Sooners Notch Big 12 Road Win vs. Missouri, 25-10
Oklahoma wins second Big 12 match of the season for the first time since 2002-03 season.
Junior Jeff James
Feb. 6, 2010
NORMAN, Okla. - The ninth-ranked University of Oklahoma wrestling team completed a Big 12 road sweep Saturday evening with a dominating 25-10 victory over No. 17 Missouri in Columbia.
The Sooners, who defeated Nebraska by a 22-15 final Thursday evening, improved to 14-2-1 on the year and 2-1-1 in the Big 12. Missouri falls to 7-5 and 1-1 in the Big 12.
"This was the best team effort of the season," head coach Jack Spates said. "Even in our losses, we were competitive. I couldn't be prouder of our guys for closing out this week with another Big 12 victory."
It marks the first time since the 2002-03 campaign Oklahoma has recorded two Big 12 victories in a season. The win was also the fifth against a top-20 team this season.
"This year has been all about restoring attitudes and our guys buying into what we are teaching them," Spates said. "We have a youthful group that has grown up fast. Our assistants have done a fabulous job and it is all coming together."
Missouri's only lead of the night came after the opening match at heavyweight when No. 7 Mark Ellis defeated No. 12 Nathan Fernandez, 3-1.
Eighteenth-ranked freshman Jarrod Patterson quickly grabbed momentum for Oklahoma with a 14-5 major decision win over 125-pound Eric Wilson to give OU a 4-3 lead. The Cushing, Okla., native posted six takedowns to improve to 23-9 on the year.
Kendric Maple (28-10) then dominated the 133-pound match with a 16-0 technical fall over Nathan McCormick. The true-freshman recorded three takedowns and three nearfalls against the Tiger.
Zack Bailey (20-5) made it a 12-3 Sooner lead with a 3-0 victory over Todd Schavrien at 141 pounds. The third-ranked Sooner posted an escape in the second and was awarded a penalty point to seal the win.
At 149 pound, third-ranked Kyle Terry bested Scott O'Donnell by a 12-2 final with four takedowns and three minutes 28 seconds of riding time. Terry, now 21-2 this season, has recorded 31-straight dual wins dating back to last season.
Shane Vernon, ranked twelfth, increased OU's lead to 19-3 with a 5-2 win over Patrick Wright at 157 pounds. The Broken Arrow, Okla., product improved to 17-4 on the season and 3-0 versus Big 12 competition this year.
Tiger Nick Marable, ranked fifth, stopped the bleeding for Missouri by posting an 8-5 decision over No. 16 Tyler Caldwell at 165 pounds. Caldwell (23-10) could only muster four escapes in the loss.
Jeff James, ranked 18th, pushed OU's team lead to 22-6 with a 7-5 win over Dorian Henderson. James (20-6) posted two takedowns and was awarded two minutes 38 seconds of riding time in the win.
No. 3 Max Askren then handed Erich Schmidtke a 15-5 major decision loss before Sooner Eric Lapotsky ended the evening by recording a 7-1 decision over Brent Haynes at 197 pounds. The sixth-ranked Sooner improved to 19-5 on the season.
Oklahoma will break from Big 12 competition next week when it hosts Chattanooga next Friday, Feb. 12 in the third annual "Beauty and the Beast" event. Competing alongside the OU women's gymnastics team, the match will begin at 7 p.m.
OKLAHOMA VS. MISSOURI RESULTS
Columbia, Mo.
HWT: Mark Ellis (MU) dec. Nathan Fernandez (OU), 3-1
125: Jarrod Patterson (OU) maj. dec. Eric Wilson (MU), 14-5
133: Kendric Maple (OU) tech. fall Nathan McCormick (MU), 16-0
141: Zack Bailey (OU) dec. Todd Schavrien (MU), 3-0
149: Kyle Terry (OU) maj. dec. Scott O'Donnell (MU), 12-2
157: Shane Vernon (OU) dec. Patrick Wright (MU), 5-2
165: Nick Marable (MU) dec. Tyler Caldwell (OU), 8-5
174: Jeff James (OU) dec. Dorian Henderson (MU), 7-5
184: Max Askren (MU) maj. dec. Erich Schmidtke (OU), 15-5
197: Eric Lapotsky (OU) dec. Brent Haynes (MU), 7-1
