Oklahoma City University Athletics

OKLAHOMA CITY – Menlo (Calif.) clinched its victory over Oklahoma City University on Gary Nelson’s pin at 184 pounds Sunday in a matchup of top 10-ranked teams in NAIA wrestling at Abe Lemons Arena.

Nelson stuck Andrew Pontikes of the Stars in 6:29 as No. 2 Menlo prevailed 26-15. Tenth-ranked OCU also knocked off Grand Canyon (Ariz.) 32-12 and Neosho County (Kan.) 37-9 in the Stars’ first duals of the season.

Dillon Blackmon gave OCU an opportunity in the final match with a 10-5 win over Greg Alvarez at 184. Justin Blumer sparked OCU with a pin at 133 in 2:04 over Aaron Garcia, then Jeremy Garner cut the Stars’ deficit to 14-9 with a 7-2 win over Christian Martinez at 141.

Menlo answered with wins at 149 and 157. Nik Turner answered for OCU with a 3-2 victory at 165 over Sabas Cruz with a third-period takedown. The 165-pound bout featured fifth-ranked Turner and sixth-ranked Cruz.

“It’s simple,” OCU coach Archie Randall said. “You have to have all your horses, and we didn’t. We had a couple of matches that were decided late that if we had kept our intensity, it might have been different. We wrestled tough, but it’s early, and we hope to turn it around later in the season.”

Against Grand Canyon, Mark Meyer nailed a fall vs. Jack Porter in 1:14 at 165. Garner also had a major decision 10-1 vs. Austin Moore at 141, and Blackmon picked up a 17-2 technical fall vs. Adam Barnett at 184.

Against Neosho County, Corey Johnson, Blumer, Meyer and Blackmon notched pins. Meyer, a freshman from Midwest City, Okla., caught David Butler with a leg cradle to finish him off in 1:03.