Seth Duckworth
From OU Athletics Communication-William Soulé
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Oklahoma wrestling placed four on the podium at the 2021 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Saturday as Jake Woodley (4th), Darrien Roberts (5th), Mitch Moore (6th), and Justin Thomas (7th) all placed for the Sooners (2-1, 2-0 Big 12) in a field that featured 10 NWCA ranked programs.
“We won some close matches and there were some matches that we dropped that we shouldn’t have,” said head coach Lou Rosselli. “At the end of the day we have to get better and bring more intensity to practice and to competitions. If we can do that I think we’ll keep making progress.”
No. 6 Jake Woodley (11-2) came into the day as the only Sooner remaining in the championship bracket after going 3-0 on Friday. The redshirt senior dropped his opening match in a top-10 contest with Nebraska’s Eric Schultz.
He would bounce back quickly, earning a 5-4 decision victory in his next bout thanks to a takedown with under a minute to go. He was defeated by No. 13 Thomas Penola of Purdue in a tight match that was only decided by one point.
No. 18 Darrien Roberts (11-3) won three of his four bouts on Saturday en route to a fifth-place finish. The highlight of his day came in the form of a second period pin (4:59) of Utah Valley’s Jacob Armstrong with just one second left in the period.
It was the second pin of the season for Roberts and the fourth of his career. It was also the second time the two had faced off this tournament, the first being their opening match on Friday.
At 149 pounds, No. 16 Mitch Moore (8-5) earned sixth-place in a loaded weight class that featured more top ranked wrestlers than any other division. Moore took down one of those ranked opponents when he earned an 11-7 decision victory over No. 15 Legend Lamer of Cal Poly in his second match on Saturday.
In the fifth-place match against No. 6 Jaden Abas of Stanford, Moore was well on his way to victory up 12-3 when he was forced to withdraw due to injury and subsequently took sixth place.
“Mitch Moore was on fire, beat a top-15 guy and had another he was beating before he had the injury,” said Rosselli. “He did some really good things today and really brought the intensity we are looking for.”
No. 17 Justin Thomas (6-3) won his opening match of day two in the dying embers of his bout with No. 14 Hunter Willits of Oregon State. He flipped the Beavers’ wrestler on his back with just three seconds remaining to earn a takedown and a four point near-fall to secure the victory.
He then lost his next match with No. 16 Jacob Wright of Wyoming, but bounced back quickly with another dramatic win. Down a point to Navy’s Andrew Cerniglia coming into the third period and starting on top, Thomas released his opponent only to take him down again to grab enough points to come out on top. The victory earned him a seventh-place finish at the tournament.
Joe Grello (2-3) only had one match on day two for the Sooners, wrestling against No. 17 Philip Conigliaro of Harvard. He would lose in a 4-0 decision.
The team finished 11th with 57.5 points despite not fielding a full roster.
The Sooners now fix their sights on their first home dual of the season with Bedlam in Lloyd Noble Center coming up next Sunday. Sooners fans can purchase tickets via SoonerSports.com/buytickets or by calling the athletics ticket office at (405) 325-2424.
FINAL RESULTS
125
Redshirt Freshman Jack Creamer
· Champ. Round 1 – No. 15 Devin Schroder (Purdue) won by tech fall over Jack Creamer (Oklahoma), (TF 17-2)
· Cons. Round 1 – Antonio Lorenzo (Cal Poly) won by major decision over Jack Creamer (Oklahoma), (Maj. 14-1)
141
Redshirt Junior Zack Zeamer
· Champ. Round 1 – No. 8 Chad Red (Nebraska) won by decision over Zack Zeamer (Oklahoma), (Dec. 8-4)
· Cons. Round 1 – Cole Matin (Michigan) won by decision over Zack Zeamer (Oklahoma), (Dec. 6-2)
149
Senior Mitch Moore – Sixth Place
· Champ. Round 1 – Mitch Moore (Oklahoma) won by fall over Sam Turner (Nebraska-Kearney), (Fall 1:39)
· Champ. Round 2 – Mitch Moore (Oklahoma) won in tie-breaker – 1 over Cory Crooks (Oregon State), (TB-2 2-1)
· Champ. Round 3 – No. 2 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) won by major decision over Mitch Moore (Oklahoma), (Maj. 12-0)
