OSU Wrestling: Jordan Oliver Dominates His Way to a Senior National Title

Back in August, Jordan Oliver made the move from Cornell to the Tar Heel Wrestling Club. It seems to have breathed new life into the former Oklahoma State star’s career. It started with a huge win at the Bill Farrell Memorial and has continued on here to the Senior Nationals.

In the early rounds of the tournament Jordan rolled over everyone in his way. He faced four wrestlers, including two-time NCAA finalist Bryce Meredith, and teched all four. Only one match made it to the second period.

In the finals he matched up with Joey McKenna and dominated just the same, finishing off the match early in the first period with a 10-0 tech.

Oliver outscored his opponents 50-0 and only one match made it past the first period! This was a huge performance for Oliver and puts him a great spot moving into the Olympic trials. Ben Askren said during the broadcast it’s the best he’s ever seen JO.

Alex Dieringer had already qualified for the trials and was the only other former Oklahoma State wrestler that placed in a position that would have earned a trials spot in freestyle. He finished third at 86 KG. Alex seemed just a step off from his normal dominant self in the early rounds on Saturday. He knocked off Willie Miklus in the first round 3-0, picked up a 10-0 tech over Ryan Loder, then beat Brett Pfarr 2-1.

In the semifinals Dieringer fell to Myles Martin 6-4. Dieringer was up 4-3 late then gave up a late push-out point to tie the match 4-4. Dieringer still led on criteria but a late takedown for Martin ended it 6-4.

Dieringer seemed back to form on Sunday and stormed back on the consolation side with two quick first period tech’s, including one over Pfarr who he beat 2-1 the day before.

The question now is how will this result is how this will impact seeding at the Olympic Trials? It’s still a bit of an unknown as to where we’ll see World Champion J’den Cox, but if Cox drops to 86 KG there is a possibility that Dieringer could end up as low as the 5 seed and possibly the 4. That actually might not be the worst thing as Dieringer is up a weight and doesn’t have a cut here. So meeting the top seed early, while they still have another weigh-in, might have some advantages.

Chandler Rogers finished 5th in Greco. He teched his way to the semifinal where he lost 5-2 to eventual champion Jonathan Anderson. He defaulted out to 5th place after falling to Anderson.

All three, along with Daton Fix, have qualified for the Olympic Trials in April.

Former Cowboys Eddie Klimara, Austin Miller, Dean Heil, and Derek White all competed here as well. White finished 8th, a few spots out from the fifth place needed to qualify for the trials.