In its first competition of the season, the Oklahoma wrestling team had three wrestlers grab silver and nine of its 16 grapplers finished in the top half of their respective weight classes at the Michigan State Open on Saturday.
"We had a very solid day. We have some work to do but I liked what I saw," OU head coach Lou Rosselli said. "Effort was good, attitudes were good. Our guys expect to win."
No. 15 Josh Heindselman clinched his second consecutive runner-up finish at the MSU Open. In his first match, the heavyweight defeated Cleveland State's Justin Jeackin in dominant fashion. Then Heindselman cruised to the final with a win by major decision in the quarterfinal and decision in the semifinal before falling to No. 3 Mason Parris of Michigan.
Following a first-place finish at last year's event, No. 15 Joey Prata logged two decision wins Saturday and a tiebreaker victory to advance to the 125-pound final for a top-15 matchup with No. 12 Malik Heinselman. Knotted up going into the third period, Heinselman escaped from the bottom and strengthened his lead to 5-3, sending Prata to a runner-up finish.
In his Oklahoma debut, Mosha Schwartz secured a spot in the 141-pound championship after a bye, decision, fall and a medical forfeit. Locked in a battle, Schwartz dropped the final due to a stalling call in the first sudden victory period.
Coming off a runner-up placement at the 2021 MSU Open, Mitch Moore placed third in his final trip to the Open. In his first bout Saturday, he dominated Illinois' Jake Harrier with a 14-1 major decision. Moore responded to a sudden victory loss in the semifinal with a fall over Central Michigan's Mason Shrader and a 3-1 decision over Utah Valley's Isaiah Delgado on the back side of the bracket.
No. 23 Jacob Butler tallied three falls, all under 1:30, in the 157-pound division but lost by decision to Northwestern's Trevor Chumbley. The Elgin, Okla., product wrestled through the consolation bracket and finished third.
In his first showing for the Crimson and Cream, No. 24 Wyatt Henson toppled Cleveland State's Jake Manley via a 17-5 major decision. He went on to clinch the 133-pound bronze medal after a 6-2 decision win in the consolation semifinal and a medical forfeit win in the consolation final.
After a loss in the first bout of his collegiate debut, John Wiley responded with a tech fall (17-2) and a fall (2:24) to cement a third-place finish in the freshman/sophomore 157-pound division.
In his debut with OU, Gerrit Nijenhuis recorded two wins by decisions (6-4, 4-2). He lost his quarterfinal bout and medically forfeited his two bouts in the consolation bracket, finishing sixth in the 165-pound division.
"I think it was good to see them compete with some of the best guys in the country," Rosselli said. "We were very close in a lot of matches that we lost. It's exciting to see them compete hard."
Oklahoma will be back on the road next weekend for Journeymen WrangleMania in Bethlehem, Pa.
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