worries of Toni, that’s one area they can’t wait to enjoy.

“She’s a really good fly fisher,” Smith said. “Seriously, we love fly fishing.”

Branch hopes Smith can turn off his “competitive juices” and enjoy retirement.

“Knowing him as well as I do, I know that’s not gonna be easy for him to do, to kind of turn that off,” Branch said. “But at the same time, I know he’s gonna be involved in the sport for the rest of his life in one way or another. Hopefully that’s enough for him that he can enjoy some time away from it.”

And when the time comes, Smith said he wants to stay involved. He’s been part of Stillwater for nearly 50 years, and he said he’s not going anywhere.

But now is about making up lost time and enjoying a life outside of coaching and wrestling.

“There’ll be a time when he runs out of fishing trips or hunting trips or whatever that he’ll have that,” Scott said, “but he needs to enjoy what he wants to enjoy – as he said, spend time with his kids and his family.”sports.ed@ocolly.com

ment of one of college wrestling’s blueblood programs. He did so by implementing his methods.

Continued from 1B

When former associate head coach Zack Esposito left OSU in mid-August for a position with USA Wrestling, Smith practically had his decision made: Scott. And with good reason. Smith merely needed confirmation with his target, and of course, to make it official.

At every stop, Scott has shown himself to be a winner. Most notably, in his 12-year stint as the coach of North Carolina. There, he built the Tar Heels into a mainstay atop the ACC, and at times, the national level. He posted a 75-49 record in Chapel Hill, including a 12th-place finish in the 2023 Nationals, the Tar Heels’ best since 1995. “Coleman, he’s a winner,” said former OSU wrestler Kaden Gfeller. “He’s won everywhere he’s been, and I have no doubt that he’d do the same as the head coach at Oklahoma State.”

OSU wrestlers past and present know Scott’s merit. As a wrestler for the Cowboys from 2005-08, he went 12024, along with an individual title at 133 pounds in 2008. In one season as associate head coach, Scott aided in the re-establish-

More off days. Intensified build-ups to work outs. Most of which, are more conditioning-based in contrast to recent years. OSU wrestling alumni have expressed nothing but praise toward the idea of Scott taking over as Smith’s successor.

“I think Coleman would be a great fit moving forward,” said former OSU 125-pounder Nick Piccinini. “Obviously, he’s got the attitude and the demeanor. He’s got the accolades. And yeah, I could see it working out. If Coleman steps up to be the next head coach, I’d be happy. I have plenty of faith in him, as he did all Cowboys past and present.”

Regardless of when the announcement comes, many, including Smith, believe Scott is fit to take over the program. And when the time comes, that just might be the case.

“I suspect we, in the not-too-distant future, will be back here talking about the future of Cowboy wrestling,” OSU Athletic Director Chad Weiberg said on Monday. “But we’ve been very intentional trying to make this as it should be all about John and the program and to do that the justice that it deserves.”

Smith wanted to leave program ‘in a better place.’ Now he’s leaving on his own terms

how to get the program back, leaving little time for anything else in his life.

trophy home. I was just thinking, ‘I’ve gotta get it in a better place.’ That’s all I wanted.”

The national titles, the All-Americans, the conference

So much success. But the past three seasons were what weighed on Smith most. Two of his toughest years as coach came with OSU finishing 14th at the NCAA Championships in 2022 and 18th in 2023. He didn’t want to leave the program he took to great heights in that position.

This year, Smith led his squad to a bounce-back 14-1 season and finished 10th. Then, on Thursday, Smith announced his retirement. On Monday morning, Smith held a final press conference and spoke about his decision.

“I wasn’t in good shape two years ago,” Smith said. “Wasn’t in good shape a year ago, mentally. When you coach a long time — not everybody gets to do that. I got to do it when I wrestled. I got to walk away being an Olympic gold medalist. And I get to walk away today feeling complete that my career is complete. I’m walking away from coaching.” The strain of the worst finish in OSU history in 2023 wore on him. Smith said he focused on

This year was a breakthrough. Smith often referred to how much “fun” he was having coaching this team. The Cowboys had five freshmen in the lineup at times, bringing a new hunger to the table with veterans such as Daton Fix and Dustin Plott. Smith brought in former Cowboy wrestler and North Carolina coach Coleman Scott as associate head coach. OSU was rolling, with a 14-0 start, including a few top-five wins. Road venues sold out when OSU came to town.

