Brewer Takes Home His First NCAA Title

ST. LOUIS — The entire 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Oklahoma redshirt junior Cody Brewer looked like a man on a mission.

And on Saturday night, he completed that mission on the sport's biggest stage by taking home his first individual national title.

By an 11-8 decision, Brewer claimed the 133-pound crown in the NCAA Championships inside Scottrade Center. Brewer, the No. 13 seed at the tournament, defeated No. 3 seed Cory Clark of Iowa in the championship bout.

With the win, Brewer became Oklahoma's 67th individual national championship in program history and second in the last three years, joining then-redshirt junior and current volunteer assistant coach Kendric Maple, who won at 141 pounds in 2013.

I told Coach Cody right before I stepped out there: I've been dreaming about this since I was a little kid watching these guys, and I said I was going to be on the stage to prove something. And I finally got on the stage. I had to go out there and prove something.
Cody Brewer

Brewer said he has been watching the NCAAs since he was a kid, and the victory fulfilled a lifelong dream.

"I told Coach (Mark) Cody right before I stepped out there: I've been dreaming about this since I was a little kid watching these guys, and I said I was going to be on the stage to prove something," the Kansas City, Mo., native said after the match. "And I finally got on the stage. I had to go out there and prove something.

"And Coach Cody and Coach (Michael) Lightner and all the coaches -- Coach (Kendric) Maple and Coach (Andrew) Howe -- they've all stuck by me -- you're the best. You gotta believe it," Brewer continued. "And finally this tournament was me finally believing how good I really am. Because before I've had doubts in tournaments and duals and whatever it was, but the biggest stage in the country, I was above everybody, which was awesome for me for my confidence for next year. I felt we've got another year of this and hopefully it turns out as good. That's the goal now is to get back and take some time off and get right back to it."

The first points of Saturday night's match came from Brewer, who tallied a takedown with about two minutes remaining in the first period. Clark then escaped before Brewer took him down again, and Clark got another escape to make the score 4-2 after the opening frame.

The second period started with an escape by Clark before Brewer took him down a total of three times to build his advantage to 10-5. The only points of the third came via an escape from Brewer and a point to Clark for a stalling call on Brewer.

For the season, Brewer finished at 22-1 and secured the 2015 Big 12 Championship. At the national tournament, he became a three-time All-American, the 26th Sooner to reach the milestone that many times. His performance helped OU, who took five qualifiers to St. Louis, finish in 18th place with 29.5 points.

Fourth-year OU head coach Mark Cody said Brewer was dominant the whole tournament. The Sooner looked impressive throughout, storming his way into the finals with a fall and three major decisions.

“We weren't sure going up to the finals how he was going to react just because of this atmosphere, and he really stepped up," Cody said. "He's definitely put in the work from day one. As soon as the season was over last year he went to work. He worked hard all the way through the summer and all the way through the season to accomplish this goal, and there wasn't a day that went by that he didn't do something to improve. We're just so proud of him.”