From the WVU Wrestling Website


WVU Suffers Setback at Oklahoma


January 04, 2019

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Four Mountaineers came away with wins, as the West Virginia University wrestling team suffered a 26-17 setback to Oklahoma on Friday evening, at McCasland Field House, in Norman, Oklahoma.

The Mountaineers (2-8, 2-2 Big 12) picked up two bonus-point victories at 133 and 149 pounds, respectively, to take an 11-8 lead over the Sooners (2-1, 1-1 Big 12) before suffering a pair of losses by fall in the heavyweights to hand Oklahoma the team win.

"Overall, I thought the effort was good," first-year coach Tim Flynn said. "Matt and Christian looked fantastic, and I'm excited to see what they can do moving forward."

Redshirt sophomore Matthew Schmitt gave West Virginia five team points in the second bout of the evening, as he earned his third technical fall victory of the season over Oklahoma's Anthony Madrigal at 133 pounds. Schmitt, ranked 14th nationally by The Open Mat, notched a pair of takedowns and four nearfall points in the first period to take an 8-1 lead. It didn't take Schmitt long to tack on another takedown and eight more nearfall points in the second, eventually earning the tech. fall in 4 minutes, 32 seconds. With the win, Schmitt improves to 11-0 on the season and 6-0 in dual action.

Leading the Sooners 5-3 in team scoring, Oklahoma countered with a bonus-point victory of its own, as No. 8 Dom Demas won an 18-1 tech. fall over true freshman Luke Martin at 141 pounds.

Redshirt senior Christian Monserrat struck back at 149 pounds, earning his first pin of the season over Davion Jeffries (4:08) to put the Mountaineers in front at 11-8. Monserrat earned his 10th straight dual win of the season, improving to 14-3 on the year.

At 157 pounds, redshirt junior Zachary Moore dropped a 7-4 decision to Justin Thomas, as the Sooners tied the team score at 11-all entering intermission.

Sophomore Nick Kissius earned his fifth consecutive dual win with a hard-fought 5-3 decision over Jeremy Thomas at 165 pounds. Trailing 2-0 in the match, Kiussis elected to start the second on bottom, as he earned an escape and a takedown for the 3-2 advantage heading into the final frame. Kiussis then used a last-second takedown in the third for the 5-3 win, increasing the Mountaineers' lead to three at 14-11.

However, the momentum began to shift in favor of Oklahoma, as true freshman James Wujek donned a Mountaineer singlet for the first time in his young career at 174 pounds. Wujek fell to Anthony Mantanona in 1:27, while classmate Jackson Moomau fell to Kayne MacCallum in 2:04 at 184 pounds.

Down 23-14 in team scoring with two bouts remaining, redshirt freshman Noah Adams dropped a 5-3 decision at 197 pounds before junior Brandon Ngati capped the evening with a 5-1 decision over Jake Boyd at heavyweight.

Looking ahead, West Virginia will head to Raleigh, North Carolina, for a 1 p.m. dual against the Wolfpack on Sunday, Jan. 13. NC State, which finished fifth at the 2018 NCAA Tournament, holds a slim 3-2 advantage in the all-time series.

Oklahoma 26, West Virginia 17
125: Christian Moody (OU) dec. Joey Thomas (WVU), 8-3
133: No. 14/18/- Matthew Schmitt (WVU) tech. fall Anthony Madrigal (OU), 20-1 [TF – 4:32]
141: No. 9/8/8 Dom Demas (OU) tech. fall Luke Martin (WVU), 18-1 [TF – 5:57]
149: Christian Monserrat (WVU) wins by fall Davion Jeffries (OU), F 4:08
157: Justin Thomas (OU) dec. Zachary Moore (WVU), 7-4
165: Nick Kiussis (WVU) dec. Jeremy Thomas (OU), 5-3
174: Anthony Mantanona (OU) wins by fall James Wujek (WVU), F 1:27
184: Kayne MacCallum (OU) wins by fall Jackson Moomau (WVU), F 2:04
197: Jake Woodley (OU) dec. Noah Adams (WVU), 5-3
HWT: Brandon Ngati (WVU) dec. Jake Boyd (OU), 5-1

Rankings are listed as follows: The Open Mat/FloWrestling/Intermat

For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.


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