Gallagher-Iba Arena broke its season attendance record. “Had great attendance — broke our attendance record — and you finished 18th last year.

Damn,” Smith said. “There’s a couple times I’m going, ‘How many have they sold? How many tickets?’ That’s what happens when you win. That’s what happens when you’re aggressive and you’ve got something to watch.”

That’s what Smith wanted to see. That’s why he stuck it out. This season gave him peace with retiring.

“It was the right time. That’s all I can think about the last three years is just, ‘I can’t leave until it’s in a better place. Don’t give them crap. Give them something to go with,’” Smith said. “I wasn’t thinking about winning a national championship, I wasn’t thinking about taking second or taking a

There have been many changes in wrestling and college athletics. Reasons to maybe step away from the sport. Smith said none of it affected his decision to retire. “I’m probably gonna get bored, but I can promise you one thing: I’m not gonna wish I was still coaching,” he joked. “The changes that have happened, things like that, we’ve heard about. I’m not going to get into the changes and things. I mean, it didn’t force me out. I wouldn’t say any of the changes forced me out. You know, 33 years is enough.”

Chad Weiberg didn’t want to believe it when he first heard it. Weiberg, OSU’s athletic director, remembers sitting in the old wooden chairs of Gallagher Hall as a junior-high kid in 1985, watching Smith compete. Over 30 years later, Weiberg was working alongside him and sitting in meetings with Smith.

“He’d get up from the table and he’d leave the office, and I’d be like, ‘Holy hell, that’s John Smith,’” Weiberg said.

Now, Smith was talking retirement.

“He told me all of what he was thinking and the reasons he had for it, which I clearly respected,” Weiberg said. “But I tried everything I could to talk him out of it.

“I thought that if I could get him a little further away from the season that those com-

petitive juices would get rolling again and he’d keep going. But he was convicted. And I think at the end of the day, that’s the bottom line here. Wasn’t about anything in this moment. This was about really the bigger picture and where he wanted to be, and it’s pretty clear that’s where his heart was. He was convicted. Hate it but obviously respect it.”

Smith said he would have likely already retired had it not been for COVID. He didn’t want to leave the program at a time like that. Then came the down years and rebuild. But coming into the year, Smith said his year was made up.

“I kind of knew going into this year that it was going to be last year regardless,” Smith said. “I just wanted to make sure it was good.”

Smith said in previous years he couldn’t have stood up there

and said OSU finishing 10th was a good thing. But with age has come perspective, and Smith said the outlook shouldn’t be weighted on a few days at the NCAA Championships alone. When he stepped away from the season and looked at the progress, the talent on the roster, the top recruiting classes coming the next couple seasons, the coaching staff he’s built, he came back to a recurring feeling.

“Really, when I walked away from the NCAA Championships this year, I was complete,” Smith said. “Wish we would have done better than 10th. We were 16 points away from second… Wish we would have done better, but for me, the way we wrestled, the way the year (went), it was nice walking away.”

John Smith wiped his eyes as he looked around the Boone Pickens Stadium team room, full of family, friends and wrestlers, and talked about the Oklahoma State wrestling program he’s led for 33 years.

titles.

Davis Cordova Interim coach Coleman Scott said John Smith can stay involved however he wants.

Davis Cordova Coleman Scott showed his ability to coach while at North Carolina for 12 years. Payton Little

OSU coach John Smith

Classifieds

Business Squares

Come check out the wide variety of elegant clothing at Formal Fantasy!

Located on 121 E. 9th Ave, Downtown Stillwater

The best selection of beer, wine and liquor that Stillwater has to offer! Perfect for all your game day needs, come to Brown’s Bottle Shop located on 128 N. Main

“The Original Hideaway, located on the corner of Knoblock and University. Serving quality pizza and more since 1957.”

