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    Oklahoma wins big over North Carolina State

    NORMAN, Okla. -- The 12th-ranked University of Oklahoma wrestling squad hoped for a dominant performance on Friday evening versus North Carolina State after experiencing its first loss last week.

    Mission accomplished.

    The Sooners improved to 15-1 on the season with a 38-6 stomping of the Wolfpack in front of 1,540 Oklahoma fans on hand for the second annual "Beauty and the Beast" event.

    The wrestlers, competing alongside the OU women's gymnast team, scored victories in eight bouts to roll.

    The gymnastics team defeated Minnesota, 196.500-195.675.

    "I am really pleased with tonight's performance," head coach Jack Spates said. "I thought we were particularly strong in the third period tonight."

    Highlighting Friday's performances was No. 13 Kyle Terry earning his 20th-straight victory this season over No. 3 Darrion Caldwell at 149 pounds. With Terry leading 5-0 in the first period, Caldwell was forced into an injury default after injury time ran out. The loss marked Caldwell's first this season (28-1).

    Another upset for Oklahoma was unranked Seth Vernon scoring a win over No. 15 Joe Caramanica at 141 pounds.

    "That was a huge win for Seth," Spates said. "Just one of the many great performances tonight."

    Sophomore Joey Fio set the tone for Oklahoma at 125 pounds by pinning Greyson Mills (2:39) to put the Sooners up 6-0.

    It was then Sooner Brian Shelton falling at 133 pounds to Darrius Little to put the Wolfpack on the board. Shelton led 3-2 with 12 seconds remaining but gave up a takedown as time expired, losing 4-3.

    After upsets by Seth Vernon and Kyle Terry in the following bouts, Oklahoma led by a 15-3 margin. Chad Terry at 157 pounds extended the OU lead with a 9-5 decision over Kody Hamrah.

    Shane Vernon was the next Sooner to check in a dominating performance over NC State's Quinton Godley, winning the 165-pound battle by a 16-1 technical fall to put OU on top 23-3.

    The Wolfpack's Jake Burge then decisioned Oklahoma's Derek Peperas, 5-2, to post NC State's second win on the evening at 174 pounds. Peperas, a transfer from Old Dominion who became eligible this semester, competed in place of No. 7 Jeff James.

    Pat Flynn then recorded his eighth pin of the season against Mark Jahad at 184 pounds to give Oklahoma a commanding 29-6 lead.

    Six more points were put on the board for OU as NC State forfeited at 197 pounds, giving junior Eric Lapotsky the automatic victory.

    Redshirt sophomore Nathan Fernandez closed out the rout by posting a 10-4 decision over Bobby Isola.

    The Sooners will step back into conference action next Friday, Feb. 6, when they host No. 6 Missouri at the McCasland Field House in Norman. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., and is free to the public.

    "I like the way we have wrestled so far," Spates said. "We wrestled great at Iowa State and just came up a little short. If we wrestle the way we are capable then we will be fine. Our focus has to be wrestling hard and smart, and our guys are making great strides as the season progresses."

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