In November 2004, the storied Oklahoma State wrestling squad, led by legendary coach and Olympic champion John Smith, embarked on what some considered the toughest and most grueling schedule in college wrestling history in quest of the unthinkable their third consecutive and 33rd overall national team title. For 18 weeks the Cowboys traveled almost 16,000 miles by bus, plane, van and automobile to 12 different states, through four time zones, in and out of 10 hotels as they wrestled 21 dual matches and three tournaments against bone-hard competition. Cowboy wrestling is truly one of Oklahoma s most masterful historical treasures, with more national collegiate titles than Notre Dame football and UCLA basketball combined. Cowboy Up provides an intimate, inside look at that historic effort. Coach Smith granted author Kim D. Parrish unprecedented access to the Cowboy program for an entire season. He has crafted an enchanting, poignant and revealing story of college wrestling s most storied program - and college athletics most punishing yet gratifying sport. It is a story of glory and heartbreak, sacrifice and betrayal. Wrestlers and coaches will be instructed as they read of Coach Smith applying training techniques and motivational tools in the context of an actual championship season. Wrestling fans will learn how a slight boy from Del City, who was pinned in his first five matches, rose to become arguably the greatest American athlete in the 20th century. All Oklahomans will take pride as they read of perhaps the most successful endeavor, sporting and otherwise, since Oklahoma s statehood in 1907.

Cowboy Up: John Smith Leads the Legendary Oklahoma State Wrestlers to Their Greatest Season Ever

Kim D. Parrish

Sports & Outdoors

Oklahoma Heritage Association

In November 2004, the storied Oklahoma State wrestling squad, led by legendary coach and Olympic champion John Smith, embarked on what some considered the toughest and most grueling schedule in college wrestling history in quest of the unthinkable their third consecutive and 33rd overall national team title. For 18 weeks the Cowboys traveled almost 16,000 miles by bus, plane, van and automobile to 12 different states, through four time zones, in and out of 10 hotels as they wrestled 21 dual matches and three tournaments against bone-hard competition. Cowboy wrestling is truly one of Oklahoma s most masterful historical treasures, with more national collegiate titles than Notre Dame football and UCLA basketball combined. Cowboy Up provides an intimate, inside look at that historic effort. Coach Smith granted author Kim D. Parrish unprecedented access to the Cowboy program for an entire season. He has crafted an enchanting, poignant and revealing story of college wrestling s most storied

Cowboy Up: John Smith Leads the Legendary Oklahoma State Wrestlers to Their Greatest Season Ever 1st edition by Kim D. Parrish (2007) Paperback

Coaching

This is a story of our times. Making Things Better: Wes Watkins' Legacy of Leadership tells of one common man's trek through history. Marching with a confidence fueled by poverty, personal insecurities, a serious speech impediment, uneducated parents, and an alcoholic father, he rode his passion, born of heartbreak, to be elected repeatedly to one of the most powerful positions one can achieve. The young boy who was afraid to open his mouth lest his friends ridicule him, gave speeches later to both the free and oppressed, to farmers and physicists, patricians and Ivy League professors. His father broke his heart, and his mother mended it. He drew hatred from one man that was so deep it changed state history. A series of missteps cost him his most coveted role and set in motion a political earthquake of epic proportions, one whose fault-lines are felt even as these words are read and perhaps for a generation to come. He locked horns with the men and women who carved out America, and was not afraid to fight windmills against the greatest of odds. He wielded the most unexpected of weapons, clearly explained by the man on crutches who operated the elevator in his office building. He walked away from his deepest pain, but tragedy found him time and again. The woman of his dreams became his most trusted partner, closer than a sacred shadow. His children and grandchildren gave him the family he always craved. To know one man well is to know all men better, and to study the life and world of Wes Watkins opens up a Pandora's box: the coming of age of an awkward and backward State, men's senseless urgings, and the promise of words kept sanctified.

Making Things Better: Wes Watkins' Legacy of Leadership

Oklahoma Heritage Association Publishing

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Kim D. Parrish. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Kim D. Parrish

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Kim D. Parrish. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Cowboy Up: John Smith Leads the Legendary Oklahoma State Wrestlers to Their Greatest Season Ever

Cowboy Up: John Smith Leads the Legendary Oklahoma State Wrestlers to Their Greatest Season Ever 1st edition by Kim D. Parrish (2007) Paperback

Making Things Better: Wes Watkins' Legacy of Leadership