Murphy’s Department Store

815 S Main, Downtown Open 10-6 Monday thru Saturday

Houses for rent

Cowboy Calendar

Friday, April 19 11th Annual International Red Dirt Film Festival @ 8 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Location: Downtown Stillwater

Admission: $5-60

https://www.reddirtfilm.com/

2024 NCAA Big 12 Men’s Tennis Championship @ 12 p.m.

Location: Greenwood Tennis Center

Admission: Each day will be considered a “session.” Only All-Session tickets will be available for purchase online. Single-session tickets for both team and individual sessions will be available for purchase on-site on the day of matches at the Greenwood Tennis Facility. Any more information can be found through the NCAA at NCAA.org.

https://okstate.evenue.net/events/NCAATENNIS

2024 NCAA Big 12 Women’s Tennis Championship @ 12 p.m.

Location: Greenwood Tennis Center

Admission: Each day will be considered a “session.” Only All-Session tickets will be available for purchase online. Single-session tickets for both team and individual sessions will be available for purchase on-site on the day of matches at the Greenwood Tennis Facility. Any more information can be found through the NCAA at NCAA.org.

https://okstate.evenue.net/events/NCAATENNIS

Stillwater Arts Festival

Location: Prairie Arts Center

Admission: 12 - 8 p.m.

https://artscenter.okstate.edu/activities/stillwaterarts-festival

Third Friday Downtown @ 4 - 8 p.m.

Location: Downtown Stillwater

https://downtownstillwater.org/calendar/

April Donations Drive for Local Animal Shelters @ 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Location: Bluepeak Tech Hub

https://mybluepeak.com/

Brazos Valley Boys Live @ 5:45 p.m.

Location: The Botanical Garden at OSU

https://botanicgarden.okstate.edu/

Coldbrew Live @ 7 p.m.

Location: Stonecloud Brewing Company

https://stonecloudbrewing.com/

Cowgirl Softball: OSU vs. Texas Tech @ 6 p.m.

Location: Cowgirl Stadium

https://okstate.com/sports/softball/schedule

Friday Night Magic Booster Draft @ 6 - 9 p.m.

Location: Knight Arms Games Inc.

https://www.facebook.com/KnightArmsGameStore

Daily Horoscope

Nancy Black Tribune Content Agency

Linda Black Horoscopes

Today’s Birthday (04/19/24). Prepare for a fruitful harvest this year. Dreams come true with steady, disciplined practices. Summertime favors new personal directions, before autumn develops productive results behind closed doors. Redirect collaborative efforts this winter, for an energizing, healthy, high-performance spring. You’re on the gravy train.

To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.

Aries (March 21-April 19) — Today is a 9 — Find creative ways to increase income. This month has profit potential under the Taurus Sun. Don’t fund a flimsy scheme. Avoid risk or speculation.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) — Today is a 9 — Take charge. Your confidence increases for the next month, with the Sun in Taurus. You’re in your own element. You have a natural advantage.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) — Today is a 7 — Savor privacy at home. You’re especially productive behind closed doors, with the Taurus Sun for a month. Plan, sort and organize. Imagine the possibilities.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Today is a 9 — One great connection leads to another. Teamwork flourishes this month under the Taurus Sun. Participate with social events and community causes. Pull together.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is a 9 — Career matters move to the front burner. Advance professional ambitions this month, with the Sun in Taurus. Pour your passion and fire into interesting work.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is a 9 — Travel, exploration and investigation beckon. Expand your influence over the next month. Study options and plot your course. Make long-distance connections. Discoveries abound.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — Today is a 9 — Discuss financial priorities and plans with your partner. Pull together for an especially lucrative month for shared accounts. The Taurus Sun favors family prosperity.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today is a 9 — Allow for spontaneous fun. Savor a mutual attraction this month, with the Sun in Taurus. Encourage romantic opportunities. Learn from each other. Deepen connections.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is a 9 — Physical action gets results under the Taurus Sun. Stick to practical priorities with a busy month. Nurture your work, health and fitness. Stretching helps.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is an 8 — Indulge a romantic dream. Over the next month, with the Sun in Taurus, you’re especially lucky with love, fun and creativity. Follow your heart.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is an 8 — Energize domestic improvement projects this month. Fix up your place under the Taurus Sun. Nurture your family and yourself with delicious flavors and views.

File Photo

Smith is OSU’s G.O.A.T.

For 40 years, John Smith was Oklahoma State.

Nobody else can claim the longevity – as both an athlete and coach – as the face of a program in Stillwater. Not Ed Gallagher and his 24 years as Oklahoma A&M’s wrestling coach. Nor Henry Iba and his 36 years as men’s basketball coach. Smith’s legacy grew larger than theirs in the arena that bears their name. Barry Sanders often receives the OSU “G.O.A.T” tag, but even his highs never touched those of Smith’s, much less his legacy as a coach.

“Barry Sanders was (the best) for one year,” said OSU coach Mike Gundy, who grew up near Smith and occasionally traveled to wrestling tournaments with him as a kid and was a teammate of Sanders. “But John was the best at what he did in the world for six or seven years.”

Of the top OSU athletics figures of all time, you can put whoever you want and arrange them however you please on a Mount Rushmore. But the biggest face on is John Smith, and there’s no debating that. Smith is OSU’s greatest.

Two individual national titles as a wrestler and an record 152 wins. Six consecutive world championships – the only wrestler to ever do it. Two Olympic gold medals and 100 international wins. Five team national titles, 153

All-Americans, 33 individual NCAA champions and 490 dual wins in 33 years as head coach. Many consider Smith as the Greatest American Wrestler of All Time. Before he ever picked up a whistle.

He’s your favorite Cowboy’s favorite Cowboy.

“I don’t know when they started on his statue, but it should have been a while back,” Gundy said. “I don’t think we’ve ever had anybody at this university who has been the best at what they’ve done in the world for seven years. I have a pretty high standard for John Smith as a person, a coach and a competitor.”

Smith is the perfect embodiment of the Cowboy Culture that’s thrown around. A term is just a term unless it is lived, and Smith lived it.

He became larger than life at a young age and handled the spotlight better than anyone. Not just on the mat but off. From handing out medals at youth events, to his camps, to the way everyone in and around the program regarded him.

Even at his retirement press conference he downplayed the idea of a statue.

“There’s nobody on this campus that deserves a statue more than him,” Gundy said. “The only debate is, do you make it of him as a wrestler or as a coach? I say you make it a collage and do both.”

However the statue looks, it’s on its way.

“There are some schools that put up statues for all kinds of different things,” said OSU Athletic Director Chad Weiberg. “We reserve that for the greatest of greats. Without committing to anything, I think that (Smith) certainly falls into that category.”

That’s a category nobody else in Stillwater can put themselves in. There have been other great wrestlers. Smith’s brother, Pat − who John coached − was the first four-time NCAA champ. Still not the lasting impact Smith had. Yojiro Uetake Obata went 57-0 at OSU with three NCAA titles, then won two Olympic golds for Japan. He is OSU’s best and most dominant wrestler of all time. But he didn’t coach the Cowboys at 26 years old, lead them out of NCAA sanctions and win five national titles in 33 years as the face of the program. Not to mention his extensive coaching tree. Sanders was the best college running back for a year and was great in the NFL. Eddie Sutton took OSU to two Final Fours. Pete Incaviglia holds college baseball’s home run records. OSU has a slew of successful professional golfers. Too many other great wrestlers to count.

Above them all: John Smith. “We’ve had a lot of people do amazing things here, but he was the best in the world at what he did,” Gundy said. “Period.”

Which OSU athletics figures deserve statues? Here are 4 who

do

after him, but let’s get him a statue. Two Final Fours, the 12-most wins of all-time, and a playing career as a Cowboy — under coach Henry Iba, who, too, could be on this list — sound fit for a statue.

John Smith’s retirement brought up a conversation in Stillwater that’s been scrutinized in recent years: statues. After Smith’s 33-year tenure as Oklahoma State’s wrestling coach ended, the topic of a statue honoring the coach and former Cowboy came up in his retirement press conference on Monday.

“We’ve been pretty judicious with our selection of statues around here,” Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg said. OSU football coach Mike Gundy chimed in, too, saying Smith deserved one.

