Sooners fall to Cowboys

Feb. 18, 2001

STILLWATER, Okla. - The sixth-ranked Oklahoma wrestling team fell to No. 2 Oklahoma State, 24-12, before a Bedlam record 10,802 fans, the largest attendance to witness a dual in the state of Oklahoma, in Stillwater today. The former high in attendance was 10,000 in Norman in 1979. With the loss, OU fell to 17-5-1 while OSU improved to 17-1.

Oklahoma struck first when heavyweight Leonce Crump decisioned James Huml, 2-1, in the tiebreaker. The deciding point came when Huml was called for locked hands with seven seconds remaining in the tiebreaker. OU also claimed the 125-pound bout where Matt Ridings locked Matt Brown up in a cradle in the second period and scored three-near fall points to take a 6-0 lead. Ridings eventually won the match 8-1. Johnny Thompson put OSU on the board when he decisioned Witt Durden, 8-3, at 133 pounds. Michael Lightner pushed OU's lead to 9-3 with a 5-3 win against Charles Walker at 141.

Oklahoma State would win five of the dual's final six matches. OSU's top-ranked 149 pounder Reggie Wright downed Jared Frayer, 7-2, and Shane Roller pinned Tony Moore in 4:56. OU's last win of the dual would come at 165 pounds were Robbie Waller downed Chris Pendleton, 4-2. In the next match Tyrone Lewis scored a takedown with 11 seconds remaining at 174 pounds for a 3-1 win against Michael Barger. The Cowboys' 184-pound Daniel Cormier pinned Josh Lambrecht in 2:44 after breaking out of a Lambrecht cradle and reversing him to his back. Mark Muoz claimed the dual's last match at 197 winning a narrow 4-3 decision over Waymon May.

"I think, for the most part, we wrestled well," said OU Head Coach Jack Spates. "We wrestled really hard. You want to give yourself an opportunity to win, and I thought that we did that. We won at heavyweight. I knew that was going to be a tough match. Matt Ridings came out against an outstanding opponent (Matt Brown) and was really close to getting a major decision. We had the ball rolling at that time. Witt Durden was competitive, but came up short at the end. We knew that we were probably going to have to win six matches to win today."

Oklahoma travels to East Lansing, Mich., Friday, Feb. 23, to battle Michigan State. Action begins at 7:30 p.m. EST.

OKLAHOMA STATE 24, OKLAHOMA 12

Hwt:#11/13 Leonce Crump (26-9), OU, dec. #14/#15 James Huml (18-9), OSU, 2-1 (TB)

125:#12/NR Matt Ridings (23-4), OU, dec. #9/#6 Matt Brown (18-9), OSU, 8-1

133:#2/#3 Johnny Thompson (26-2), OSU, dec. #18/#12 Witt Durden (25-13), OU, 8-3

141:#2/#2 Michael Lightner (29-0), OU, dec. #8/#10 Charles Walker (16-6), 5-3

149:#1/#1 Reggie Wright (26-0), OSU dec. #9/#5 Jared Frayer (32-5), OU, 7-2

157:#16/#14 Shane Roller (11-10), OSU, fall Tony Moore (4-8), OU, 4:56

165:#5/#3 Robbie Waller (27-4), OU, dec. NR/#13 Chris Pendleton (13-3), OSU, 4-2

174:#6/#6 Tyrone Lewis (24-4), OSU, dec. #9/#10 Michael Barger (25-9), OU, 3-1

184:#3/#3 Daniel Cormier (22-3), OSU, fall NR/#19 Josh Lambrecht (13-13), OU, 2:44

197:#3/#4 Mark Muoz (19-5), OSU, dec. #11/#10 Waymon May (27-10), OU, 4-3

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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