Wrestling Places Fifth At National Duals

CLEVELAND, Ohio The University of Oklahoma wrestling team placed fifth at the 2005 Cliff/NWCA National Duals presented by Hershey's SmartZone Bar at the Cleveland State University Convocation Center in Cleveland, Ohio, Sunday. During the two day event the Sooners defeated No. 12 Central Michigan, 20-19, No. 21 Penn State, 27-13, Cleveland State, 39-3, No. 4 Michigan, 24-12, and lost to No. 2 Illinois, 21-12 and No. 5 Lehigh, 29-14.

Oklahoma was plagued with injury during the matchup against Lehigh, forfeiting at 149 and 197 pounds, as well as losing Joe Comparin (133) to injury Saturday.

“Matt Storniolo (149) was out of competition today,” said head coach Jack Spates. “It's not a real serious injury, but it is one that if he competed today it would set him back significantly in terms of future competition.”

Joel Flaggert (197) was capable of wrestling against Lehigh, but we thought about that he has been out, he's been injured, lets keep him fresh and healthy,” said Spates. “Given the fact that we don't have Joe Comparin or Matt Storniolo Lehigh was a difficult challenge for us.”

Scoring points for the Sooners were sophomore Sam Hazewinkel, Teyon Ware, Justin Dyer and Jake Hager. Hazewinkel (125) extended his winning streak to 25 by defeating Andrew Rizzi by a tech fall at the 3:48 mark. At 141 pounds, second-ranked Ware beat No. 4 Cory Cooperman by decision, 2-1. No. 14 Dyer defeated Matt Cassidy by a 5-0 decision and Hager (HWT) beat Tom Curl by a decision, 7-3.

“The bottom line is that we have to make sure that we come out of this competition alive,” added Spates. “We've wrestled very well, but now of equal concern is our health.”

The Sooners last dual was against 13th-ranked Central Michigan in the battle for fifth place. Oklahoma took an early lead; Hazewinkel earned a major decision over No. 13 Luke Smith, 12-4. The Sooners received a forfeit at 133 pounds, which jumped the team to a 10-0 gain. At 141 pounds, Ware beat Brandon Carter by a major decision, 10-1, and gave OU a 14-0 lead. The Sooners gave up six points by a forfeit at 149 pounds, but Charles Jones (157) fought back to defeat Eric Neil by a 7-1 decision. Oklahoma then lost the next three consecutive matches leaving the team score 17-16 Oklahoma. At 197 pounds, Joel Flaggert sealed their fate with a decision over Wynn Michalak, 10-6.

Hazewinkel (26-0) and Ware (24-0) finish the weekend with six consecutive victories and Storniolo (149) and Dyer (184) finish with four.

“A long a grueling competition has come to an end and we did well,” said Spates. “We wrestled well, we beat a lot of good team, we competed hard and with the exception of Lehigh we battled in every match.”

Now it's a madder of going back and licking our wounds, confronting our weaknesses and learning from our experiences,” added Spates. “We are a real good team, and now we've got to get healthy and come back to fight again.”

Next, Oklahoma will travel to Ames, Iowa on Sunday, Jan. 30, to wrestle Iowa State at 2 p.m.

No. 10 Oklahoma Sooners vs. No. 5 Lehigh Mountain Hawks
Final Score: LU 29, OU 14
Weight-By-Weight Results
125: #1 Sam Hazewinkel (OU) tech fall Andrew Rizzi (LU) 3:48
133: #6 Matt Ciasulli (LU) tech fall Trey Blakley (OU) 4:33
141: # 2 Teyon Ware (OU) dec #4 Cory Cooperman (LU) 2-1
149: Matt Anderson (LU) Forfeit (OU)
157: #8 Derek Zinck (LU) dec Charles Jones (OU) 7-4
165: #1 Troy Letters (LU) fall Randy Sulaver (OU) 0:31
174: #16 Travis Frick (LU) dec #7 E.K. Waldhaus (OU) 8-2
184: #14 Justin Dyer (OU) dec Matt Cassidy (LU) 5-0
197: #3 Jon Trenge (LU) Forfeit (OU)
HWT: #12 Jake Hager (OU) dec Paul Weibel (LU) 7-3

No. 10 Oklahoma Sooners vs. No. 13 Central Michigan
Final Score: OU 20, CMU 19
Weight-By-Weight Results
125: #1 Sam Hazewinkel (OU) maj. dec #13 Luke Smith (CMU) 12-4
133: Trey Blakley (OU) Forfeit (CMU)
141: # 2 Teyon Ware (OU) maj. dec Brandon Carter (CMU) 10-1
149: #14 Mark DiSalvo (CMU) Forfeit (OU)
157: Charles Jones (OU) dec Eric Neil (CMU) 7-1
165: #10 David Bolyard (CMU) maj. dec Randy Sulaver (OU) 12-3
174: Mitch Hancock (CMU) dec # 7 E.K. Waldhaus (OU) 10-4
184: Christian Sinnott (CMU) dec #14 Justin Dyer (OU) 6-5
197: #12 Joel Flaggert (OU) dec Wynn Michalak (CMU) 10-6
HWT: #10 Bill Stouffer or Bubba Gritter (CMU) dec #12 Jake Hager (OU) 6-3

Wrestling Places Fifth At National Duals

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