LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Rider wrestling jumped out to an early lead, winning the first four bouts of the afternoon, but No. 20 Oklahoma rallied to claim a 26-15 victory Sunday afternoon in Alumni Gym.

The dual opened at 125 pounds with No. 25/20 Tyler Klinsky facing No. 23/25 Conrad Hendriksen. After a scoreless first period, Hendriksen chose bottom to begin the second and earned a quick escape for a 1-0 lead. Klinsky responded by turning defense into offense, countering a deep shot for the match's first takedown to take a 3-1 advantage. An escape in the third period pushed the margin to 4-1, giving Rider an early 3-0 team lead.

At 133 pounds, No. 32 Will Betancourt took on Carter Schmidt and struck first. Betancourt countered an early shot attempt with a Jonesy tilt, collecting near-fall points to jump ahead 5-0. Schmidt escaped late in the first period to make it 5-1, then added another escape in the second to close the gap to 5-2. Schmidt chose neutral to start the third, but Betancourt's defense held strong down the stretch, securing a 6-2 decision and extending Rider's lead to 6-0.

Momentum stayed with the Broncs at 141 pounds as No. 15/13 Elijah Griffin faced No. 29/24 Tyler Wells. An early injury to Wells resulted in an injury default, awarding Griffin the win and six team points to push Rider ahead 12-0.

Dylan Layton kept things rolling at 149 pounds, scoring two first-period takedowns against Hunter Hollingsworth to take a 6-2 lead after one. Layton added an escape to open the second period for a 7-2 advantage. Hollingsworth earned a quick escape to start the third, but no further scoring followed.

The team score sat at 15-0 in favor of Rider.

Oklahoma began its comeback with a technical fall at 157 pounds and a decision at 165, trimming Rider's lead and bringing the team score to 15-8 through six bouts. The Sooners carried that momentum through the remainder of the dual, winning the final four matches to secure the 26-15 victory.

Quotes and Notes
"Our first four weights, did a great job performing to their preparation today. Oklahoma did a better job competing from start to finish in the matches they lost today than we did. 

Consistency is key and we haven't had all 10 guys on point in any dual yet this year." - Rider Head Coach John Hangey

Match Results
125: No. 25/20 Tyler Klinsky (Rider) over No. 23/25Conrad Hendriksen (Oklahoma) (Dec 4-1)
133: No. 32 Will Betancourt (Rider) over Carter Schmidt (Oklahoma) (Dec 6-2)
141: No. 15/13 Elijah Griffin (Rider) over No. 29/24 Tyler Wells (Oklahoma) (Inj. 1:07)
149: Dylan Layton (Rider) over Hunter Hollingsworth (Oklahoma) (Dec 8-3)
157: Layton Schneider (Oklahoma) over Jacob Zearfoss (Rider) (TF 19-4 6:15)
165: Owen Eck (Oklahoma) over Brendon Abdon (Rider) (Dec 5-0)
174: No. 15/7 Carter Schubert (Oklahoma) over Enrique Munguia (Rider) (TF 20-5 6:30)
184: No. 11/11 Brian Soldano (Oklahoma) over Gianni Maldonado (Rider) (TF 22-2 3:50)
197: No. 11/9 DJ Parker (Oklahoma) over No. 22/23 Brock Zurawski (Rider) (TF 18-3 4:48)
285: Juan Mora (Oklahoma) over Hogan Swenski (Rider) (Dec 11-4)

Up Next
The Broncs return to action on Dec. 21, hosting Clarion and Columbia in a tri-dual at Alumni Gym.
First match is set for 12 p.m.