Oklahoma State wrestler Tagen Jamison's toughness has been on display, even when he lost teeth
Scott WrightThe Oklahoman
STILLWATER — Tagen Jamison didn’t feel pain, only anger.
The Oklahoma State wrestler had just taken a headbutt to the mouth from his opponent, and he knew what such a forceful blow would result in.
“I was just fuming, because I knew I was about to look like a toothless guy,” Jamison said a few days after the dual with Air Force that resulted in a couple broken teeth that eventually had to be pulled. “It didn’t hurt, because I had adrenaline. Just mad is what I was feeling.”
Jamison, a sophomore who is ranked fourth nationally at 141 pounds, went on to win that match with a 20-5 technical fall, at one point wrestling with a mouth full of blood — holding it in so the match didn’t get stopped.
He followed that up with a 21-5 technical fall against Tyler Tracy of North Carolina State 10 days later that improved Jamison’s record to 14-1.
“Tagen is really tough,” OSU coach David Taylor said. “We’ve kind of figured that out this year.”
The No. 3 Cowboys have wrestlers ranked in the top seven of their weight at all but three classes and will be favored for a ninth-straight dual victory when they host No. 22 West Virginia at 2 p.m. Sunday at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Of course, upon losing two of his front teeth, Jamison had more pressing issues at hand.
“Cutter (Sheets) and (Dustin) Plott are both missing teeth,” he said. “I talked to both of them about eating. And the pain, when it goes away and stuff.”
He said his girlfriend wasn’t a fan of his new look, and his teammates frequently brought it up.
“We’ve made fun of him quite a bit since that happened,” teammate Troy Spratley said with a mischievous smile.
For Jamison, who is originally from Durant, his ascension in the 141-pound rankings is no surprise. He had a 21-10 record as a redshirt freshman last year and earned a No. 10 seed at the NCAA Championships.
But his weight class is particularly challenging in the Big 12. The conference has three of the top five wrestlers in the class, which should make for an eventful weekend at the Big 12 Championships in March.
Before that, all but one of Jamison’s remaining opponents on OSU’s dual schedule are ranked in the top 30.
Jamison’s only loss was in the finals of the Cliff Keen Invitational to Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez, who was No. 2 at the time but has climbed to No. 1.
So maybe they’ll meet again, but for now, Jamison is having fun in his sophomore season.
“I think it has to do with weight,” he said. “I’m managing my weight a lot better and the coaching staff’s helping me a lot.
