Nine Sooners Advance in Championship Bracket at NCAA Championships

March 15, 2001

IOWA CITY, Iowa - All nine Oklahoma wrestlers won their opening round matches to advance through the winners bracket at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Iowa City, Iowa. OU currently sits in fourth place after the first session of competition.

Fifth-seeded 125-pounder Matt Ridings gave up two early takedowns to Oregon's Shaun Williams and trailed 4-1 halfway through the first period in OU's opening match but scored the bout's final 10 points for an 11-4 win. Ridings rode Williams the entire third period and scored three near-fall points in the final stanza to secure the win. Sophomore Witt Durden had a successful NCAA debut, defeating Scott Bair of Lock Haven, 8-2, at 133 pounds. Three-time All-American Michael Lightner, the No. 2 seed at 141, won by technical fall over Tony Abbate of Slippery Rock in 4:43. Eighth seed Jared Frayer advanced at 149 pounds, decisioning Bloomsburg's George Carter, 5-3. Carter tied the match with a reverse in the final minute but was called for stalling with :24 remaining which was followed quickly by an escape by Frayer.

Robbie Waller, the fourth seed at 165 pounds, fought off a Hunter Guenot (Bloomsburg) takedown in the closing seconds to escape with a 3-1 win. OU's No. 11 Michael Barger followed with a 6-2 win over Mike Regner of The Citadel. The Sooners only upset of the first session came at 184 pounds where Josh Lambrecht won by major decision over No. 11 Rob Rohn of Lehigh. Lambrecht turned Rohn twice for six near-fall points and rode him for almost three minutes. Eighth-seeded Waymon May broke a 3-3 tie with a takedown and three near-fall points with 1:05 remaining in his match with Pete Mielnik of Penn State. May would go on to win 9-4. OU's final competitor of the opening round, ninth-seeded heavyweight Leonce Crump, downed Cal. State-Bakersfield's John Devine, 9-3

"That was a great round for us," said OU Head Coach Jack Spates. "I'm very proud of the way we wrestled. The first round is a tough round. A lot of guys have to confront opening round jitters and awe of the national tournament. We had a couple of guys that might have gotten caught up in that, Robbie Waller and Waymon May, but they overcame those obstacles to win their matches. We won all nine of our matches in a round with numerous upsets. It's a tribute to the way we have trained mentally and physically."

The second session of competition will begin tonight at 6:30 p.m.


Oklahoma Session-One Results

125: #5 Matt Ridings, OU, dec. Shaun Williams, Oregon, 11-4

133: Witt Durden, OU, dec. Scott Bair, Lock Haven, 8-2

141: #2 Michael Lightner, OU, tech. fall Tony Abbate, Slippery Rock, 4:43

149: #8 Jared Frayer, OU, dec. George Carter, Bloomsburg, 5-3

165: #4 Robbie Waller, OU, dec. Hunter Guenot, Bloomsburg, 3-1

174: #11 Michael Barger, OU, dec. Mike Regner, Citadel, 6-2

184: Josh Lambrecth, OU, maj. dec. #11 Rob Rohn, Lehigh, 11-2

197: #8 Waymon May, OU, dec. Pete Mielnik, Penn State, 9-4

Hwt: #9 Leonce Crump, OU, dec. John Devine, Cal. State-Bakersfield, 9-3

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Nine Sooners Advance in Championship Bracket at NCAA Championships

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors