Sooners Return to Action at Midlands Championships

Dec. 28, 2011

No. 9 Oklahoma at Midlands
Date & Time	Dec. 29-30, All Day
Location	Evanston, Ill. \| Welsh-Ryan Arena
Television	Big Ten Network (Finals to air on tape-delay at 9:30 p.m. CT Dec. 30)
Internet	Radio \| Webcast (Thursday's quarterfinals)
Updates	Championship Central
Oklahoma Info	2011-12 Roster \| Staff
Schedule	2011-12 Sooner wrestling schedule

NORMAN, Okla. -- The ninth-ranked Oklahoma wrestling squad will travel to Evanston, Ill., to compete in the 49th-annual Midlands Championships, Dec. 29-30 at the Welsh-Ryan Arena, hosted by Northwestern University.

The Sooners (3-1-0, 2-1-0) will be well represented at the prestigious tournament with seven nationally-ranked wrestlers set to participate.

Competition is expected to be stiff, as 13 of the NWCA/USA Today's top-25 teams will be on hand to participate in the tournament format. Six of the aforementioned teams are ranked in the top-15 and include: No. 1 Iowa, No. 7 Illinois, No. 12 Lehigh, No. 13 Maryland and No. 15 Virginia Tech with No. 9 OU.

Last year the Sooners finished sixth against a talented field at the 2010 Midlands Championships despite resting All-American Zack Bailey and Cliff Keen Champion Nathan Fernandez. OU is coming off their first dual loss of the season which came at the hands of second-ranked Oklahoma State, 25-13, inside Gallagher-Iba Arena on Sunday, Dec. 11. Prior to that the Sooners earned a 22-13 victory in Ames, Iowa, on Nov. 27, and defeated then-No. 9 Missouri, 19-18, in Norman.

RANKINGS RUNDOWN

Six Sooners are ranked by InterMat, headlined by returning All-American Jarrod Patterson, ranked No. 5 at 125 pounds. Kendric Maple, a 2009-10 NCAA qualifier that redshirted last year, is ranked No. 7 at 141 pounds. Five Sooners are ranked outside the top 10 in their respective weight classes. Matt Lester checks in at No. 11 among 157-pounders. Jordan Keller is No. 12 at 133 pounds along with Nick Lester (149 pounds). Two-time NCAA Qualifier, Erich Schmidtke, is No. 16 among 184 pounders, while Bubby Graham (165) enters the rankings for the first time this year at No. 16.

Sooner Participants (Weight)	Hometown (Year)	Record
Jarrod Patterson (125)	Cushing, Okla. (Jr.)	8-0
Jordan Keller / Derek Geiges (133)	Wichita, Kan. (Sr.)/Charleston, S.C. (RFr.)	6-1/3-4
Scott Chene (133)	Irving, Calif. (RJr.)	6-5
Kendric Maple (141)	Wichita, Kan. (RSo.)	7-0
Nick Lester / Chase Gordon (149)	Eureka, Mo. (RSo.)/Oviedo, Fla. (RFr.)	6-2/7-1
Justin DeAngelis (149)	Tulsa, Okla. (RFr.)	11-6
Matt Lester (157)	Eureka, Mo. (RSo.)	6-1
Bubby Graham (165)	Annapolis, MD (RJr.)	4-4
Nolan McBryde / Marcus Armato (174)	Eagle River, Alaska (RSo.)/Kansas City, Mo. (RJr.)	1-5/4-6
Erich Schmidtke (184)	Aberdeen, Wash. (RJr.)	5-2
Keldrick Hall (197)	Dallas, Texas (RJr.)	6-3
Kyle Colling (HWT)	Arcade, N.Y. (RFr.)	6-2

SOONER WRESTLING NOTES

LAST ACTION
The Sooners dropped their first dual of the season to the second-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys, 25-13, inside Gallagher-Iba Arena on Sunday, Dec. 11.

LAST YEAR AT MIDLANDS
Despite resting reigning All-American Zack Bailey and Cliff Keen Champion Nathan Fernandez, the Sooners finished sixth against a talented field at the 2010 Midlands Championships.

