by By Micah Thompson, soonersports.com
TULSA, Okla. – The Oklahoma wrestling team secured a second-place finish at the 2017 Big 12 Championship, held inside the BOK Center.
Seven Sooners punched their ticket to the NCAA Championships in Christian Moody (125 pounds), Mike Longo (141 pounds), Davion Jeffries (149 pounds), Clark Glass (157 pounds), Matt Reed (174 pounds), Brad Johnson (197 pounds) and Ross Larson (285 pounds).
Oklahoma finished the tournament with 93.5 team points. Oklahoma State topped the leaderboard with 176.5 points and South Dakota State placed third with 90.5.
At 149 pounds, Davion Jeffries (Muscogee Creek Nation) took second place, recording a 2-1 mark at the championship. In the finals, Jeffries dropped a 7-4 decision to Anthony Collica of Oklahoma State. Collica secured two takedowns in the opening period and lead 4-1 entering the second frame. Jeffries started the second on top and secured two nearfall points but trailed 5-3. Jeffries escaped to start the third, but Collica added a takedown at the buzzer to seal his win.
The Sooners’ came out firing on all cylinders in the morning session as the five wrestlers competing went nine-for-10 and all secured spots in the national tournament. Longo, Glass, Johnson and Larson each took third place in their division while Moody placed fourth.
The 49 at-large selections for the NCAA Championships will be announced on Tuesday, March 7. The national tournament is set for March 16-18 in St. Louis, Mo., at the Scottrade Center.
