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Wrestling
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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Sunday, January 30
Norman
2:00 PM
University of Oklahoma
15
vs
17
Northern Iowa
Photo by: Ty Russell
OU Loses Tight Contest to Northern Iowa
January 30, 2022 | Wrestling
NORMAN – The No. 21 Oklahoma wrestling team split the matches five a piece with Northern Iowa in Sunday afternoon's dual, but two bonus point victories for the Panthers (5-5, 4-2 Big 12) proved to be the difference as the Sooners (6-5, 2-4 Big 12) lose a close one 17-15.
Joey Prata, Willie McDougald and Jake Woodley all picked up their second win of the weekend while Anthony Mantanona and Josh Heindselman added wins of their own to level the two teams on total bout wins at five. UNI took bonus points via major decisions in the 141 and 157 pound matches along with three other decision victories to stay barely ahead of OU in the end.
"I think we're making progress," said head coach Lou Rosselli. "If we're talking about just straight up winning and losing, I was not happy about that part of it obviously. I want to win everything. I came here to OU to win. So when I see us lose close matches I have some disappointment, but I have to put myself in another lens as well and look at what we improved. This guy wrestled with more effort, he fought harder, he scored more points. Overall, I was pleased with their effort and the amount of fight they gave. But I was not happy being in a five five split, having guys out and still having a chance to win and not winning."
Willie McDougald (9-3) has been red hot since his introduction to the lineup last week and wasn't about to be slowed down on Sunday. A third period reversal for the redshirt freshman earned him a 4-3 decision over No. 33 Colin Realbuto of Northern Iowa, giving him three ranked wins in the last two weeks. He is now 4-0 in dual action and riding a seven match win streak.
In the first bout of the afternoon, No. 32 Joey Prata (11-5) fought for his second win of the weekend in a 4-1 decision. He was impressive in the top position in the third period, maintaining control throughout to give himself the riding time point and prevent his opponent Kyle Gollhofer from scoring at all in the final two periods.
At 197, No. 14 Jake Woodley (17-5) was dominant in acquiring his second win of the weekend, falling just one point short of a major decision by a score of 12-5 over UNI's John Gunderson. The All-American was in control from the beginning, racking up two take downs in the first and third periods.
No. 22 Anthony Mantanona (12-5) battled to keep the Sooners within striking distance in his match with No. 21 Lance Runyon. A second period reversal for the California kid highlighted an exciting contest that ended with Mantanona on top 9-6. He did not give up a take down in the match.
The final win of the dual for OU came in the final match as No. 28 Josh Heindselman (10-8) notched his tenth win of the season in a 3-1 decision. The redshirt sophomore drug his opponent back into the circle to secure a take down in the final seconds of the first period and that proved to be decisive in a close match.
Redshirt sophomore Cam Picklo (1-2) made his collegiate dual debut in the absence of the injured Justin Thomas.
The Sooners will have a loaded weekend of competition in McCasland Field House next weekend as well, with Little Rock and South Dakota State both on the schedule. The match with Little Rock will take place on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. CT with the South Dakota State match set to go at 3:00 p.m. CT on Sunday.
For updates, follow @OU_Wrestling on Twitter and Instagram, or like Oklahoma Wrestling on Facebook.
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