Two OU alumni recently qualified as members of the 2012 USA Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Team. They are Jared Frayer and Sam Hazewinkel.

Frayer upset local favorite Bret Metcalf in the 66 Kg class, winning 2 out of 3 matches to qualify for the Olympic team. Frayer, 33, was a 2 time All American wrestler at OU, finishing 4th in 2001 and 2nd in 2002.

Joining Frayer on the team will be Sam Hazewinkel. Hazewinkel qualified at 55 Kg by winning 2 out of 3 matches with Nick Simmons. Hazewinkel (28), or "Haze" as he's referred to by many, was a 4 time All American at OU, finishing 3rd in 2004, 2005, and 2006, and 2nd in 2007. Hazewinkel upset fellow 4 time All American Nick Simmons (seeded 1st) to earn his shot at the 2012 Olympics. Incidentally Hazewinkel wrestled Simmons twice in the NCAA tournament back in his college days, beating him both times in 3rd place matches.

Our other Sooner wrestlers didn't quite make it. Teyon Ware was upset and knocked out of contention. 52 year old Andre Metzger made a surprise appearance in the Greco Roman 74 Kg in an attempt to make the Olympic Team. Metzger lost 2 matches and was knocked out of the competition, but he was very competitive. I used to idolize Metzger back when I was wrestling in High School in a small NE Oklahoma town. He was only 5 years older than me. Metzger was a 4 time All American back when wrestling was more competitive (more schools wrestled back then) and won 2 national titles. Andre's interview after the event showed his class and competitiveness, and I was stunned to hear that he's wrestled over 2,000 matches in his career. Holy crap!

Let's wish our Sooners the best of luck in the Olympics!