by By Micah Thompson, OU Communication Assistant
NORMAN – The No. 7 University of Oklahoma wrestling team registered seven wins in a 28-9 victory over No. 16 Iowa State Friday night in the Lloyd Noble Center. The dual was part of the Beauty and the Beast event held in conjunction with the OU women’s gymnastics team.
Three of the Sooners’ seven wins were bonus-point victories, including wins by fall by Davion Jeffries (149 pounds) and Ross Larson (285 pounds).
Ryan Millhof started off the Sooners at 125 pounds with a 6-1 decision over Kyle Larson. Millhof recorded two 2-point nearfalls in the bout’s second period before tallying a reversal in the third. The sophomore secured the riding-time point with 2:49 of riding time.
“He (Millhof) really sparks the team,” OU head coach Mark Cody said. “He has really worked hard this year and really stepped up for the team.”
In the 133-pound bout, No. 4 Cody Brewer recorded a 12-4 major decision over No. 9 Earl Hall. The redshirt senior registered a huge 4-point nearfall in the second period to make the score 10-4 after two periods. Brewer escaped to begin the third and secured the riding-time point for the major.
Sophomore Trae Blackwell tallied two takedowns, an escape and two penalty points en route to a 7-3 decision over John Meeks in the 141-pound matchup.
Freshman Jeffries (Muscogee Creek Nation) gave the Sooners a 16-0 lead in the match with a win by fall over No. 20 Gabe Moreno in 3:58 that brought the Lloyd Noble Center crowd of 3,444 to its feet. The bout was knotted at 4-4 before Jeffries secured the pin.
In the 174-pound bout, redshirt junior Matt Reed downed Lelund Weatherspoon by 6-1 decision. Reed took a 2-0 advantage after the opening period and tallied another takedown, an escape and the riding-time point in the win.
In sudden victory one, Andrew Dixon defeated Dane Pestano, 6-4, at 184 pounds. The bout was tied 4-4 at the end of regulation before Dixon registered a takedown late in the extra period.
Redshirt junior Ross Larson ended the contest with a bang, recording a win by fall in 2:54 over Quean Smith. Larson tallied two first-period takedowns and led 4-1 when the pin came.
“This win is huge,” Cody said. “We took a couple of big lumps a couple of weeks back, but we got back to the grind and most of our practices now we hold each of our guys accountable to make sure that they are working hard. That is something that our staff thought that we needed to do and it has really paid off for us. I think that we have only begun to see how much we can do when it comes to NCAA tournament time.”
Redshirt freshman Brock Wingbermuehle dropped a 10-8 decision to Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer at 157 pounds and in the 165-pound bout, No. 10 Tanner Weatherman defeated No. 8 Clark Glass by 6-2 decision. At 197 pounds, Marcus Harrington beat Brad Johnson in a 3-2 decision.
Up next, the Sooners travel to Columbia, Mo., for a dual with No. 4 Missouri on Saturday, Jan. 30, at 2:30 p.m. CT.
