Owrestle
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — The Oklahoma wrestling team opened up the Roger Kish era with a 29-11 win over Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant Thursday night.
The Sooners (1-0) won their first three matches to take an 11-0 lead in the dual, a lead they would hold on to until the final whistle. Five of OU’s seven wins on the evening came with bonus points. The night was highlighted by Stephen Buchanan’s highly anticipated OU debut, which saw the No. 2 Wyoming transfer pick up a win via 21-3 tech fall (7:00).
In the first match of the contest, sophomore Conrad Hendriksen set the tone with a thrilling, 9-5 decision win over Central Michigan’s Sean Spidle in comeback fashion. The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga transfer trailed in the final minute of the third period before taking control and racking up seven nearfall points.
At 133 pounds, redshirt senior Jace Koelzer was the next starter to make his Sooner debut. The No. 24 Northern Colorado transfer secured two quick takedowns and capped off a dominant performance with a 17-2 tech fall (6:03) victory over CMU’s Vince Perez.
No. 10 Mosha Schwartz picked up his first win of the season via 9-5 decision. Schwartz is in his second season starting for the Sooners at 141 pounds after bumping up a weight class in 2022.
In the 149-pound bout, No. 15 Willie McDougald faced off against the highest ranked Chippewa in No. 13 Corbyn Munson. Tied in the final seconds, Munson earned a three-point takedown to pull out a 4-2 decision over the Sooner to put Central Michigan on the board, 11-3.
CMU would cut into the deficit again as the 157-pound matchup went in favor of No. 15 Johhny Lovett. Lovett defeated OU’s John Wiley by way of a 17-6 major decision after recording five takedowns. The win brought the Chippewas back to life, making it an 11-7 contest.
Redshirt senior Cael Carlson got the Sooners back on track, picking up bonus points in an 11-3 major decision win over CMU’s Tracy Hubbard in the 165-pound bout.
The second and final ranked matchup between both sides came at 174 pounds, where CMU’s No. 18 Alex Cramer defeated OU’s No. 13 Tate Picklo via a 16-5 major decision. CMU would pull within four points again at 15-11, but the Sooners went on to dominate the final three bouts.
The night ended with Giuseppe Hoose defeating CMU’s Cody Brenner by a 13-2 major decision at 184 pounds, followed by back-to-back Buchanan and Josh Heindselman tech falls in their respective weight classes over CMU’s Cameron Wood and Bryan Caves.
The Sooners will travel to East Lansing, Mich. next to participate in the Michigan State Open on Saturday. The Sooners collected nine top-five finishes at last year’s MSU Open, including three wrestlers grabbing silver.
