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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Wrestling's Road to NCAA Podium Begins Thursday
March 16, 2011 | Wrestling
March 16, 2011
| 2011 NCAA Championships | |
| Dates | Thursday March 17 through Saturday March 19 |
| Location | Philadelphia, Pa. | Wells Fargo Arena |
| TV Thursday Friday Saturday |
ESPN3.com Session III on ESPNU HD/ESPN3.com | Session IV on ESPNU HD Session V on ESPNU HD | Finals on ESPN HD/ESPN3.com |
| Oklahoma Info | Notes | OU Roster | 2010-11 Schedule and Results |
| Behind the Scenes | Check the OU Wrestling Blog for Photo Galleries & Interviews |
| Online | Live Stats |
| Brackets | 2011 Official NCAA Bracket |
NORMAN, Okla. -- The quest for Oklahoma's seventh national trophy in 12 years begins this Thursday, March 17, as eight Sooners are set to compete at the 81st-annual NCAA Wrestling Championships held inside the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa.
“We're proud of our young men that qualified for the championships,” Jack Spates said. “We're really excited about it and we are looking to make a statement.
“Last year we went in virtually unnoticed and took fifth in the nation. Our goal is to come home with an NCAA trophy, which they give to the top four. It is an ambitious goal, but we've got kids that have trained hard and that are willing to embrace that challenge.”
Action begins at 10 a.m. CST, and will run through Saturday evening, March 19. ESPN3.com is scheduled to carry Thursday's opening rounds. ESPNU and ESPN3.com will cover Friday's action live. Additionally, Saturday evening's finals commencing at 6:30 p.m. will air nationally on ESPN and ESPN3.com.
Oklahoma will attempt to crown an individual champion for the first time since 2005, while reigning All-Americans Zack Bailey (141 pounds) and Tyler Caldwell (165) seek All-America status for the second straight year.
Four Sooners are national seeds heading into this weekend, led by No. 3 Caldwell at 165 pounds. Jarrod Patterson (125) and Zack Bailey are No. 8 among their respective weight classes. Senior Nathan Fernandez rounds out seeded Sooners at No. 10 among heavyweights.
Jordan Keller (133), Matt Lester (149), Chase Nelson (157) and Erich Schmidtke (184) will join their Sooner counterparts at the Championships.
Last season, Oklahoma qualified all ten wrestlers for the national tournament and finished fifth overall. Also making return trips to the NCAAs are Schmidtke and Fernandez.
| Sooner Participants (Weight) | Hometown (Year) | Record |
| Jarrod Patterson (125) | Cushing, Okla. (So.) | 25-7 |
| Jordan Keller (133) | Wichita, Kan. (Jr.) | 17-9 |
| Zack Bailey (141) | Kansas City, Mo. (Sr.) | 24-3 |
| Matt Lester (149) | Eureka, Mo. (RFr.) | 18-7 |
| Chase Nelson (157) | Wichita, Kan. (So.) | 19-11 |
| Tyler Caldwell (165) | Wichita, Kan. (So.) | 28-5 |
| Erich Schmidtke (184) | Aberdeen, Wash. (RSo.) | 24-11 |
| Nathan Fernandez (HWT) | Lawton, Okla. (Sr.) | 20-5 |
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Sooner First Round Matchups |
133: Jordan Keller vs. Tony Ramos (Iowa) or No. 6 Frank Cagnina (LEHI)
141: No. 8 Zack Bailey vs. Cody Cleveland (CHATT)
149: Matt Lester vs. Scott Skaguchi (ORST)
157: Chase Nelson vs. No. 8 Jason Welch (NW)
165: No. 3 Tyler Caldwell vs. Patrick Graham (AMER)
184: Erich Schmidtke vs. Max Thomusseit (PITT)
HWT: No. 10 Nathan Fernandez vs. Peter Sturgeon (UNCG)
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SOONER WRESTLING NOTES |
LAST ACTION
The seventh-ranked Oklahoma wrestling team finished third at the 2011 Big 12 Championships after advancing five wrestlers to the finals inside the Hilton Coliseum on the campus of the University of Iowa State.
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OKLAHOMA POSTSEASON TRADITION
Pursuing championships is synonymous with Oklahoma wrestling. Throughout its tradition-rich history, OU has produced 65 individual national champions and 260 All-Americans.
Most impressively, Oklahoma owns seven national championships, which is fifth-most all-time in the history of the sport. The Sooners have crowned 41 All-Americans in the past 11 years, a number only three other programs can claim more than. Oklahoma teams are also tied for third with the most top 10 finishes at the NCAA in the past 12 years with nine total.
