by NORMAN – Justin Thomas won the final bout of the day in a thriller to lift the Oklahoma wrestling team to a 20-18 victory over North Dakota State Sunday inside McCasland Field House.
After besting the Bison in the final dual match of the season, OU (10-6, 5-3 Big 12) closes out the year on a five-match winning streak.
With OU trailing 18-17 headed into the final bout of the night, No. 20 Thomas took the mat to face No. 19 Luke Weber in the 157 pounds bout. Weber struck first with a takedown, but Thomas escaped to trail 2-1 at the end of the first.
Thomas started the second with a reversal to pull ahead 3-2, but Weber leveled the match at 3-all with an escape of his own. Thomas tallied a takedown before Weber escaped. Thomas got another takedown to close out the second with a 7-4 lead. In the final period, Weber escaped, then was awarded a penalty point to cut Thomas’ lead to 7-6, but the Sooner rode Weber out to win his bout and the match for OU.
“[Assistant Coach Hunter Stieber] came up to me and told me not to worry about the match score but to just focus on my wrestling,” said Thomas. “I was able to put it together and that is how I won the dual. We are just going to keep rolling into Big 12 and then nationals and see what goes on.”
Elsewhere in the match, OU picked up wins at 133, 141, 149, 184 and 197. Freshman Anthony Madrigal (133) got his second win over a ranked opponent with a 52 decision against No. 16 Cam Sykora.
No. 18 Dom Demas (141) notched his fourth consecutive victory, in a 20-5 tech fall against Sawyer Degen, which was also good for his fourth straight win in bonus points. In the bout, Demas tallied six takedowns and two two-point nearfalls to go with one escape. Additionally, he was awarded two penalty points and earned a point for riding time. Demas was never taken down in the bout, with Degen scoring his only points as escapes.
At 149, senior Davion Jeffries (Mvskoke Creek) earned a win in his final home match, downing Jaden VanMaanen 9-2. Jeffries took a 3-2 lead after one period, using a takedown and an escape to take the lead after VanMaanen struck first with a takedown. Jeffries added two takedowns in the second to go up 6-2, then scored another takedown in the third for an 8-2 advantage before riding time was added.
Graduate transfer Kayne MacCallum also got a win his final home match at OU, shutting out NDSU’s Michael Otomo 7-0 in the 184 bout. MacCallum got a takedown in the first period before adding a reversal in the second. With a 4-0 lead heading into the final period, MacCallum added another takedown and earned a point for riding time to close out Otomo.
“It’s always big for seniors to win on senior night,” said head coach Lou Rosselli. “It is there last memories at McCasland. I was excited to see Kanye win. He has been struggling a little bit but he came through and got the win for his team today.”
No. 20 Jake Woodley (197) defeated Cordell Eaton 5-2. Woodley used a takedown in the first and an escape in the second to take a 3-0 lead into the final period. Eaton escaped to start the third, but Woodley quickly took him down for a 5-1 lead. Eaton escaped again, but Woodley rode him out to win.
Christian Moody (125) suffered a narrow 3-1 loss to No. 9 Brent Fleetwood in sudden-victory overtime. At 165, OU’s Jeremy Thomas was pinned by No. 19 Andrew Fogarty of NDSU and Anthony Mantanona was defeated by Lorenzo De La Riva by fall at 174.
Up Next
The Sooners head to Tulsa for the Big 12 Wrestling Championships March 8-10 at the BOK Center. OU then readies for the NCAA Championships held in Pittsburgh, Pa., March 21-23.
