Sooners Host Top-15 Showdown Friday

Feb. 9, 2011

No. 8 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 Wyoming
Date	Friday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m.
Location	Norman, Okla. \| Howard McCasland Field House
Tickets	Free to the Public
Match Info	Live Stats \| OU Roster \| 2010-11 Schedule and Results
Online	Live Webcast in Oklahoma All-Access
Promotions	• Alumni Abel Night • 500 Year of the Fan Pins

NORMAN, Okla. -- The eighth-ranked University of Oklahoma wrestling squad (12-1, 3-1 Big 12) hosts No. 14 Wyoming(10-4) for "Alumni Abel Night" on Friday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m.

OU is looking to win its eighth straight dual and improve its record to 13-1 overall. The Sooners have not finished with a one-loss season since the 1969 squad that went 8-1 and finished second at the NCAA Championships.

"We're real excited about our Wyoming meet," Jack Spates said. "First of all, it's another opportunity to compete against coach (Mark) Branch. We competed against him while he was a competitor (Oklahoma State) and that was a tough task. Now he's doing a great job as a coach.

"They have a real strong squad right out of the gate. Jarrod Patterson is going to wrestle the guy that put him out of the NCAA Tournament last year. They have a highly-ranked wrestler in the country at 184 pounds. We know they're going to compete hard. We are excited about the dual, especially coming off two tough wins and we will see if we can extend that."

Oklahoma defeated Missouri last Saturday by an 18-12 final to earn its third conference victory of the season. With the win, the Sooners accomplished a feat not done since the 02-03 campaign when OU won a Big 12 title and finished third at the NCAA Championships.

The Sooners are 13-0 against Wyoming with the last meeting in 2001 going in favor of the Sooners, 37-7.

Fans are encouraged to get to the dual early because members of the Stan Abel era (1973-93) will sign autographs from 6-6:45 prior to the dual.

"This is a neat thing because we're honoring a legendary coach and many, many great wrestlers. You'll have some of the best wrestlers to ever wear a Sooner singlet that will be here Friday for the match, signing autographs. So, it'll be a neat thing for wrestling fans young and old alike."

RANKINGS RUNDOWN

Seven Sooners are ranked in this week's InterMat individual ranking, led by second-ranked Tyler Caldwell at 165 pounds. Senior Zack Bailey (141 pounds) sits at No. 6 and Jarrod Patterson is ranked No. 7 at 125 pounds.

Nathan Fernandez stands 13th among heavyweights. Chase Nelson (157) is No. 12, while Erich Schmidtke is 15th at 184 pounds. Matt Lester enters the rankings, No. 19, for the first time at his new weight of 149 pounds.

Wyoming counters with four ranked wrestlers and are led by fourth-ranked Shane Onufer at 165 pounds. 184-pounder Joe LeBlanc checks in at No. 5. Michael Martinez (125) and Tyler Cox (133) are ranked No. 15 and 18, respectively.

Sooner Participants (Weight)	Hometown (Year)	Record
Jarrod Patterson (125)	Cushing, Okla. (So.)	24-4
Jordan Keller (133)	Wichita, Kan. (Jr.)	15-7
Zack Bailey (141)	Kansas City, Mo. (Sr.)	21-2
Matt Lester (149)	Eureka, Mo. (RFr.)	14-5
Chase Nelson (157)	Wichita, Kan. (So.)	18-7
Tyler Caldwell (165)	Wichita, Kan. (So.)	26-4
Jeff James (174)	El Reno, Okla. (RSr.)	4-5
Ben Bridell (174)	Birmingham, Ala. (RSo.)	4-5
Erich Schmidtke (184)	Aberdeen, Wash. (RSo.)	22-8
Keldrick Hall (197)	Dallas, Texas (RSo.)	13-11
Nathan Fernandez (HWT)	Lawton, Okla. (Sr.)	17-4

SOONER WRESTLING NOTES

Last Action
Oklahoma defeated Missouri last Saturday by an 18-12 final to earn its third conference victory of the season. With the win, the Sooners accomplished a feat not done since the 02-03 campaign when OU won a Big 12 title and finished third at the NCAA Championships.

Sooner to Watch
	Tyler Caldwell \| So. \| 165 pounds Caldwell, a 2010 All-American, will take on Wyoming's fourth-ranked Shane Onufer. The Wichita, Kan., product is currently ranked No. 2 in the country by Intermat and is an impressive 11-1 in dual action and sits at 26-4 overall.

Scouting Wyoming
The Cowboys are 10-4 in dual competition and claimed key wins over Virginia (24-11) and Buffalo (23-12) at the 31st-annual Virginia Duals. Each of Wyoming's losses have come against ranked opponents including Nebraska (20-12), Oregon State (20-15), Lehigh (25-9) and Cal Poly (18-16).

Big 12 Dual Championship vs. Cowboys
The Sooners will take on in-state rival Oklahoma State in Norman on Sunday, Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. The Bedlam showdown winner will be crowned the regular season Big 12 Dual Champion. Oklahoma's only loss of the year came at the hands of the Cowboys back on Jan. 12 in Stillwater by a final of 22-12.

Purchase Bedlam Tickets
The Bedlam dual set for Sunday, Feb. 20, will be $15 for reserved seats and $10 for general admission. For more information contact the OU Ticket Office.

Phone: (405) 325-2424 or toll-free: (800) 456-GoOU
Fax: (405) 325-8500
Email: outickets@ou.edu

Back-To-Back Big 12 Honors
Nathan Fernandez (HWT) and Tyler Caldwell (165 pounds) were each awarded Big 12 Wrestler of the Week honors (Jan. 18, 24) after defeating American's then-No. 3 Ryan Flores (4-2) and Iowa State's 10th-ranked Andrew Sorneson (9-1), respectively.

Spates to Retire at End of Season
Oklahoma Head Wrestling Coach Jack Spates, who is in his 18th season with the Sooners, announced Wednesday, Jan. 5 that he plans to retire from the position at the end of the current season.

"This is something that I had planned for quite a while," Spates said.

"I've been blessed by my tenure at OU. I've worked with the greatest kids, athletic director and president. I will leave with a smile on my face. It's a young man's game and a sport that requires tremendous passion and energy and I feel God is leading me in another direction at this time."

That direction may involve ministerial work. Spates received a master's degree in theology and education from Baptist Bible Seminary in 1980.

Sammie Henson Tabbed Top Assistant
Tim Foley of InterMatWrestling tabbed Oklahoma assistant coach Sammie Henson as the top assistant in the country. The former three-time All-American, two-time NCAA champion and Olympic medalist, joined the staff last year (2009) and helped lead the Sooners to a top-five finish at the 2010 NCAA Championships.

Dropping Weight
Sophomores Tyler Caldwell and Chase Nelson have dropped weight classes and will compete at 165 and 157 pounds, respectively. In addition, senior Jeff James and freshman Matt Lester also dropped to 174 and 149, respectively. Caldwell, reigning All-American at 165 pounds, has been impressive collecting a 14-2 record after moving up to 174 pounds.

Nelson Earns Midlands Title
After dropping to 157 pounds, Chase Nelson won five-straight bouts to earn the 157 pound title at the Midlands Championships.

Pre-Match Autograph Signing Before Wyoming Dual
Former head coach Stan Abel and members of his squads will partake in a pre-match autograph session prior to the Wyoming dual. Abel (1973-93) won a National Championship (1974) and three Big 12 Championships during his tenure as head coach. Abel coached 15 individual national champions including Mark Shultz, Dave Shultz, Rod Kilgore and Melvin Douglas. The autograph session will run from 6:30-6:50.

Up Next...
The Sooners host No. 5 Oklahoma State on Sunday, Feb. 20 at 2 p.m at the McCasland Field House. The Bedlam showdown will be broadcast on Cox.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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