FROM NO. 13 TO NO. 1
Fueled by being the 13 seed, Oklahoma junior Cody Brewer powered to his 1st NCAA title
By Richard Immel Oklahoma standout Cody Brewer entered the NCAA Championships with a resume as good as anyone in the 133- pound field. The two-time All-American boasted a 17-1 record, yet held a sizable chip on his shoulders entering the big show after being awarded a surprising No. 13 seed. It was the perfect storm for Brewer as he torched the 133-pound field to the tune of four bonus-point victories and a dominating finals performance where he scored five takedowns to defeat No. 3 seed Cory Clark of Iowa 11-8.
Coming into the tournament feeling dis- respected by the NCAA seeding commit- tee, Brewer and the OU coaching staff utilized a positive perspective to catapult Brewer to his impressive NCAA title run. “I was a little shocked at first. I thought maybe fifth or sixth was the lowest I thought I would be with my record,” Brewer said. “Coach [Mark] Cody told me you are the best in the country. No matter where they put you at, you are going to win it. I believe that, truly, wherever I was it was going to be fine as long as I was in the bracket.”
Coach Cody noted it was unfortunate for the higher seeds that had to face Brewer early in the tournament because they put together a strong body of work as well and it was not fair for the bracket to be altered because of Brewer’s ques- tionable seed.
“If you want to accomplish great goals as a program you have to do what other people aren’t willing to do,” Coach Cody said. “For Cody, just the fact that he has worked so hard and has done everything we have asked of him and had the suc- cess he has had it really is just great.” Brewer was without question one of the most impressive wrestlers to take the mat in St. Louis, and for him mentality made all the difference.
“It was a lot of focus and a lot of relax. I tried to smile a little bit before the match- es and just enjoy the moment that I was in. A lot of guys get so hyped up and so
26 USA Wrestler
Oklahoma’s Cody Brewer downed No. 3 Cory Clark 11-8 to win the 133-pound title at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis. Tony Rotundo photo.
tense and that is when you don’t open up in matches. For me there were no nerves,” Brewer said. Perhaps the defining moment of
Brewer’s junior campaign was after his only loss of the season to Earl Hall of Iowa State, who was a returning All- American. Brewer lost by fall to Hall dur- ing a dual meet in late January. “Coach [Michael] Lightner told me let that fuel the fire and you are going to be fine, but you have to work harder now. I like to think that loss made me 10 times better when it came to the Big 12 tourna- ment and NCAA tournament,” Brewer said.
Brewer would get a rematch with Hall in the Big 12 tournament finals, which he won convincingly 10-5. This win provided the spark he needed heading into the national tournament.
In addition to exacting revenge against Hall, Brewer was able to overcome another familiar foe in the second round of the NCAA Championships, Ohio State’s No. 5 seed Johnni DiJulius. Brewer had lost to DiJulius twice during the 2013-14 season, but he flipped the script at nationals, defeating the Buckeye by a 9-1 tally.
“Earl Hall is a very formidable opponent and for Cody to come back and beat him really helped his confidence going into the national tournament,” Coach Cody said. “Then of course DiJulius, he had never beaten him before. This is just a testament to how he improved over that last year.”
In the semifinals, Brewer silenced the doubters yet again by taking down the top seed at 133 pounds, Chris Dardanes of
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