by By Micah Thompson, soonersports.com
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The No. 15 Oklahoma wrestling team used three bonus-point victories to down No. 18 Northern Iowa, 27-13, on Sunday afternoon inside the McLeod Center.
The Sooners won five of the first six bouts, including two victories over higher ranked opponents, to improve to 9-5 on the season.
Christian Moody started off the match with a 13-4 major decision over UNI’s Jay Schwarm in the 125-pound bout. Moody tallied two takedowns in the opening period, before recording a reversal and a 4-point nearfall in the second to hold a 10-2 advantage through two periods. The redshirt freshman tacked on a takedown and the riding-time point in the final frame for the bonus-point win and to give the Sooners an early 4-0 lead.
In the 141-pound bout, Mike Longo secured his 10th consecutive win with a 16-0 technical fall over Jake Hodges in 6:14. Longo held a 2-0 advantage after the opening frame and tacked on an escape, a takedown and a 4-point nearfall in the second for a 9-0 advantage. The junior registered a reversal to start the third and secured the technical fall with a 4-point nearfall.
At 149 pounds, No. 13 Davion Jeffries (Muscogee Creek Nation) upset No. 7 Max Thomsen, 7-2. The bout was scoreless at the end of the first period, but Jeffries escaped and added a takedown in the second for a 3-1 advantage. The sophomore started the final period on top and turned Thomsen for a 4-point nearfall to secure the major-decision victory and give Oklahoma a 15-3 advantage in the team score.
No. 11 Clark Glass registered a 3-0 decision over Paden Moore in the 157-pound matchup. Glass struck first with a takedown in the opening frame and added an escape to start the second for the only points of the match.
In the 165-pound bout, No. 14 Yoanse Mejias was electric, recording a win by fall in 2:03 over No. 8 Bryce Steiert in 2:03. Mejias struck first with a takedown, but Steiert escaped to make the score 2-1. Mejias threw Steiert to his back and secured the pin to put the Sooners up 21-3.
The Sooners scored their final six points at heavyweight, as UNI forfeited.
At 133 pounds, Trae Blackwell dropped a 7-0 decision to No. 10 Josh Alber. and No. 14 Taylor Lujan downed DaWaylon Barnes by 17-7 major decision in the 174-pound bout.
Matt Reed lost to No. 14 Drew Foster, 10-3, at 184 pounds, and No. 19 Brad Johnson dropped an 8-5 decision to Jacob Holschlag in the 197-pound matchup.
The Sooners return home on Friday, Feb. 10 at Noon for a Big 12 contest with Wyoming.