Only five OSU individuals have statues: Barry Sanders (after 33 years), Henry Bennett, Nancy Randolph, T. Boone Pickens and Burns Hargis. So let’s talk about the next few. Here are four — specifically OSU athletics figures — who should be immortalized in stainless steel in Stillwater: John Smith

The statue talk for Smith was deserving.

Honors from his 33 years as coach: five NCAA team championships, 33 NCAA individual championships, 153 All-Americans and I could keep typing for a while (including but not limited to his Olympic success). Not to mention his time as a wrestler, which came with more championships and gold medals.

He was the face of the Cowboy wrestling program as a coach and wrestler. When the new wrestling facility is built, give the man a statue.

Eddie Sutton

Yes, he’s got the court named

Sutton may not have won two championships like Iba, but I’d rank two Final Four appearances in a better basketball era over two titles in an era where eight teams played in the tournament.

How about Sutton’s statue going next to the Remember the Ten memorial? The man who led the program out of its darkest time and led it to success after that. I like that idea.

Mike Gundy

Give him the Nick Saban treatment — a statue while coaching. Unlike Smith and Sutton, there was no decorated history for Gundy’s sport before him. The best years of Cowboy football have come under Gundy, who will be coaching his 20th season this fall.

Yes, he was a quarterback in Stillwater, too, but his time as coach outweighs that. Gundy’s mullet and visor on a statue would be sick.

Justin Blackmon

Our first — and only — player statue goes to the two-time Biletnikoff winner and two-time AllAmerican.

Are there players who have individual titles? Yes, but I count the Biletnikoff as two championships. Yes, some have more than two, but I put Blackmon’s over that. Sorry.

A common theme on this list, which doesn’t change with Blackmon, is the “golden age” of the player or coach receiving a statue during their time at OSU, as the 2011 football team is still the best to date. sports.ed@ocolly.com

John Smith’s athletic and coaching legacy at OSU is unmatched.

File Photo

Stories of OSU coach Smith told by his former wrestlers

Oklahoma State wrestling and John Smith was always a dream for Mark Branch, but he had come to terms that it probably wasn’t going to happen.

Branch, from Newkirk, was one of Oklahoma’s top wrestlers, but late in his high school career, OSU – the school he grew up wanting to wrestle for – and new coach and all-time great Cowboy wrestler Smith hadn’t reached out. Suddenly, Smith called Branch and said to come down for a visit, and Branch couldn’t say ‘OK’ fast enough.

It was an easy choice. All Smith had to do was ask, and Branch would be a Cowboy. When Smith did ask, Branch told him he was going to OSU but wanted to take his last visit to OU because, being from a rural town, he hadn’t been away and got to see much, so he wanted to check it out.

“And he goes, ‘You know, when you come here, you’re gonna travel all over the United States. Who cares about one little trip down to Norman?’” Branch said. “And I’m like, ‘Yeah, that makes sense.’ So I called OU and told them I was committing (to OSU).”

That started a 15-year run for Branch and Smith at OSU. Branch won an individual national title as a freshman in 1994, then again in 1997. After his senior year in 1997, Branch joined Smith’s staff as an assistant coach for five seasons, then associate head coach for six years. Now, the head coach at Wyoming, Branch looks back on his career and traces part of his success to joining Smith at OSU.

“I believe it was it was where I was supposed to be, and

I believe it was fate,” he said. Smith was at the end of his illustrious international wrestling career and taking over a program on NCAA sanctions. Not to mention, Smith was just a few years older than most of his wrestlers. Still, Branch said, Smith was like a rockstar.

Not an inactive one, either. Branch said Smith would show up to practice and grapple with the team daily. Smith was still competitive and like one of the college kids, Branch said.

From the beginning of Smith’s tenure, through becoming part of his staff, to being Big 12 coaching peers until Smith retired on Thursday, Branch has seen Smith’s career up close. Close enough to notice Smith’s practice attire changed.

“Every time I see a picture of him during practice, I’m like, he seems like he’s wearing a hat and boots,” Branch said. “He went from never even wearing a whistle… he was he was out there in knee pads and wrestling shoes, and he was out there scrapping, and then, all the way to now I’m like does he even dress out for practice? Different phases that you go through as a coach. I got a chance to witness a lot of those phases and see him develop and change as a coach.”

More than three decades after that phone call at the beginning of Smith’s career, Branch congratulates Smith on an unmatched career.

“I’m happy for him, and I guess being in a similar position as far as being a fellow coach, I just know it takes a lot out of you,” Branch said. “And I know the older you get, I think the more challenging it is, and I think John deserves a chance to step away from something that he’s done for a long time. He’s made an incredible impact on the sport, and I think it’s good

and well deserved. I’m happy for him.

“Hopefully he can kind of turn off his competitive juices and enjoy it. Knowing him as well as I do, I know that’s not gonna be easy for him to do, to kind of turn that off, but at the same time, I know he’s gonna be involved in the sport for the rest of his life in one way or another. Hopefully that’s enough for him that he can enjoy some time away from it.”

Kaden Gfeller, Cowboy wrestler (2017-23)

Kaden Gfeller grew up an OSU wrestling fan.

Throughout his childhood and high school days at Heritage Hall, he knew he wanted to wrestle for John Smith. But Gfeller was a highly touted recruit, and the Cowboys weren’t the only ones pursuing him.

Smith didn’t care. In his mind, OSU was the only school Gfeller had any business in visiting. And he made it known often during Gfeller’s training sessions with the Cowboy Wrestling Club.

“He’d always ask me what my upcoming schedule was (visit wise),” Gfeller said. “I’d

Monday - Wednesday: 10:00am - 10:00pm

Thursday - Saturday: 10:00am - 11:00pm

tell him and after every school I’d mention, he’d cut me off and say, ‘Nope, you’re not going there.’”

During Gfeller’s senior season at Heritage Hall, Smith attempted to force Gfeller into not going through with an impending visit to Penn State. In a joking manner, of course. But Gfeller remains adamant there was a dose of seriousness to Smith’s remarks.

“I’d tell him, ‘Coach, I have to go,’” Gfeller said. “He’d tell me I wasn’t going. I think he told me close to 10 times.”

Of course, Gfeller committed to and signed with OSU. And the rest is history – 81-22 career record, 36-9 in duals and a two-time Big 12 individual champion. But the friendly banter didn’t end there. Smith often asked Gfeller to change weight classes. The requests became more rampant later in Gfeller’s career. Chalk it up to a lack of production at a certain weight class, or an advantage he saw in Gfeller should a weight change transpire. But Gfeller, OSU’s longtime starting 149-pounder, liked

where he was weight-wise. Each time, his response would be the same.

“I would just show up at the same weight I was at the previous week,” Gfeller said. “And he wouldn’t like it. He would let me know.

“I can’t tell you how many times he and I would go at it because he wanted me to change weights.”

Finally, the long-requested weight changed occurred in his final season at OSU (2022-23), when Gfeller moved up from 149 to 157. Through it all, Gfeller holds sentimental value in being coached by Smith. Why? The same reason as most OSU Wrestling alumni.

“He’s the greatest wrestler of all-time and it’s not even close. Coach Smith did so much for me, I can’t really put it all into words,” Gfeller said. “It’ll be a lot different not seeing him alongside the mat for duals. But he’s earned (retirement). He’s done so much for Oklahoma State, the sport of college wrestling and I’m just so thankful to have been coached by him.”

File Photo

Kaden Gfeller (middle) wrestled for John Smith (right) from 2017-23.

Braden Bush & Daniel Allen

Cowboy golf preparing for conference championships

Dalton Arredondo Staff Reporter

The Oklahoma State men’s golf team’s journey to the national championship begins next week in Trinity, Texas.

After finishing on the podium in three of their past four tournaments, the Cowboys are heading to the Big 12 Championships on Monday, looking for their first tournament win of the season. The last time the Cowboys won the Big 12 Championship was in 2021, where senior Bo Jin and PGA Tour pro Austin Eckroat led the way for the conference title.

Jin said it is important to play well in the postseason because it leads to a bigger prize.

“It’s the postseason − we’re gonna get ready to be able to put us on good scores against one of the best teams in the conference and play good re -

gionals, and hopefully we can get another national championship,” Jin said. Last year in the Big 12 Championships at the Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kansas, OSU placed fifth, and senior Jonas Baumgartner came in second.

