Wrestling Starts the Season at Michigan State Open

Oklahoma Probable Lineup
Weight	Wrestler
125	No. 26 Joey Prata
125	Jack Creamer
133	No. 23 Tony Madrigal
133	Caleb Tanner
133	Gabe Vidlak
141	Jacob Butler
141	Zack Zeamer
149	No. 17 Mitch Moore
149	Willie McDougald
165	Troy Mantanona
174	No. 24 Anthony Mantanona
184	Darrien Roberts
184	Elijah Joseph
184	Carson Berryhill
197	No. 6 Jake Woodley
HWT	No. 16 Josh Heindselman

NORMAN – The No. 15/16 Oklahoma wrestling team travels north to open the 2021-22 season at the Michigan State Open Saturday. Sixteen Sooners will make the trip to compete in the open tournament in East Lansing, Mich.

The tournament field includes wrestlers from 12 schools bringing full rosters, including three other NWCA preseason top-25 teams in No. 4 Michigan, No. 18 Illinois and No. 25 Northwestern. The field will also include individual wrestlers from other schools.

Five of the 16 Sooners set to compete Saturday enter the 2021-22 campaign inside FloWrestling's preseason rankings: Tony Madrigal at No. 23 at 133 pounds, Mitch Moore at No. 17 at 149, Anthony Mantanona at No. 24 at 174, Jake Woodley at No. 6 at 197 and Josh Heindselman at No. 16 at 285. In addition, Joey Prata and Darrien Roberts are both honorable mentions in their weight classes. Dom Demas is ranked 13th at 141 pounds by Flo but isn't competing at the MSU Open as he is representing the United States at the U23 World Championships in Serbia.

Saturday marks a return to a familiar arena for the Sooners, who, before the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season, had started three-straight seasons at the tournament in Jenison Fieldhouse. For Madrigal, Mantanona and Woodley, the 2021 edition of the MSU Open marks their third appearance.

In 2018, the three Oklahoma staples made their collegiate debuts at the event, with Woodley taking home the 197-pound title and Mantanona and Madrigal claiming fourth.

At the event in 2019, Madrigal and Woodley both made runs to the finals, where they finished as the runners-up in their weight classes. Mantanona finished with a bronze, while Jacob Butler and Zack Zeamer made their OU debuts.

Weight Class Breakdown

125

At 125 pounds, the Sooners plan to debut two Virginia products in Joey Prata and Jack Creamer. Prata, ranked 26th by Intermat, is a redshirt senior transfer from Virginia Tech, originally from Richmond, Va. Creamer is a freshman from Sterling, Va., a two-time Virginia state champion and 2019 MAWA All-American.

133

Tony Madrigal, Caleb Tanner and Gabe Vidlak are set to take the mat at 133 pounds for the Sooners. Madrigal, a senior and No. 23 wrestler in the nation, was a Big 12 finalist last season and holds a 41-35 record as a Sooner. Tanner was a four-time state champion at Collinsville HS in Collinsville, Okla., in addition to Super 32 and Fargo All-American honors. Vidlak makes his Oklahoma debut after transferring from Oregon State.

141

The Sooners are sending out Jacob Butler and Zack Zeamer at 141 pounds as both have experience on the mat for Rosselli's squad. Butler started at 149 pounds for the Sooners in 2019-20 and owns a 14-16 collegiate record. As a high school wrestler at Elgin HS in Oklahoma, the redshirt junior won three state titles and accumulated a 176-9 record. Zeamer, a product of Manheim, Pa., owns 10 wins at open tournaments and extra matches, including a win over West Virginia's Caleb Rea via 3-0 decision.

149

No. 17/17 Mitch Moore and redshirt freshman Willie McDougald will enter the 149-pound bracket this weekend. Another former Virginia Tech Hokie, Moore went 12-6 as the 149-pound starter for OU last season en route to a runner-up finish at the Big 12 Championship and an appearance in the Blood Rounds at the NCAA Championship. McDougald, a two-time state champion from New York, is 1-0 collegiately after winning an extra match last season. The Niagara Falls, N.Y., product was InterMat's No. 17 prospect at 145 pounds in 2020.

165

Troy Mantanona is the only Sooner wrestling the 165-pound weight class. The younger Mantanona transferred from San Francisco State two years ago and was a significant contributor for the Sooners once he arrived last year. He went 6-5 overall and executed back-to-back pins at the Big 12 Championship to help the team secure a share of the conference title last season.

174

Anthony Mantanona returns to the mat for a fifth season at 174 pounds in 2021-22. The All-American is ranked 23rd in the preseason polls and will look to make his way into the top 10 again after entering last season ranked sixth. A two-time NCAA qualifier, Mantanona owns a team-high 20 pins, including nine as a junior.

184

A trio of Sooners will compete in the 184-pound weight class bracket, as Darrien Roberts, Elijah Joseph and Carson Berryhill are all set to take on the field in East Lansing. Roberts has started the last two seasons for the team at 184 and has a 23-19 overall record as a Sooner. Elijah Joseph is a redshirt junior from Killeen, Texas, who has spent time wresting at 165 and 174 in his college career and will make his debut at 184 this weekend. Finally, Berryhill is a redshirt sophomore from Tuttle, Okla., who won a pair of state titles for Tuttle High School and helped lead Tuttle to four state championships.

197

At 197, the Sooners will be represented by reigning All-American No. 6/10 Jake Woodley. The Pittsburgh, Pa., product enters his fifth season at Oklahoma and third as a starter. Woodley became the lowest-seeded wrestler in NCAA history to make a national semifinal when he made his run last year as the No. 26 seed. His career record of 63-32 is among the best on the team, and he was the 92 kg runner-up at the 2021 UWW Junior Nationals.

285

Josh Heindselman returns to the OU lineup for the second season and enters the season ranked 16th nationally after a freshman campaign that saw the 285 pounder accumulate a 10-7 record. His fourth-place finish at the Big 12 Championship earned him a spot in St. Louis, where he defeated Binghamton's Joe Doyle to secure his first win at the NCAA Championship.