Dieringer rules NCAA mats again

Former Port High standout caps college career with third national title in four seasons

To say Alex Dieringer finished his collegiate wrestling career on a roll would be the understatement of the mat season.sports1

The Oklahoma State senior and former Port Washington High School standout joined the ranks of the elite last Saturday by securing his third NCAA title in four years in the Division I finals at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Dieringer took the 165-pound weight class with a 5-2 decision over Wisconsin’s Isaac Jordan.

The win gave Dieringer a 33-0 season record, extended his unbeaten streak to 82  matches and left him with a 133-4 career record.

“There’s a lot of emotions there,” said Dieringer, who became Oklahoma State’s 16th three-time national champion.

“I was kind of a little conservative (in the title match), but in the situation I was in, it was hard to get overaggressive.

“I’m very pleased with 82 matches in a row and a national title in the most historic arena in the world. It’s a pretty amazing feeling.”

The top-seeded Dieringer had little trouble winning four preliminary matches but faced a tougher test against the second-seeded Jordan, who was previously undefeated.

Dieringer scored a first-period takedown and built a 5-0 lead with an escape and another takedown in the second period. Jordan (29-1) rallied with two points in the final period, but Dieringer held off the charge.

He leaves Oklahoma State with an impressive legacy that includes a 19-1 record in the NCAA tournament and All-American honors for four straight seasons.

Oklahoma State coach John Smith called Dieringer one of the top five wrestlers in school history.

“What he has accomplished is just tremendous,” Smith said.

In addition to giving Dieringer another national title, Saturday’s win qualified him for the U.S. Olympic Team trials that will be held in April in Iowa City, Iowa.

He and teammate Dean Heil, who won the 141-pound weight class, led Oklahoma State to second place in the NCAA Division I team standings. The Cowboys trailed only Penn State, which won its fifth title in six years.

Dieringer is a 2011 graduate of Port Washington High School, where he had a 172-4 record and won three WIAA state titles in four seasons.

He is the son of former Port Washington residents Dave and Cindy Dieringer.

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