OU will pit the top-two wrestlers in each weight class against one another to help determine starters for the upcoming season. The Sooners have been recently ranked at No. 19 by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) and return five NCAA qualifiers in Kyle Terry, Will Rowe, Max Dean, Joshua Weitzel and Joel Flaggert.
"This will unquestionably be one the most competitive and the most exciting ranking matches we have had in my tenure," said Coach Jack Spates.
The athletic department has also scheduled events prior to the ranking match, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Former Sooner wrestlers Teyon Ware, a two-time national champion, and Sam Hazewinkel, a four-time All-American, will address those in attendance on what it takes to be successful at the collegiate level and participate in a question and answer session.
Immediately following will be the ranking match at 7 p.m. Oklahoma will once again be wrestling alongside 2007 Division II national champion Central Oklahoma.
"This should be a great night for fans to come out and enjoy all of the extremely competitive matches we have scheduled," Spates said. "We are excited to see our guys under the lights and how they perform."
Doors will open at 6 p.m. for the event, admission is free to the public.
Oklahoma officially opens the season on Sunday, Nov. 4, when it travels to Oklahoma City to compete in a triple-dual against Missouri Valley, Oklahoma City and Neosho Community College.
The matchups for the Red/White ranking match are listed below:
125 Pounds
Greg Cannon (RFr., Two-time Oklahoma state champion) vs.
Joey Fio (Fr., Two-time Idaho state champion)
133 Pounds
Brian Shelton (So., Two-time Oklahoma state champion) vs.
John Starzyk (Fr., Three-time Illinois state champion)
141 Pounds
Kyle Terry (So., Oklahoma state champion and NCAA qualifier) vs.
Zach Bailey (RFr., Four-time Missouri state champion)
149 Pounds
Seth Vernon (Fr., Three-time Oklahoma state champion) vs.
Will Rowe (Jr., Two-time Texas state champion and two-time
NCAA qualifier)
157 Pounds
Shane Vernon (So., Three-time Oklahoma state champion) vs.
Chad Terry (So., Oklahoma state champion)
165 Pounds
Ryan Smith (Fr., Three-time Oregon state champion) vs.
Max Dean (Sr., Three-time NCAA qualifier)
174 Pounds
Jeff James (RFr., Two-time Oklahoma state champion) vs.
Chris DeVilbiss (Jr., Maryland state champion) OR
Cody Lowe (RFr., North Carolina state runner-up)
184 Pounds
Josh Hinton (So., Oklahoma state champion) vs.
Joshua Weitzel (Sr., Two-time NCAA qualifier)
197 Pounds
Joel Flaggert (Sr., Two-time All-American and Oklahoma state
champion) vs.
Eric Lapotsky (So., NCAA Qualifier)
Heavyweight
Nathan Fernandez (RFr., Three-time Oklahoma state champion) vs.
Brad Farmer (Jr., Washington state champion)
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