The win snapped a four-match losing streak for the Sooners (4-6 overall, 2-5 Big 12), who took the lead after the third bout of the night and never looked back, as the program improved to 5-0 all-time versus Air Force (4-6 overall, 1-5 Big 12).
"Overall, I'm pleased because college wrestling is tough," head coach Lou Rosselli said after the win. "We have a lot of young guys in there. I was glad to see some people getting some bonus points. We still have to build our leads, and still have some things we can work on. There was a lot of good things and it was a good win."
The dual got started at 165 when Air Force's Vincent Dolce earned a major decision victory over Elijah Joseph to put the Falcons up 4-0, but the Sooners got the ball rolling after the opening bout.
At 174, No. 12 Anthony Mantanona got his eighth win of the dual season when he defeated Cody Surratt via 10-3 decision. Mantanona held a 2-1 lead after two periods, but turned it on in the final frame, as he secured a trio of takedowns, an escape point and a bonus point for riding time.
Up next on the mat for the Sooners was freshman Darrien Roberts at 184. As the final seconds of the second period ticked away Roberts collected a takedown of Air Force's Jake Thompson to take a 4-2 lead that held for the remainder of the bout. Roberts' win moved him 5-5 in dual action this year and 11-9 overall. More importantly, it gave the Sooners a 6-4 lead that they wouldn't surrender.
"What's impressive about Darrien's win is that he is a true freshman and every win you get is a big win." Rosselli said. "There was a clip in that match for about 30 seconds where he just fought. If he had stopped wrestling, he could've lost, but he just kept fighting and so he won. Good guys find ways to win, so I'm really pleased with him."
At 197, No. 15 Jake Woodley controlled his bout with Casey Jumps from the start en route to a 16-5 major decision. The bonus point victory was Woodley's third of the season, as he joined four other Sooners with seven wins in dual action.
The Sooners dropped the next bout at 285, after Collin McCoy suffered a tough 8-7 defeat to Kayne Hutchinson, bringing the score to a 10-7 OU advantage at the break.
When the teams returned to the mat, Christian Moody took the floor for Oklahoma at 125. The redshirt senior earned his 58th career victory via a 13-4 major decision. The major decision was the Collinsville, Okla., native's first of the season as he improved to 3-5 in duals this year. Moody's win marked the start of three straight victories for the Sooners, as OU looked to finish the Falcons.
No. 15 Anthony Madrigal took care of Air Force's Jared Van Vleet at 133, via a 7-2 decision to put the Sooners up 17-7 with just three bouts left on the card.
Madrigal was followed up by a 11-5 decision from No. 7 Dom Demas, clinching the OU victory. The reigning Big 12 champion took down Air Force's Lenny Petersen five times in the bout, as he improved to 21-3 on the year and 9-1 in duals.
At 149, Jacob Butler dropped a close bout to Air Force's Dylan Martinez, 4-2. The two wrestlers were tied at 2-2 heading into the final frame, but Butler was taken down midway through the final frame and ran out of time to tie it up, giving Air Force the decision.
The final match of the dual featured the most dominating performance of the night as No. 22 Justin Thomas blanked Air Force's Trey Brisker en route to a 10-0 major decision. Thomas has been on a tear over the past two months, going 7-1 in those bouts and winning the last four by either major decision or fall. The victory finalized the score at 24-10, giving the Sooners their second Big 12 win of the season.
UP NEXT
The Sooners are back in action on Sunday, Feb. 16 when they travel to Stillwater for the second Bedlam dual of the season. The dual starts at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPNU.
"They've got a good team, we've got to be ready to compete." Rosselli said of the Cowboys. "There are some really fun matchups, and we'll see who comes ready to wrestle and who wants to fight for seven minutes. It's another opportunity to compete."
Oklahoma will then wrap up its regular season on Sunday, Feb. 23 when it hosts Fresno State at 2 p.m. inside McCasland Field House. Tickets for Oklahoma's last home dual can be purchased online or by calling the OU Athletics Ticket Office at (405) 325-2424.
Results:
165 Vincent Dolce (AF) over Elijah Joseph (OKLA) (MD 13-5) AF 4-0
174 No. 12 Anthony Mantanona (OKLA) over Cody Surratt (AF) (Dec 10-3) AF 4-3
184 Darrien Roberts (OKLA) over Jacob Thompson (AF) (Dec 4-2) OU 6-4
197 No. 15 Jake Woodley (OKLA) over Casey Jumps (AF) (MD 16-5) OU 10-4
HWT Kayne Hutchison (AF) over Collin McCoy (OKLA) (Dec 8-7) OU 10-7
125 Christian Moody (OKLA) over Sidney Flores (AF) (MD 13-4) OU 14-7
133 No. 15 Anthony Madrigal (OKLA) over Jared Van Vleet (AF) (Dec 7-2) OU 17-7
141 No. 7 Dom Demas (OKLA) over Lenny Petersen (AF) (Dec 11-5) OU 20-7
149 Dylan Martinez (AF) over Jacob Butler (OKLA) (Dec 4-2) OU 20-10
157 No. 22 Justin Thomas (OKLA) over Trey Brisker (AF) (MD 10-0) OU 24-10
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