Completed Event: Wrestling at #5 Oklahoma State on January 11, 2026 , Loss , 0, to, 37
Final
Wrestling
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at #5 Oklahoma State
37
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Sooners Learn Seeding for NCAA Championships
March 09, 2022 | Wrestling
NORMAN - The NCAA Wrestling Championships selection committee revealed the brackets and seeds for the 2022 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on Wednesday evening. Oklahoma will send nine wrestlers to the tournament, scheduled to be held inside Little Caesar's Arena in Detroit from March 17-19.
The nine wrestlers will be the most the Sooners have sent to the NCAA Championships since 2012 and the most under head coach Lou Rosselli since the program sent eight in 2017. The team rode those nine qualifiers to a second place finish in the 2022 Big 12 Championship. Of those nine, six out performed their seed in the conference tournament to punch their tickets to Detroit.
Leading the way for OU are Justin Thomas and Jake Woodley, who both earned No. 13 seeds from the selection committee. It is the fourth career NCAA tournament qualification for both wrestlers. Thomas booked his spot by wrestling to a fourth-place finish in the final Big 12 Championship of his six-year career as a Sooner. He paces the active roster with 93 career wins and will face Pitt's Elijah Cleary in the first round of the 157-pound bracket.
At 197, Woodley will go into the weekend looking to repeat a historic performance at last year's championship when he became the lowest seeded wrestler in NCAA history to capture All-American honors. He did so as the No. 26 seed. He will take on Navy's Jacob Koser in the first round with the potential to set up a second round rematch with Michigan's Patrick Brucki, whom Woodley defeated 4-2 in sudden victory in the finals of the Michigan State Open at the start of the season.
Redshirt senior 174-pounder Anthony Mantanona, coming off his third-place finish at Big 12s, grabbed a No. 15 seed. The former All-American comes into the tournament having won his final four matches in Tulsa last weekend to earn his third NCAA qualification. One of those four wins came against Lance Runyon of Northern Iowa, who will be his first round opponent in Detroit.
Big 12 finalist at 149 pounds Willie McDougald captured a No. 16 seed in his first career NCAA Championships appearance and he also faces a familiar foe in the first round in Iowa State's Jarrett Degen. The redshirt freshman McDougald has beaten the Cyclone wrestler on two occasions this season with both bouts being decided by two or less points, making for an exciting matchup in round one.
Joey Prata will represent the Sooners as the No. 19 seed in the 125 pound bracket after his fourth-place finish at the Big 12 Championship. He will square off with No. 14 seed Jakob Camacho of NC State. The pair have wrestled twice before, both during the 2019-20 season when Prata was at Virginia Tech. He comes into the tournament having won eight of his last 10 matches.
At 133 pounds, Tony Madrigal earned the No. 23 seed thanks to a sixth-place finish at Big 12s. It will be his third trip to the NCAA Championships and he is scheduled to face Chris Cannon of Northwestern who sits in the No. 10 spot.
A late season addition to the lineup at 184, Keegan Moore battled his way to NCAA qualification by grabbing fourth at the Big 12 Championship when only four automatic qualifying spots were available. He defeated Dakota Geer of Oklahoma State in the consolation semifinals for the second time in as many weeks with a ticket to Detroit on the line. His first round matchup will pit him against the No. 6 seeded Trey Munoz of Oregon State.
Jacob Butler and Josh Heindselman both earned No. 30 seeds in their respective brackets. The redshirt junior Butler booked his first career trip to NCAAs after taking sixth-place in the 141-pound weight class at Big 12s as an unseeded wrestler. He tied for the highest finish of any of the unseeded competitors at the tournament and was the only one to earn qualification. He will face Sebastian Rivera of Rutgers in round one.
OU's 285-pounder Heindselman wrestled his way to a sixth-place that gave him his second career trip to the NCAA Championships. His opening round match will come against two-time All-American Tony Cassioppi of Iowa.
For more information on the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championship fans can go to the NCAA website. The Championship will be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks throughout the weekend.
The nine wrestlers will be the most the Sooners have sent to the NCAA Championships since 2012 and the most under head coach Lou Rosselli since the program sent eight in 2017. The team rode those nine qualifiers to a second place finish in the 2022 Big 12 Championship. Of those nine, six out performed their seed in the conference tournament to punch their tickets to Detroit.
Leading the way for OU are Justin Thomas and Jake Woodley, who both earned No. 13 seeds from the selection committee. It is the fourth career NCAA tournament qualification for both wrestlers. Thomas booked his spot by wrestling to a fourth-place finish in the final Big 12 Championship of his six-year career as a Sooner. He paces the active roster with 93 career wins and will face Pitt's Elijah Cleary in the first round of the 157-pound bracket.
At 197, Woodley will go into the weekend looking to repeat a historic performance at last year's championship when he became the lowest seeded wrestler in NCAA history to capture All-American honors. He did so as the No. 26 seed. He will take on Navy's Jacob Koser in the first round with the potential to set up a second round rematch with Michigan's Patrick Brucki, whom Woodley defeated 4-2 in sudden victory in the finals of the Michigan State Open at the start of the season.
Redshirt senior 174-pounder Anthony Mantanona, coming off his third-place finish at Big 12s, grabbed a No. 15 seed. The former All-American comes into the tournament having won his final four matches in Tulsa last weekend to earn his third NCAA qualification. One of those four wins came against Lance Runyon of Northern Iowa, who will be his first round opponent in Detroit.
Big 12 finalist at 149 pounds Willie McDougald captured a No. 16 seed in his first career NCAA Championships appearance and he also faces a familiar foe in the first round in Iowa State's Jarrett Degen. The redshirt freshman McDougald has beaten the Cyclone wrestler on two occasions this season with both bouts being decided by two or less points, making for an exciting matchup in round one.
Joey Prata will represent the Sooners as the No. 19 seed in the 125 pound bracket after his fourth-place finish at the Big 12 Championship. He will square off with No. 14 seed Jakob Camacho of NC State. The pair have wrestled twice before, both during the 2019-20 season when Prata was at Virginia Tech. He comes into the tournament having won eight of his last 10 matches.
At 133 pounds, Tony Madrigal earned the No. 23 seed thanks to a sixth-place finish at Big 12s. It will be his third trip to the NCAA Championships and he is scheduled to face Chris Cannon of Northwestern who sits in the No. 10 spot.
A late season addition to the lineup at 184, Keegan Moore battled his way to NCAA qualification by grabbing fourth at the Big 12 Championship when only four automatic qualifying spots were available. He defeated Dakota Geer of Oklahoma State in the consolation semifinals for the second time in as many weeks with a ticket to Detroit on the line. His first round matchup will pit him against the No. 6 seeded Trey Munoz of Oregon State.
Jacob Butler and Josh Heindselman both earned No. 30 seeds in their respective brackets. The redshirt junior Butler booked his first career trip to NCAAs after taking sixth-place in the 141-pound weight class at Big 12s as an unseeded wrestler. He tied for the highest finish of any of the unseeded competitors at the tournament and was the only one to earn qualification. He will face Sebastian Rivera of Rutgers in round one.
OU's 285-pounder Heindselman wrestled his way to a sixth-place that gave him his second career trip to the NCAA Championships. His opening round match will come against two-time All-American Tony Cassioppi of Iowa.
For more information on the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championship fans can go to the NCAA website. The Championship will be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks throughout the weekend.
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