The regular season consists of 54-hole tournaments, but the Cowboys will be playing 72 holes across three days at the Big 12 Championship. Baumgartner said it is important to stay energized and to play their best in the final round. “I think it’s just important to recover as fast as possible,” Baumgartner said. “Don’t go into tournaments being worn out; just be hydrated, eat the right things and see that your fitness is on the right track. You got one more round to separate yourself from the field and show who can play their best over 72 holes.” The lineup going to

Texas consists of different levels of postseason experience. Jin, Baumgartner and graduate student Dillion Stewart have played in the Big 12 before, while graduate student Rayhan Thomas and freshmen Preston Stout and Gaven Lane will compete on this postseason stage for the first time.

OSU coach Alan Bratton said the team is ready to go and feeling prepared for its layout. “Whispering Pines is a good golf course that should suit our games,” Bratton said. “The test to golf is good. It’s very straightforward. It’s the kind of golf course where if you play well, you’ll shoot a low score. And if you don’t, you won’t; you’re not going to fake it around there. But at the same time, you’ve got some chances to make some birdies, and I’m excited to get down there and see what we got.” sports.ed@ocolly.com

Monday reflects on navigating OSU through 1991-92 season with Smith

came with the last name.

Oklahoma State didn’t receive the dreadful NCAA death penalty, but to many within the Oklahoma State wrestling program, it felt like it.

In November 1991, less than a week before OSU’s season opener, the NCAA handed down a bevy of infractions on OSU, highlighted by a ban from the 1993 NCAA Championships.

Coach Joe Seay was abruptly fired from his post. Kenny Monday, 30, and John Smith, 26, were named co-head coaches for the 1992-93 season. An obstacle Monday said was one of the more grueling moments of his wrestling career.

“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t one of the most stressful times in my life,” Monday said. “And I think John probably was the most stressed between the two of us. You’re that young, and you have all the responsibilities of being a head coach. Not to mention, he was kind of thrown into this, like myself, it was a lot on us both, but especially on him.”

In addition to a postseason ban, the Cowboys

were deprived of all scheduled televised dual meets. The coaching staff was prohibited from awarding any approved scholarships until August 1994. Neither could they host any “expense-paid” prospect visits until August 1993.

Before the infractions were handed down, OSU won consecutive team national titles in 1989-90. The program had momentum and was establishing a stronghold.

“Where Penn State is right now, that’s where (OSU was) headed,” Monday said. “John and I had won Olympic gold and two world titles. And we won it in 1989 and 1990 as a team. We had a lot of the team in 1990 coming back for 1991. There was a lot to look forward to.”

But like that, all hope of establishing a dynasty faded. And for Smith and Monday, the daunting task of leading OSU through it loomed.

Serving as a head coach is one thing. Navigating a program through turmoil is another.

Monday, a Tulsa native, had crossed paths with Smith and his brothers – Pat and Lee Roy. Monday knew the Smith family. He knew the expectation of winning that

Thus, Monday maintained the upmost confidence that he and Smith would navigate their way through one of the darkest chapters for any program – just as they had navigated their way through successful college careers.

“They’re winners,” Monday said. “Plain and simple. I knew that.”

So, the two got to work. Smith trained the lightweight wrestlers, while Monday focused on the heavyweights. The tandem, amid a dreadful season, made it work.

Shortly after, Smith was promoted to the program’s full-time coach ahead of the 1993-94 season. The Cowboys won their first team national title under Smith in 1994. From that point on, one of college wrestling’s household names was revitalized, and Smith’s prolific head coaching tenure was underway.

“The way John handled that situation with such character and integrity is telltale of who he is both as a coach and as a man,” Monday said. “I can say this with all sincerity

− John Smith truly is one of a kind.”

sports.ed@ocolly.com

Courtesy of OSU Cowboy Golf (X)

The OSU men’s golf team last won the Big 12 Championship in 2021.

Daniel Allen Staff Reporter

Connor Fuxa

John Smith’s OSU coaching career began alongside co-head coach Kenny Monday during NCAA sanctions.