Lightner Advances to Finals of NCAA Wrestling Championships

March 16, 2001

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Oklahoma senior 141-pounder Michael Lightner advanced to the NCAA finals at 141 pounds for the third-straight season at the NCAA Wrestling Championships tonight in Iowa City, Iowa. Four other Sooners - Witt Durden (133), Jared Frayer (149), Josh Lambrecht (184) and Leonce Crump (heavyweight) - also earned All-America status. Durden, Frayer and Crump can finish no lower than sixth. OU's five All-Americans are its most since 1988. OU currently sits in fifth place with one day of competition remaining.

Four-time All-American Lightner dominated in his semifinal win against Grant Hoerr of Wisconsin, blanking the Badger, 8-0. All of his wins in the championships have come by major decision or better. Lightner will wrestle Iowa's Doug Schwab in the final.

Eighth-seeded Jared Frayer lost to No. 4 Dave Esposito of Lehigh, 5-3. The match was tied at two apiece going into the final period but Esposito reversed Frayer and held on for the win. Frayer will face seventh-seeded JaMarr Billman from Lock Haven in the consolation semifinals.

Durden earned All-America status by defeating seventh-seeded Matt Azevedo of Iowa State, 5-4. Durden scored takedowns in both the first and third period and weathered two stalling calls in the win. It was Durden's first win against Azevedo in four tries. Durden avenged a mid-season loss to David Douglas of Arizona State with a 6-4 sudden victory in his next match. Durden scored the winning takedown 21 seconds into the extra period.

Redshirt-freshman Crump also earned All-American honors when he threw West Virginia's Ryan Kehler to his back and pinned him in 42 seconds. The pin was Crump's 13th of the season. Crump followed with a 5-3 decision of fifth-seeded Matt Brink of Michigan. Crump scored an escape and a takedown in the third period to break a 2-2 tie. He also became the first OU freshman to earn All-America honors since Lightner accomplished the feat in 1998.

Lambrecht became the second unseeded Sooner to earn All-America honors when he downed Kent State's Nick Magistrelli, 9-2. Lambrecht jumped to an early lead with a five-point move in the first period. Lambrecht lost his next match, 8-3, to ninth-seeded Cash Edwards of Boise State to fall to the seventh-place match.

Sophomore Robbie Waller was eliminated from the championships for the second-straight year in the round of 12. He was beaten by Lehigh's Chris Vitale, 9-6. Waller surrendered a five-point move in the second period. A Lehigh wrestler also eliminated Waller in the round of 12 last season. Michael Barger was also eliminated one match away from earning All-America honors when he was defeated by Ati Conner of Nebraska, 4-3. Conner scored a reverse and takedown in the second period.

"Frankly, this is one crazy tournament," said OU Head Coach Jack Spates. "I guess on one hand, I'm ecstatic that half of our team is All-Americans. On the other hand, I hurt for those guys - Michael Barger, Robbie Waller and Matt Ridings - that were so close. My heart is aching. Robbie and Michael were so close to advancing to the semis and now they're not All-Americans. It looks like we're on our way to another top-five finish and we've wrestled extremely hard the entire tournament. I could put a positive spin that we haven't done this (have five wrestlers earn All-America honors) since 1988, but at the same time I'm bleeding. I guess you could say that the glass is half full but there's a leak in the bottom."

The final day of competition begins tomorrow morning at 8 a.m.


Oklahoma Session-Four Results

Semifinals

141:#2 Michael Lightner, OU, maj. dec. #11 Grant Hoerr, Wisconsin, 8-0

149:#4 Dave Esposito, Lehigh, dec. #8 Jared Frayer, OU, 5-3

Wrestlebacks

133:Witt Durden, OU, dec. #7 Matt Azevedo, Iowa State, 5-4

Witt Durden, OU, dec. #11 David Douglas, Arizona State, 6-4 SV

165:Chris Vitale, Lehigh, dec. #4 Robbie Waller, OU, 9-6

174:#12 Ati Conner, Nebraska, dec. #11 Michael Barger, OU, 4-3

184:Josh Lambrecht, OU, dec. Nick Magistrelli, Kent State, 9-2

#9 Cash Edwards, Boise State, dec. Josh Lambrecht, OU,

Hwt:#9 Leonce Crump, OU, fall Ryan Kehler, West Virginia, :42

#9 Leonce Crump, OU, dec. #5 Matt Brink, Michigan, 5-3

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Lightner Advances to Finals of NCAA Wrestling Championships

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