Demas Advances to NCAA Quarterfinals

PITTSBURGH – Oklahoma redshirt freshman Dom Demas advanced to the quarterfinals of the 141 pounds bracket Thursday at the 2019 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships and three Sooners are still alive in consolation after day one.

In his first round, No. 9 Demas got an 11-3 major decision win over Virginia Tech's No. 24 Mitch Moore. After the bout was tied at 3-all in the second period, Demas tacked on a takedown and a two-point nearfall to take a 7-3 lead into the third. Demas started on bottom and quickly escaped, then added another takedown for a 10-3 advantage before riding time was added.

In the round of 16, Demas took down No. 9 Kanen Storr (Michigan) 3-1. The bout was tied at 1-1 with two seconds remaining, but the Ohio native sealed a win with a takedown as time expired.

Demas will face top-seeded Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) in tomorrow's quarterfinals.

Davion Jeffries (149), Justin Thomas (157) and Jake Woodley (197) all advanced to the round of 16 before moving into consolation.

In the third meeting of the season between No. 9 Jeffries and No. 17 Christian Monserrat (WVU), Jeffries prevailed 2-1 to open tournament action. The first period went scoreless, but Monserrat got on the board with an escape in the second. Jeffries was awarded a penalty point in the third to tie the bout at 1-1, then escaped with under a minute left to win.

Jeffries dropped a 7-1 decision to No. 1 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) in the round of 16 and will face Jared Prince (Navy) in the second consolation round of 16 tomorrow.

No. 21 Thomas pulled off a first-round upset of No. 12 Taleb Rahmani (Pitt) in a rematch of the wrestlers, winning 7-1. After a scoreless first period, Rahmani took a 1-0 lead with an escape in the second. Thomas tied it with an escape of his own in the third. As the clock ticked down to 10 seconds, Thomas added a go-ahead takedown, then a four-point nearfall to seal a 7-1 victory.

Thomas was defeated by NC State's No. 5 Hayden Hidlay in a 16-1 tech fall in the following round. Thomas is set for the second consolation round of 16 tomorrow, and will take on Danny Reed (Columbia).

Pittsburgh native and No. 18 Woodley (197) held on to win a thriller over No. 15 Randall Diabe (Appalachian State) after six overtimes. With the bout tied at 1-1 after regulation, the first sudden-victory overtime went scoreless. Woodley escaped in the first tiebreaker period, then Diabe added an escape in the second tiebreaker to once again level the score at 2-all. Each wrestler added another escape to tied the bout at 3-all, but Woodley was awarded a point of riding time to win.

Woodley dropped to No. 2 Kollin Moore (Ohio State) in the round of 16. The Sooner will face the winner of Ethan Laird (Rider) and Stephen Loiseau (Drexel) in the second consolation round of 16.

No. 29 Christian Moody (125) was pinned by No. 4 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State) in the first round, and was eliminated by No. 20 Gabe Townsell (Stanford) after a 4-2 decision.

Action resumes tomorrow at 10 a.m. CT with quarterfinals and the second consolation round of 16. All matches will be available on ESPN or via the ESPN app.

For updates, follow @OU_Wrestling on Twitter, or like Oklahoma Wrestling on Facebook.

Results

Christian Moody – 125
No. 4 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State) fall No. 30 Christian Moody (OU), 2:58
No. 29 Gabe Townsell (Stanford) dec. No. 30 Christian Moody (OU), 4-2

Dom Demas – 141
No. 9 Dom Demas (OU) maj. dec. 24 Mitch Moore (VA Tech), 11-3
No. 9 Dom Demas (OU) dec. No. 8 Kanen Storr (Michigan), 3-1

Davion Jeffries – 149
No. 16 Davion Jeffries (OU) dec. No. 17 Christian Monserrat (WVU), 2-1
No. 1 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) dec. No. 16 Davion Jeffries (OU) 7-1

Justin Thomas – 157
No. 21 Thomas (OU) dec. Taleb Rahmani (Pitt) 7-1
No. 5 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) tech. fall Justin Thomas (OU), 16-1 (5:24)

Jake Woodley – 197
No. 18 Jake Woodley (OU) dec. No. 15 Randall Diabe (Appalachian State), TB-2 4-3
No. 2 Kollin Moore (Ohio State) maj. dec. Jake Woodley (OU), 14-4

Results

Players Mentioned

Dom Demas

Davion Jeffries

Christian Moody

Justin Thomas

Jake Woodley

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics