OMAHA, Neb. — Oklahoma won’t have a national champion at this year’s NCAA Wrestling Championships, but it will crown four All-Americans.
The Sooners added two more wrestlers to its All-American list Friday night, as Zack Bailey (141 pounds) and Eric Lapotsky (197) each recorded two wins in the consolation bracket to earn the honor. The duo joined Kyle Terry (149) and Tyler Caldwell (165) who secured All-American honors earlier in the day.
“Four All-Americans. Bailey is a hero, plain and simple,” OU coach Jack Spates said.” To go through the surgeries and struggles he has to come back and be battling for third place at the NCAAs is outstanding. And then there is Lapotsky…He continued to battle even though he was down the whole match and won in the last second.”
The four All-Americans produced at this year’s NCAAs are the most for Oklahoma since earning five in 2006.
Terry’s and Caldwell’s bids for national championships ended in the semifinals.
Terry fell, 6-2, to Iowa’s Brent Metcalf, the top seed, in the semifinals.
At 165, Wisconsin’s Andrew Howe topped Caldwell 4-1 to end the Caldwell’s run.
“Those two have nothing to hang their heads about,” Spates said. “Kyle was one point away with 30 seconds to go to a guy that pinned him last year. Tyler is a true-freshman going up against a defending national runner-up and battled him tooth and nail.”
All four will return to action today and compete for finishes between third and fifth place.
The Sooners enter the event’s final day in sixth place in the team race with 58 points. Iowa has built a commanding lead in the race for the team title with 120.5 points.
The Sooners had a good day in the consolation bracket.
Bailey’s two wins gave him five straight in Omaha since losing Thursday.
Lapotsky knocked off a pair of Big 12 Conference rivals to stay alive. He beat Missouri’s Brent Haynes 4-0 and claimed a 6-4 victory over Oklahoma State’s Alan Gelogaev with a takedown with five seconds left.
At 157 pounds, OU’s Shane Vernon had his bid for All-American honors upended by Northern Colorado’s Justin Gaethje. Vernon fell 6-5 in overtime.
John Shinn 366-3536 jshinn@normantranscript.com
