Wrestling Travels to No. 20 Wyoming

Jan. 2, 2012

No. 9 Oklahoma at No. 20 Wyoming
Date & Time	Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m.
Location	Laramie, Wyo.\| Univ. of Wyoming Sports Complex
Internet	Webcast \| Live Stats \| Oklahoma Notes
Oklahoma Info	2011-12 Roster \| Staff \| Stats
Schedule	2011-12 Sooner wrestling schedule

NORMAN, Okla. -- The ninth-ranked Oklahoma wrestling team travels to Laramie, Wyo., to take on No. 20 Wyoming on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m.

Oklahoma (3-1, 2-1) is coming off a third place finish at the Midlands Championships where Kendric Maple took home the 141 pound title and five other Sooners finished in the top six of their respective weight classes.

“I watched Wyoming against Oklahoma State last night and I think this dual meet will probably come down to bonus points,” head coach Mark Cody said. “This is going to be a very tight match, but we are very excited to get this road trip started and hopefully we get out of Laramie with a win.”

Wyoming (0-2) is coming off a 24-17 loss to Oklahoma State and prior to that the Cowboys fell to Nebraska, 19-15.

The Sooners hold a 14-0-2 overall advantage over Wyoming, with the last meeting on Feb. 11, 2011 going in favor of OU, 22-10.

Up next, The Sooners head to Annapolis, MD., to take on Navy on Saturday, Jan. 7, and Binghamton on Sunday, Jan. 10.

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.

Wyoming counters with six ranked wrestlers and are led by third-ranked Joe LeBlanc at 184 pounds. At 165 pounds Shane Onufer checks in at No. 6. Alfonos Hernandez is ranked No. 11 among 197 pounders. Michael Martinez (125) and Zach Zehner (133) are ranked No. 17 and 14, respectively. Patrick Martinez (174) is not ranked by InterMat but is No. 15 by AWN.

Sooner Participants (Weight)	Hometown (Year)	Record
Jarrod Patterson (125)	Cushing, Okla. (Jr.)	12-2
Jordan Keller (133)	Wichita, Kan. (Sr.)	10-3
Kendric Maple (141)	Wichita, Kan. (RSo.)	13-0
Nick Lester (149)	Eureka, Mo. (RSo.)	11-4
Matt Lester (157)	Eureka, Mo. (RSo.)	10-3
Bubby Graham (165)	Annapolis, MD (RJr.)	7-7
Nolan McBryde (174)	Eagle River, Alaska (RSo.)	3-7
Erich Schmidtke (184)	Aberdeen, Wash. (RJr.)	10-4
Keldrick Hall (197)	Dallas, Texas (RJr.)	9-5
Kyle Colling (HWT)	Arcade, N.Y. (RFr.)	6-5

SOONER WRESTLING NOTES

LAST ACTION
Oklahoma (3-1, 2-1) is coming off a third place finish at the Midlands Championships where Kendric Maple took home the 141 pound title and five other Sooners finished in the top six of their respective weight classes.

SERIES AGAINST WYOMING
The Sooners are 14-0-2 against Wyoming with the last meeting in 2011 going in favor of the Sooners, 22-10, in Norman, Okla.

Sooner to Watch: Kendric Maple

Kendric Maple | RSo. | 141 pounds
Maple, a 2010 NCAA qualifier and Big 12 champion, takes on Wyoming's McCade Ford.

The No. 7-ranked 141 pound redshirt sophomore from Wichita, Kan., was named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week (1/2/12) and looks to remain unbeaten (13-0) on the year.

MAPLE EARNS TWO BIG 12 ACCOLADES
Redshirt sophomore Kendric Maple was named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Month and Big 12 Wrestler of the Week (1/2/12) this season.

He 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 was named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 2, after he claimed the 141 pound title at the Midlands Championships. Over the course of the tournament, Maple posted a 6-0 record and defeated the nation's top ranked wrestler in Iowa's Montell Marion, 5-3.

SOONERS TAKE THIRD AT MIDLANDS
The Oklahoma wrestling squad finished third overall and Kendric Maple claimed the 141 pound title and Most Outstanding Wrestler at the 2011 Midlands Championships, hosted by Northwestern University, Dec. 29-30.

Oklahoma finished the tournament taking home the third place trophy with 94.5 points. Iowa ran away with the title after tallying 152 points. Northwestern placed second with 105.5 points. Virginia Tech (76.5) and Edinboro (74.5) rounded out the top five.

Leading the way for Oklahoma was redshirt sophomore Kendric Maple who won the 141 pound title to remain unbeaten (12-0) on the year. The Wichita, Kan., native entered Friday's semifinal matchup having earned bonus points in each of his last seven bouts. In the semifinals Maple defeated Iowa State's Luke Goetti, 13-1. In the championship bout, Maple downed Iowa's No. 1-ranked Montell Marion, 5-3.

In addition to OU's 141 pound champion, five other Sooners – Jarod Patterson (fifth), Nick Lester (fourth), Matt Lester (fifth), Bubby Graham (sixth) and Erich Schmidtke (fifth) – claimed top six finishes among their respective weight classes.

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 Annapolis, MD., to take on Navy on Saturday, Jan. 7.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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