Leading Oklahoma into the 2011 postseason is Jack Spates, who is third among active head coaches for most All-Americans produced in his coaching tenure (58).
LOOKING BACK AT BIG 12s
The Oklahoma wrestling team finished third at the 2011 Big 12 Championships after advancing five wrestlers to the finals inside the Hilton Coliseum on the campus of the University of Iowa State.
Jarrod Patterson (125 pounds), Jordan Keller (133), Zack Bailey (141), Tyler Caldwell (165) and Nathan Fernandez (HWT) each placed second among their respective weight classes as OU finished the Big 12 Championships without a conference champion for the first time since 1991.
OU finished third overall with 59.5 points after being edged out by Missouri (60). Oklahoma State claimed their second straight title with 77 points, while Nebraska (46.5) and Iowa State (31) placed fourth and fifth, respectively.
Additionally, Matt Lester (149), Chase Nelson (165) and Erich Schmidtke (184) finished third in their respective weight classes, which helped OU stand a close second heading into the finals.
2010-11 SEASON REVISITED
In Jack Spates' final season as head coach of the Sooners the Slippery Rock alum has led Oklahoma to its best regular-season record since the 1985 squad, while also recording double-digit wins for the 16th-straight season. The Sooners finished the regular season with 13 dual meet victories, which included wins over seven squads ranked in the top 25.
The Sooners captured three conference wins for the first time since the 2002-03 campaign, finishing the Big 12 regular season in second place with a 3-2 Big 12 record. OU's only losses came at the hands of in-state rival Oklahoma State. Second year head assistant coach Sammie Henson along with assistants Michael Lightner and Ross Thatcher has been instrumental in the Sooners success over the past two seasons.
Additionally, Oklahoma captured their 12th-straight Brockport/Oklahoma Gold title, as well as finishing fourth at the highly-competitive Cliff Keen Invitational where Nathan Fernandez won the heavyweight title and Jarrod Patterson was runner-up among 125-pounders. Oklahoma enters the postseason with three wrestlers ranked in the top seven and are led by second-ranked Tyler Caldwell at 165 pounds. The Sooners add four more wrestlers ranked in the top 15 of their respective weight classes.
LAST YEAR AT THE NCAAs
Oklahoma qualified all ten wrestlers for the national tournament last season held in Omaha, Neb., where the Sooners finished fifth which marked the sixth time OU has earned fifth place or better at the NCAAs since 2001 and the seventh time in the past decade the Sooners have finished inside the top 10.
Individually, Oklahoma crowned four All-Americans - Zack Bailey (141), Kyle Terry (149), Tyler Caldwell (165) and Eric Lapotsky (197) - at the Championships, its most since earning five in 2006.
The four All-Americans finished in the top five in their respective weight classes, led by third-place winner Terry. Bailey was fourth at 141 pounds and earning fifth was Caldwell and Lapotsky.
TEAM NOTES
•Oklahoma was 3-2 in Big 12 duals this season and averaged 17.8 points per match. OU gave up 16 points to conference opponents.
•This season, Oklahoma topped an impressive six opponents ranked in the latest InterMat Top 25 (No. 8 American, No. 11 Iowa State, No. 12 Arizona State, No. 13 Nebraska, No. 19 Missouri and No. 22 North Carolina State).
•In the 13 wins this season, Oklahoma outscored foes 398-92. Broken down, OU averaged 30.6 points in the wins to the opponents 7.1. Both of Oklahoma's losses came at the hands of Oklahoma State (22-12 & 24-9).
RETURNING TO THE BIG STAGE
Five Sooners – Jarrod Patterson, Zack Bailey, Tyler Caldwell, Erich Schmidtke and Nathan Fernandez -- are no strangers to the NCAAs. This is Patterson, Caldwell and Schmidtke's second trip and Bailey and Fernandez's third.
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 FINAL NCAA TOURNAMENT
Oklahoma Head Wrestling Coach Jack Spates, who is in his 18th season with the Sooners, announced Jan. 5, 2011, 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 PEGGED 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 along with redshirt freshman Matt Lester dropped weight classes to compete at 165, 157 and 149 pounds, respectively. Caldwell, 165 pound reigning All-American, collected a 13-2 record at 174 pounds. Nelson, a JUCO All-American, went 8-6 at 165 pounds. Lester was 9-4 competing at 157 pounds.
WR Highlights: Big 12 Championships (Day Two)
Sunday, March 09
WR Highlights: Big 12 Championships (Day One)
Saturday, March 08
WR Highlights: OU 32, Arizona State 6
Sunday, February 16
WR Highlights: OU 23, Missouri 13
Saturday, February 01