· Cons. Round 4 – Mitch Moore (Oklahoma) won by decision over Christopher Sandoval (Northern Colorado), (Dec. 13-8)
· Cons. Round 5 – Mitch Moore (Oklahoma) won by decision over No. 15 Legend Lamer (Cal Poly), (Dec. 11-7)
· Cons. Semi Finals – No. 11 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) won by decision over Mitch Moore (Oklahoma), (Dec. 3-2)
· 5th Place Match – No. 6 Justin Abas (Stanford) won by medical forfeit over Mitch Moore (Oklahoma), (MFF 4:33)
157
Graduate Student Justin Thomas – Seventh Place
· Champ. Round 1 – Justin Thomas (Oklahoma) won by tech fall over Jaxon Garoutte (Utah Valley), (TF 19-2)
· Champ. Round 2 – Dazjon Casto (The Citadel) won by decision over Justin Thomas (Oklahoma), (Dec. 3-1)
· Cons. Round 1 – Justin Thomas (Oklahoma) won by decision over Trevor Tarsi (Harvard), (Dec. 8-2)
· Cons. Round 2 – Justin Thomas (Oklahoma) won by major decision over Adam Santoro (Cornell), (Maj. 9-0)
· Cons. Round 3 – Justin Thomas (Oklahoma) won by decision over No. 14 Hunter Willits (Oregon State), (Dec. 9-3)
· Cons. Round 4 – No. 16 Jacob Wright (Wyoming) won by decision over Justin Thomas (Oklahoma), (Dec. 5-3)
· 7th Place Match – Justin Thomas (Oklahoma) won by decision over Andrew Cerniglia (Navy), (Dec. 8-7)
165
Graduate Student Joe Grello
· Champ. Round 1 – Matthew Malcom (Nebraska-Kearney) won by decision over Joe Grello (Oklahoma), (Dec. 8-2)
· Cons. Round 1 – Joe Grello (Oklahoma) won by decision over Tanner Cook (SDSU), (Dec. 4-1)
· Cons. Round 2 – Joe Grello (Oklahoma) won by decision over Cooper Voorhees (Wyoming), (Dec. 8-3)
· Cons. Round 3 – No. 17 Philip Conigliaro (Harvard) won by decision over Joe Grello (Oklahoma), (Dec. 4-0)
174
Redshirt Senior Anthony Mantanona
· Champ. Round 1 – Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma) won by fall over Billy Higgins (Nebraska-Kearney), (Fall 1:32)
· Champ. Round 2 – No. 15 Gerrit Nijenhuis (Purdue) won by decision over Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma), (Dec. 8-6)
· Cons. Round 2 – Albert Urias (CSU – Bakersfield) won by decision over Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma), (Dec. 6-4)
184
Junior Darrien Roberts – Fifth Place
· Champ. Round 1 – Darrien Roberts (Oklahoma) won by decision over Jacob Armstrong (Utah Valley), (Dec. 4-2)
· Champ. Round 2 – Darrien Roberts (Oklahoma) won by decision over Luke Rada (Harvard), (Dec. 5-1)
· Champ. Round 3 – Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) won by decision over Darrien Roberts (Oklahoma), (Dec. 3-2)
· Cons. Round 3 – Darrien Roberts (Oklahoma) won in sudden victory over Austin Eldredge (Nebraska-Kearney), (SV-1 10-8)
· Cons. Round 4 – Darrien Roberts (Oklahoma) won by fall over Jacob Armstrong (Utah Valley), (Fall 4:59)
· Cons. Semi Finals – No. 20 Jonathan Loew (Cornell) won by decision over Darrien Roberts (Oklahoma), (Dec. 5-2)
· 5th Place Match – Darrien Roberts (Oklahoma) won by medical forfeit over No. 23 Travis Stefanik (Princeton), (MFF)
197
Redshirt Senior Jake Woodley – Fourth Place
· Champ. Round 1 – Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) won by fall over Connor Rossi (Sacred Heart), (Fall 2:22)
· Champ. Round 2 – Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) won by major decision over Jarrad Dixon (Oregon State), (Maj. 16-6)
· Champ. Round 3 – Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) won by decision over No. 21 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell), (Dec. 6-2)
· Champ. Semi Finals – No. 10 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) won by decision over Jake Woodley (Oklahoma), (Dec. 6-2)
· Cons. Semi Finals – Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) won by decision over Luke Stout (Princeton), (Dec. 5-4)
285
Redshirt Sophomore Josh Heindselman
· Champ. Round 1 – Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma) won by decision over Jayden Woodruff (Utah Valley), (Dec. 4-1)
· Champ. Round 2 – No. 21 Gary Traub (Oregon State) won in sudden victory over Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma), (SV-1 3-1)
· Cons. Round 1 – Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma) won by decision over Jacl Delgarbino (Princeton), (Dec. 4-2)
· Cons. Round 2 – Riley Smith (Navy) won by decision over Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma), (Dec. 3-2)
