Wrestling Prepares For Missouri Valley

Feb. 8, 2000

#4/#5 Oklahoma (14-3-1)
vs. Missouri Valley (4-2)

The Sooners
OU enters this week's dual against Missouri Valley with a record of 14-3-1 after defeating seventh-ranked Nebraska, 27-12. So far this season, 14 Sooner grapplers have won at least 10 matches and six have 20 or more wins. All 10 OU starters are ranked by Amateur Wrestling News and InterMat, six of which are ranked in the top 10, including top-ranked 174 pounder Byron Tucker. Oklahoma posted back-to-back 40-plus point duals for the first time since the 1985 season when they defeated Fresno State, 42-4, and Cal Poly, 42-3.

Missouri Valley
Missouri Valley is currently ranked second nationally in NAIA and sports a 4-2 record. A pair of Missouri Valley wrestlers are ranked first individually, Luke Christian (23-7, 133) and Tim Cobb (37-7, 149). Seven other Missouri Valley wrestlers are ranked in the top eight, including six scheduled to compete against the Sooners.

125 pounds: Bo Maynes, Fr.-RS (13-11) vs. Charles Gonzales, Jr. (18-9)
133 pounds: #15/#14 Witt Durden, Fr.-RS (13-7) vs. Lukie Christian, Jr. (23-7)
141 pounds: #2/#3 Michael Lightner, Jr. (25-3) vs. Jeremy Biddle, Sr. (19-7)
149 pounds: #7/#8 Jared Frayer, So. (20-6) vs. Tim Cobb, Jr. (37-7)
157 pounds: #5/#5 David Kjeldgaard, Jr. (23-3) vs. Rafael Maturino, Fr. (32-14)
165 pounds: 9 Robbie Waller, Fr.-RS (17-3) vs. Jason Walles, Jr. (31-14)
174 pounds: Michael Barger, So. (20-6) vs. Matt Cobb, So. (25-7)
184 pounds: Nick Curcio, So. (7-7) vs. Anthony Ochoa, So. (8-17)
197 pounds: #5/#5 Orville Palmer, Sr. (17-7) vs. Wes Walker, Jr. (11-7)
Heavyweight: Gary Barber, So. (12-14) vs. Al Bilins, So. (15-15)
Team rankings: NWCA/InterMat
Individual Rankings: Amateur Wrestling News/InterMat.

Last Time Out
The fourth-ranked University of Oklahoma wrestling team defeated the seventh-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers, 27-12, in front of 867 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Neb., Friday night. OU grapplers Robbie Waller, 165 pounds, and Michael Lightner, 141 pounds, won by fall and three other Sooners won by bonus points. The win pushed OU to 14-3-1 on the season. Nebraska fell to 7-4-1.

Lightner Victorious at All-Star Classic
Oklahoma's third-ranked 141-pound Michael Lightner defeated Michigan's seventh-ranked Damion Logan, 8-3, at the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic in East Lansing, Mich. The match was the junior's second appearance in the Classic. OU Head Coach Jack Spates served as one of the head coaches in the All-Star Classic.

OU to Dedicate New Wrestling Center
The University of Oklahoma will dedicate the Port Robertson Wrestling Center and the Stan Abel-Tommy Evans Wrestling Room of Champions at the OU Field House on Saturday, Feb. 12, at 11 a.m. Tours and lunch will follow the dedication ceremony. Lunch will cost $10 and those interested need to respond by Monday, Feb. 7 by calling (405) 325-8546. The 1974 national championship team will also be in attendance and will be honored the following day at the Oklahoma-Oklahoma State wrestling dual.

The Rankings
The OU wrestling team is ranked fourth in the nation by the National Wrestling Coaches Association and third by Intermat. The following wrestlers are ranked in their individual weight classes by Amateur Wrestling News and/or InterMat.

	125:	Quantres Bates #4 (AWN, IM)
	133:	Witt Durden #15 (AWN), #14 (IM)
	141:	Michael Lightner #2 (AWN), #3 (IM)
	149:	Jared Frayer #7 (AWN), #8 (IM)
	157:	David Kjeldgaard #5 (AWN, IM)
	165:	Robbie Waller #9 (AWN, IM)
	174:	Byron Tucker #1 (AWN, IM)
	184:	Tom Grossman #13 (AWN), #11 (IM)
	197:	Orville Palmer #5 (AWN, IM)
	Hwt:	Brent Boeshans #18 (AWN) #15 (IM)

Starter Bios

Quantres Bates, Sr., 125 pounds, 20-1
Defeated Rocco Mansueto of Cleveland State for the championship at the Oklahoma Gold Classic...Downed seventh ranked Pat Cassidy of Indiana for the championship at the St. Louis Open...Defeated No. 13 Mike Kawamura of Arizona State, 5-4...Upset Nebraska's fourth-ranked Paul Gomez at the National Duals...Also defeated No. 14 Matt Azevedo of Iowa State, 9-3, in the semifinals of the National Duals...Also downed Azevedo by major decision, 15-5, in OU's 18-17 upset of the Cyclones...Defeated No. 12 Gomez in the Nebraska dual.

Witt Durden, Fr.-RS, 133 pounds, 13-8
Pinned Central Oklahoma's Weston Moore (:37) in his first collegiate dual...Collected two falls at the Lone Star Duals.

Michael Lightner, Jr., 141 pounds, 25-3
Champion of the Oklahoma Gold Classic...Defeated eighth-ranked Jason DeBruin of Hofstra, 3-2, for the title...Won the championship at the St. Louis Open...Selected to compete in his second NWCA All-Star Classic...Upset OSU's third-ranked Jamill Kelly, 5-1, at the National Duals...Defeated #14 Sonny Marchette, 3-0, in the dual's final match to propel OU to an 18-17 upset of Iowa State...Downed seventh-ranked Damion Logan, 8-3. at the NWCA All-Star Classic

Jared Frayer, So., 149 pounds, 20-6
Avenged an early season loss to Hofstra's seventh ranked Schmiesing, upseting him 10-5...Pinned his first two opponents at the Lone Star Duals...Upset Iowa's fifth-ranked Mike Zadick, 11-4, in the final match of the Lone Star Duals...Named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 11...Defeated ninth-ranked Cole Sanderson, 10-4, to avenge an earlier loss in OU's 18-17 upset of Iowa State...Won by major decision against No. 14 Joe Henson at Nebraska.

David Kjeldgaard, Jr., 157 pounds, 23-3
Won the championship at the Oklahoma Gold Classic...Defeated Bloomsburg's 14th-ranked Ed Hockenberry, 4-2, in the finals...Defeated OSU's #14 Shane Roller, 7-6, in the dual's final match to bring the final score to 16-16...Pinned N.C. State's Steve Wiggins in :59...Pinned Zac Becker of Northern Illinois at the Lone Star Duals...Wrestled up a weight class at 165 pounds and defeated Iowa's Matt Anderson at the Lone Star Duals...Downed eighth-ranked Cole Sanderson of Iowa State, 8-3, at the National Duals...Beat Sanderson again a week later in a 18-17 Sooner victory.

Robbie Waller, Fr.-RS, 165 pounds, 17-3
Defeated Hofstra's Noel Thompson, 15-4, to win the championship of the Oklahoma Gold Classic...Won the championship at the St. Louis Open...Defeated Wisconsin's Don Pritzlaff (ranked fourth nationally) and Heath Eslinger of Tennessee-Chattanooga (No. 13) on his way to the championship...Reversed seventh-ranked Ty Wilcox of Oklahoma State with four seconds remaining in their match for a 4-3 win...Collected two falls in one day when he pinned Matt Demers of Fresno State and Nate Knutson of Cal Poly...Pinned Nebraska's Tony Denke in 2:46.

Byron Tucker, Sr., 174 pounds, 24-0
Named the outstanding wrestler of the Oklahoma Gold Classic...Winner of the St. Louis Open...Defeated sixth-ranked Kole Clauson from Wisconsin at the St. Louis Open...Moved into Intermat's No. 1 ranking on Jan. 12 and Amateur Wrestling News' top spot on Jan. 17...Pinned Arizona State's Curtis Owen in 2:30...Pinned R.D. Pursell of Arizona State in 2:46 at he National Duals...Won all four of his matches at the National Duals by major decision or better...Defeated #15 Perry Parks by technical fall, 15-5, in OU's 18-17 upset win over Iowa State...Won by major decision over Nebraska's No. 19 Ati Conner.

Tom Grossman, So., 184 pounds, 13-7
Overcame a 5-1 third period deficit to defeat OSU's #16 Pat Popolizio, 8-6, in sudden victory overtime...Downed No. 20 Fikret Darzanoff of Seton Hall, 6-4.

Orville Palmer, Sr., 197 pounds, 17-7
Won the championship of the Oklahoma Gold Classic by defeating Bloomsburg's Todd Hockenbroch, 9-3......Downed Iowa's seventh-ranked Lee Weber in the final match of the Lone Star Duals.

Brent Boeshans, Sr., Hwt., 18-4
Defeated teammate Gary Barber, 18-7, for the championship of the Oklahoma Gold Classic...Won his first Sooner dual by fall, pinning Central Oklahoma's Bryan Wilson in 3:38...Upset OSU's eight-ranked Dave Anderton, 3-1, at the National Duals

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