NORMAN – In its first home dual of the season, the No. 20 Oklahoma wrestling team claimed a 19-13 victory over Appalachian State inside McCasland Field House on Sunday afternoon.

The Sooners claimed six bout wins in the dual, including one bonus-point victory, to earn the win and move to 2-2 on the season.

“I think that we won some close matches, and I think Appalachian State came prepared and fought really hard, and some of our guys were not really ready for that,” head coach Lou Rosselli said. “Maybe some times they think it is going to be easy, but I have tried to explain to them many times that every time you compete it is hard.

“I think that the last three matches, those guys had a tough situation,” Rosselli continued. “Losing the 174-pound match, I think the momentum swung right after that. Then we have a couple of freshmen at 184 and heavyweight, and that made it tough on us. But, that is just the way that it is. That is college wrestling. When you are not a team that has five or six superstars that win everything, then we are in battles. We have to battle all the time.”

The match started at 149 pounds, where junior Davion Jeffries earned a 2-1 decision over Gavin Londoff. Jeffries earned both an escape and the riding time point to give the Sooners an early 3-0 lead.

Redshirt freshman Justin Thomas grew the Sooners' lead to 6-0 with a 9-3 decision over Laken Cook. Thomas opened the match with two takedowns in the first period to build a 4-1 lead. He added on an escape, a 2-point nearfall and a reversal to earn the 9-3 win.

At 165 pounds, senior Dawaylon Barnes downed Thomas Flitz by 3-2 decision, marking Barnes' 10th win of the season. He recorded a takedown and an escape in the match, pushing OU's lead to 9-0 after three bouts.

After Sooner losses at the next four matches, No. 17 Christian Moody regained the Sooners' momentum with a 6-3 decision over De'Andre Swinson-Barr at 125 pounds. The redshirt sophomore recorded takedowns in the first and second periods and added an escape and the riding time point to put Oklahoma back within one, as it trailed the Mountaineers 13-12.

At 133 pounds, redshirt junior Jake Rubio defeated Codi Russell by 17-7 major decision to put the Sooners back in the lead. Rubio took a 5-4 lead after the first period, and an escape, a takedown and a 4-point nearfall in the second extended his advantage to 12-4. He added two more takedowns and the riding time point in the final frame. The win marked Rubio's third major decision of the season, a team high.

“Jake did a nice job,” Rosselli said. “Jake came out and took control of his match, and it seemed like it was going to get close, but then he opened it up again… I thought he did a good job competing and being aggressive.”

Senior Mike Longo sealed the match for the Sooners with an 8-6 decision over Irvin Enriquez. With two takedowns in the first frame, Longo took a 5-4 lead. Enriquez escaped to start the second period, but Longo took him back down to hold a 7-5 advantage heading into the final frame. Each wrestler was awarded a penalty point in the third period, and Longo finalized OU's 19-13 win.

No. 11 Yoanse Mejias (174 pounds) fell to No. 20 Forrest Przybysz, 4-2, in the first sudden victory period. Freshman Matthew Waddell dropped an 11-5 decision to Alan Clothier at 184 pounds. In the 197-pound bout, senior Andrew Dixon was defeated by Randall Diabe in a 5-2 decision. At heavyweight, freshman Connor Webb dropped a 14-4 major decision to Cary Miller.

The dual marked the Sooners' final event of the calendar year. OU returns to the mat on Jan. 4 in its Big 12 opener against West Virginia in Morgantown, W. Va.