The Sooners (5-7 overall, 3-6 Big 12) won eight of the bouts, including the final four over Fresno State (9-11 overall, 4-4 Big 12). Before the match, the program honored three graduating student-athletes in Eli Boulton, Christian Moody and Clay Vincent.
The dual started at 157 and featured OU's No. 22 Justin Thomas in a tight bout with Jacob Wright, who is ranked No. 14 in Track Wrestling's latest polls. Thomas pulled off the upset win in a tiebreaker, earning a 4-3 decision. The win was Thomas' 10th win in dual action this season, and the redshirt junior will enter the postseason with a 19-8 overall record.
Elijah Joseph was on the wrong end of a 9-2 decision to Fresno State's Adam Kemp at 165.
With the match tied at three apiece, the Sooners won the next three bouts to create some separation between themselves and the Bulldogs.
At 174, No. 10 Anthony Mantanona scored pair of takedowns in the final frame to end his regular season with another victory, via 7-4 decision. With the win, Mantanona joined Thomas and Dom Demas in the 10-win club in dual action. The 174-pounder is now 9-1 against Big 12 opponents heading into the Big 12 championships.
Darrien Roberts would take the mat for the Sooners at 184, facing Hunter Cruz who had 20 wins entering Sunday. But Cruz would prove to be no match for the true freshman as Roberts earned a 5-3 decision to put the Sooners up 9-3 heading into the 197 bout.
No. 15 Jake Woodley looked to keep his four-bout win streak alive at 197 when he faced off with Isaiah Perez. The Pittsburgh native would come out firing, scoring three takedowns in the first period, followed by three more in both the second and third period en route to a 20-7 major decision. It was Woodley's fourth bonus point win of the season and ninth dual win of the year.
After five bouts, the Sooners led 13-3 at the intermission.
For the Sooners, Josiah Jones took on Fresno State's No. 11 Josh Hokit at 285. Jones led 3-0 after two periods, but Hokit was able to score an escape and two takedowns to win 5-4. But Hokit's win was Fresno State's final victory of the day.
At 125, redshirt senior Christian Moody got the job done on senior day, earning a 6-1 decision over Jeremy Trinh. Moody, who claimed his 59th win as Sooner was able to fight through the nerves of his last battle inside McCasland.
"I was pretty nervous heading into the match actually." Moody said after the win. "I had to text an old teammate of mine and ask him how he handled the nerves of senior day...it was just really special to get a win in my last match in McCasland."
No. 15 Tony Madrigal returned for the Sooners at 133 and needed sudden victory to get his 19th win of the season. He was able to take down Lawrence Saenz to earn a 6-4 sudden victory decision, putting the Sooners up 19-6 and clinching the win.
After the match, Fresno State was deducted a team point for unsporting conduct, bringing the team tally to 19-5.
Up next for Oklahoma was No. 7 Dom Demas who got into a tight match with No. 23 DJ Lloren, but Demas was able to come out on top after he took down Lloren in the sudden victory period to claim a 3-1 decision. The win marked Demas' 23rd of the season, as the reigning Big 12 champion finishes the regular season with a 12-1 conference record and 11-1 dual record.
In the final bout of the day, Jacob Butler battled for three periods to earn a hard-fought win over No. 29 Greg Gaxiola via 4-2 decision.
When all was said and done, the Sooners had scored a 25-5 win - their fourth win in Big 12 play and 20th win all-time over Fresno State.
UP NEXT
The Sooners now prepare for the Big 12 championships, set to be held at the BOK Center in Tulsa on March 7-8. Tickets for the championships can be purchased online, and Sooner fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in section 119, which is the official OU section at the competition.
Results:
157 No. 22 Justin Thomas (OKLA) over Jacob Wright (FS) (TB-1 4-3) OU 3-0
165 Adam Kemp (FS) over Elijah Joseph (OKLA) (Dec 9-2) TIED 3-3
174 No. 10 Anthony Mantanona (OKLA) over Jackson Hemauer (FS) (Dec 7-4) OU 6-3
184 Darrien Roberts (OKLA) over Hunter Cruz (FS) (Dec 5-3) OU 9-3
197 No. 15 Jake Woodley (OKLA) over Isaiah Perez (FS) (MD 20-7) OU 13-3
285 No. 11 Josh Hokit (FS) over Josiah Jones (OKLA) (Dec 5-4) OU 13-6
125 Christian Moody (OKLA) over Jeremy Trinh (FS) (Dec 6-1) OU 16-6
133 No. 15 Anthony Madrigal (OKLA) over Lawrence Saenz (FS) (SV-1 6-4) OU 19-6
Fresno State -1.0 team point (unsportsmanlike) OU 19-5
141 No. 7 Dom Demas (OKLA) over No. 23 DJ Lloren (FS) (SV-1 3-1) OU 22-5
149 No. 31 Jacob Butler (OKLA) over No. 29 Greg Gaxiola (FS) (Dec 4-2) OU 25-5
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now