OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University benefited from three forfeits and two pins in a 40-10 rout of Newman (Kan.) on Friday afternoon at Abe Lemons Arena.
OCU's Cole Nelson and Nik Turner recorded falls. The Stars, ranked 13th in NAIA wrestling, completed the season 5-10 in duals.
“We wrestled really well with the exception of two juniors,” OCU coach Archie Randall said. “We need them this time of year. That inconsistency will hurt us at the national tournament. We have a week to get the bugs out before regionals. It was nice to finish with a win. We have all our starters in our lineup.”
At 157 pounds, Turner picked up five takedowns and an escape before putting Ryan Spencer to his back with 22 seconds left in the second period. Turner, a junior from Norman, Okla., finished him off four seconds later to complete the fall in 4:42.
“Nik did a good job,” Randall said. “He pinned his opponent by snaking him. We had been working on that all week long. Nik doesn't normally pin people, so he was fired up.”
Nelson flipped Jacob Weaver over his head to finish off the pin at 184. Nelson, a freshman from Lakeside, Ariz., ended his match in 6:02.
“Weaver got too high over the top, and we scooped his head,” Randall said. “Their error, our luck. It's stuff that we work on. There was nowhere for Weaver to go on top.”
Mark Meyer cruised to a 7-2 win at 165 for OCU. Meyer, a sophomore from Midwest City, Okla., took the lead in the second period after giving up a first-period takedown. Meyer recorded an escape and a takedown, then turned Austin Workman to his back.
Meyer started working for a fall at 1:08 left in the second period, and after briefly letting Workman off the mat, settled for the near fall with 36 seconds remaining in the period.
At 174, Andrew Pontikes rolled to an 8-0 victory. Pontikes, a sophomore from Elgin, Okla., had just a first-period takedown through two periods, then exploded for a reversal and near fall out of the down position to start the third.
“Andrew hit a Stand-up Peterson,” Randall said. “That's one of the techniques he brought from high school. That was the difference in the match. He put the match out of reach.”
Jake Mabry finished the dual for OCU with a 10-9 victory at 197. Mabry, a junior from Gig Harbor, Wash., edged Tyler Hasenbank on riding time. Mabry took the lead 7-5 on a second-period takedown, then fell behind 9-8 on an escape in the third.
In the third, Mabry tied the match 9-9 with 1:10 remaining then avoided giving up a score to close out the match.
“Mabry did a good job finishing the match, but we weren't sure what he was doing,” Randall said.
OCU will compete in the NAIA Central Qualifying Group Tournament on Feb. 19 in Oskaloosa, Iowa looking to qualify more individuals for the NAIA Championships on March 4-6 at Abe Lemons Arena.
OKLAHOMA CITY 40
NEWMAN 10
285: Corey Johnson, OCU, by forfeit
125: Kidd Gomez, OCU, by forfeit
133: Cameron Ream, OCU, by forfeit
141: Brent Fisher, NU, maj. dec. Jeremy Garner, 11-3
149: Mitch Arnold, NU, pinned Will Shelton, 2:57
157: Nik Turner, OCU, pinned Ryan Spencer, 4:42
165: Mark Meyer, OCU, dec. Austin Workman, 7-2
174: Andrew Pontikes, OCU, maj. dec. Blake Fullbright, 8-0
184: Cole Nelson, OCU, pinned Jacob Weaver, 6:02
197: Jake Mabry, OCU, dec. Tyler Hasenbank, 10-9
