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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Three Sooners Advance to Day Two in Las Vegas
December 01, 2017 | Wrestling
LAS VEGAS — Three Oklahoma wrestlers survived the first day of action at the Cliff Keen Invitational and will participate in Saturday's consolation rounds.
The two-day tournament, which features 14 teams ranked in the Top 25 of the NWCA Coaches' Poll, is taking place at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The Sooners currently hold 20 team points.
Both redshirt sophomore Christian Moody (125 pounds) and senior Yoanse Mejias (174 pounds) represented the Crimson and Cream in the quarterfinals on Friday night. Moody, the No. 11 seed, advanced to the quarterfinals with an 8-5 upset over No. 6-seeded Luke Welch (Purdue) before dropping a 9-2 decision to No. 3 Sean Russell. Moody posted a 2-1 record on Friday, also defeating Trey Chalifoux (Army), 4-3, in the round of 32.
Mejias, seeded No. 9 at 174 pounds, recorded three consecutive wins to advance to the quarterfinals. He earned decisions over Columbia's Tyrel White (3-2) and Drexel's Austin Rose (5-3) followed by a win via injury default from No. 8 Ethan Ramos of North Carolina. Mejias dropped a 15-3 major decision to No. 1 Zahid Valencia in the quarterfinals.
Moody and Mejias will join redshirt freshman Justin Thomas (157 pounds) in wrestling in the second consolation round of eight on Saturday morning. Thomas put together a strong performance on Friday, opening with a 5-2 decision over Fresno State's Greg Gaxiola. In the round of 16, Thomas was narrowly edged by No. 1 seed Tyler Berger (Nebraska), 7-5, in the first sudden-victory period. The Sooner bounced back with a 15-6 major decision over Harvard's Brock Wilson before pulling off a 3-1 overtime upset of No. 8 Andrew Crone (Wisconsin).
Senior Mike Longo (141 pounds) and junior Davion Jeffries (149 pounds) ended their runs at the event in the second consolation round of 16. Longo, seeded No. 7, opened the day with a bye and a 9-2 decision over Colt Schilling of Cal Poly. No. 10 Eli Stickley (Wisconsin) defeated Longo by 13-3 major decision, and Purdue's Nate Limmex downed Longo by 10-5 decision.
The No. 8 seed, Jeffries had a strong start at the tournament, pinning North Idaho College's Brent Evans in 2:12 in the round of 64. After dropping a 5-4 decision to Michael Sprague (American), Jeffries won back-to-back consolation matches, defeating Purdue's Austin Nash, 6-2, and Kent State's Nick Monico, 4-2. His day ended with a 7-2 loss to Navy's Corey Wiliding.
Seniors Dawaylon Barnes (165 pounds) and Andrew Dixon (197 pounds) and freshman Matthew Waddell (184 pounds) were eliminated in the first consolation round of 16. Following a first-round bye, Barnes was defeated by No. 10 Jonathon Chavez of Cornell, 5-3, and No. 7 Brandon Ashworth of Wyoming, 9-3.
Dixon dropped a 4-0 decision to Jacob Holschlag (Northern Iowa) in the round of 64. He then claimed a 5-4 decision over Bucknell's Garrett Hoffman before falling in an 11-3 major decision to No. 8 Danny Chaid (North Carolina).
After falling 4-2 to Tyler McNutt in the round of 64, Waddell rebounded to defeat Embry-Riddle's Payton Mair, 7-1, before dropping a 2-0 decision to Air Force's Zen Ikehara.
Classmate Connor Webb dropped two decisions in the 285-pound bracket, falling to No. 9 Dustin Dennison (Utah Valley), 5-0, and Bobby Heald (Army), 7-4.
Teams return to the mat for day two of the Cliff Keen Invitational on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT. Brackets and results will be available on FloArena, and FloWrestling will live stream the event for a fee.
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