Leading the way for Oklahoma was sophomore Chase Nelson who won the 157 pound title. Fellow sophomore Tyler Caldwell, who dropped to 165, earned a third-place finish after going 7-1 over the two day tournament. Jarrod Patterson secured fifth over a talented field of 125 pounders at the Midlands Championships. Jordan Keller (133 pounds) and Nick Lester (149) each finished seventh overall.

Sooner to Watch: Kendric Maple

Kendric Maple | RSo. | 141 pounds
Maple, a 2010 NCAA qualifier and Big 12 champion, will take on a talented field of 141-pounders that includes three of the top-five ranked wrestlers.

The No. 7 ranked 141 pound redshirt sophomore from Wichita, Kan., looks to remain unbeaten (7-0) on the year.

MAPLE EARNS BIG 12 ACCOLADE
Redshirt Sophomore Kendric Maple earned his first career conference honor after being named the Big 12 Conference Wrestler of the Month for his performance in November where he compiled a 6-0 overall record (3-0 dual) at 141 pounds. During that span, he accumulated three victories by major decision and two technical falls.

On Nov. 12, Maple won the Brockport/Oklahoma Gold title after he posted a 3-0 record and defeated Rutgers' 16th-ranked Billy Ashnault by major decision, Army's Connor Hanafee via a technical fall and American's No. 9-ranked Matthew Mariacher, 5-0. After his impressive outing at the tournament, he was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler.

Maple leads OU in major decision and technical fall wins. Additionally, his 19 takedowns in dual action is tops among all Sooners and he ranks second on the team with three near falls. Maple has earned bonus points in all but one of his bouts this season.

RETURNING QUALIFIERS
OU returns seven NCAA qualifiers and adds another in transfer Bubby Graham. Highlighting the returning group is 2011 All-American Jarrod Patterson (125), who collected a 29-9 overall record last season.

Other returning starters that qualified for the NCAA Championships include Jordan Keller (133), Matt Lester (149 pounds), Chase Nelson (157) and Erich Schmidtke (184) and Kendric Maple, a 2009-10 NCAA qualifier that redshirted last year.

PATTERSON COMPETES IN ALL-STAR DUAL
Oklahoma junior Jarrod Patterson competed in the 46th-annual NWCA All-Star Classic where he fell to then-No. 4 ranked Nic Bedelyon of Kent State, 7-3.

BUBBY A SOONER
OU adds another NCAA qualifier in American transfer Bubby Graham. The talented wrestler from Annapolis, Md., looks to anchor the 165 pound spot for the Sooners. Graham was a two year starter for the Eagles where he competed at 157 and 165 pounds.

SOONERS SIGN SIX IN EARLY PERIOD
Mark Cody recently signed six high school seniors to National Letters of Intent, four of which rank in the top-20 nationally in their respective weight classes.

Leading ranked recruits is Clark Glass from Brandon, Fla., ranked No. 6 nationally among 160 pounders by InterMat.Brad Johnson , a product of Homer Glenn, Ill., is a three-time All-State selection and is ranked by CollegeWrestling.net as the No. 49 overall recruit nationally.Kyle Garcia (125 pounds), Greg Wilson (195), Tim Hamilton (141) and Garrison McCauley (157) round out the class.

BROCKPORT CHAMPIONS
Oklahoma won its 13th-straight Brockport/Oklahoma Gold Classic title on Nov. 12, 2011. Five Sooners claimed individual titles and five more garnered top-five finishes. Kendric Maple earned the Most Outstanding Wrestler Award. Chase Nelson was the aggregate pin leader after posting falls in 0:11 and 1:17.

The Sooners won the team portion with 182 total points. The Sooners closest competition was Maryland, who finished with 174.5 points.Going undefeated on the day to capture individual crowns were Jarrod Patterson (125 pounds), Jordan Keller (133), Maple (141), Matt Lester (157) and Erich Schmidtke (184).

UP NEXT...
The Sooners travel to Laramie, Wyo., to take on No. 20 Wyoming on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Return to Action at Midlands Championships

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