Wrestling Finishes Third at Big 12 Championships

March 5, 2011

AMES, Iowa – 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.

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.

“This was a tale of two tournaments,” Jack Spates said. “Going into the finals I thought we wrestled magnificently. We took some tough losses, but overall we wrestled tough, aggressive and well.

“In the finals we weren't as aggressive and tough as we had been all tournament. There were exceptions as Tyler (Caldwell) wrestled extremely well and was just a few seconds away from winning the championship over the defending national champion.”

Final Brackets | Championship Central | Photo Gallery | Finals Results

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.

Senior Jeff James (174) bounced back from a knee injury he sustained earlier this season and finished fourth against a talented field.

“You've got to wrestle every second of every match against our opponents and as long as we learn that we will bounce back at nationals.”

Under the new qualifying criteria for the NCAA, six Sooners -- Patterson, Keller, Bailey, Caldwell, Schmidtke and Fernandez -- automatically punched their tickets to the National Tournament held in Philadelphia, Pa. March 17-19.

FINALS

125 Pounds: Reigning Big 12 champion Jarrod Patterson was edged out by Nebraska's David Klingsheim after the refs penalized Patterson for attempting to flee the mat from the top position. The crushing penalty was called with just 0:19 remaining in the third period which caused Patterson to immediately cut Klingsheim in order to attempt a takedown.

The sophomore from Cushing, Okla., was unable to earn the takedown and eventually dropped the match, 2-0.

133 Pounds: Oklahoma junior Jordan Keller gave his all but that was not enough to overcome top-ranked Jordan Oliver of Oklahoma State. Keller gave up 15 points to the Cowboy and was awarded three points all off escapes.

141 Pounds: Senior Zack Bailey, the No. 1 seed, was upset by Missouri's Todd Schavrien in the 141 pound championship bout.

Bailey fell behind, 2-0, early after giving up a takedown with 0:53 into the first period. Bailey evened the score, 2-2, after posting a quick escape to start the second. However, Schavrien earned an escape of his own to start the third period to take the lead, 3-2. From that point Bailey's numerous attempts at a takedown were defected.

165 Pounds: Sophomore Tyler Caldwell fell just shy of upsetting top-ranked Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska in a classic battle at 165 pounds.

Caldwell led, 1-0, after earning an escape 0:12 into the second period. Caldwell took that lead into the third period where he rode out Burroughs for over a minute before giving up a controversial reversal that was called moments after both wrestlers were out-of-bounds. Caldwell, the nation's third-ranked wrestler, was unable to earn the escape and fell, 2-1.

285 Pounds: Nathan Fernandez was unable to topple the top-seed Dom Bradley in the heavyweight finals.

Bradley scored the first points on a takedown with 0:27 remaining in the first period. Fernandez closed the gap after earning an escape in the second, but Bradley earned an escape of his own in the third to close out the bout, 3-1.

TEAM SCORES

1. Oklahoma State (77)
2. Missouri (60)
3. Oklahoma (59.5)
4. Nebraska (46.5)
5. Iowa State (31)

CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

125 – No. 4 David Klingsheim (NU) dec. No. 2 Jarrod Patterson (OU), 2-0
133 – No. 1 Jordan Oliver (OSU) MD No. 2 Jordan Keller (OU), 15-3
141 – No. 2 Todd Schavrien (MU) dec. No. 1 Zack Bailey (OU), 3-2
149 – No. 1 Jamal Parks (OSU) dec. No. 3 Kyle Bradley (MU), 4-0
157 – No. 1 Neil Erisman (OSU) dec. No. 3 Nick Gregoris (MU), 4-2
165 – No. 1 Jordan Burroughs (NU) dec. No. 2 Tyler Caldwell (OU), 2-1
174 – No. 1 Jon Reader (ISU) MD No. 2 Mike Benefiel (OSU), 14-3
184 – No. 1 Chris Perry (OSU) dec. No. 2 Josh Ihnen (NU), 3-2 (SV1)
197 – No. 1 Clayton Foster (OSU) dec. No. 3 Jerome Ward (ISU), 9-5
HWT – No. 1 Dom Bradley (MU) dec. No. 3 Nathan Fernandez (OU), 3-1

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Wrestling Finishes Third at Big 12 Championships

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