Two Sooners Place at Cliff Keen Invitational

LAS VEGAS — The No. 21 Oklahoma wrestling team wrapped up competition at the Cliff Keen Invitational as Yoanse Mejias and Christian Moody both placed in their respective brackets.

Mejias, a senior, placed seventh at 174 pounds, while redshirt sophomore Moody took eighth at 125 pounds.

The two-day event, which featured 14 teams ranked in the top 25 by the NWCA Coaches' Poll, was held at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The Sooners finished with 29 team points.

Seeded No. 9 in the 174-pound bracket, Mejias outlasted No. 15 Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin) in the second consolation round of eight by 9-4 decision on Saturday morning. Two takedowns in the first frame gave Mejias a 4-2 advantage, and he tacked on two more and the riding-time point to advance in the consolation bracket.

Mejias moved to the seventh-place bout after dropping a close 2-1 decision to No. 4 seed Jadaen Bernstein (Navy). He downed Purdue's Dylan Lydy by 6-5 decision to place seventh, recording two takedowns and two escapes in the match to earn the win.

Moody, the No. 11 seed at 125 pounds, began Saturday with an impressive 12-1 major decision over North Dakota State's Paul Bianchi in the second consolation round of eight. He jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first period with a takedown and a 4-point nearfall before adding an escape, two more takedowns and the riding-time point in the next two frames.

After dropping a 16-5 major decision to No. 9 Drew Mattin (Michigan), Moody moved to the seventh-place bout. He lost a close match with No. 7 Louie Hayes (Virginia), 6-5, to place eighth individually.

Redshirt freshman Justin Thomas (157 pounds) also competed on Saturday, falling in the second consolation round of eight to Archie Colgan (Wyoming) by 12-1 major decision.

A total of nine wrestlers represented the Crimson and Cream at the Cliff Keen Invitational. A full recap of Friday's action is available here.

The Sooners return to action on Dec. 17 as they host Appalachian State in the home opener at McCasland Field House at 2 p.m. Season ticket packages are on sale now. Fans can purchase tickets online or by calling the OU Athletics Ticket Office at (405) 325-2424.