Levi Cooper, the No. 9-ranked heavyweight in the nation, had every reason to feel cocky heading into his match against OU redshirt freshman Kyle Colling. He was on a roll and had just beat the No. 1 heavyweight in the nation a week prior.

Colling was about to get a signature win of his own, though. With the match deadlocked in the final period, Colling had just enough energy to perform an escape with 28 seconds left and hold on for a one-point victory.

“It’s something that he needed because he’s very capable of beating everybody,” coach Mark Cody said. “We’re just trying to get it between his ears to believe that he’s as good as anybody out there.”

Being ranked as the No. 6 heavyweight recruit in the nation, the Arcade, N.Y., native had his pick from many of the country’s top wrestling programs, including several much closer to home.

He’s a competitor, though. There were more important things to consider than proximity to home.

“It had the best tradition, it had the best coaches, and mainly, it just felt the most comfortable,” Colling said of OU.

Going into this season, Colling expected big things from himself. However, he was beat out of the Oklahoma lineup by former Sooner Elijah Madison.

Madison went on to win the Sooners’ first heavyweight match of the year. Then, Colling proved his worth at the Brockport/Oklahoma Gold tournament back home in New York.

“Even though he wasn’t starting, he had beat a couple of individuals (at Brockport) that our starting heavyweight lost to, including the guy that was ranked 8th in the country at the time,” Cody said.

Then, Madison decided to transfer schools. Colling finally had the chance he had waited over a year for.

The redshirt freshman went 5-2 before losing a head-scratcher against Iowa State.

The confusing part about that Iowa State loss was the fact that he posted such a dominating performance just two days later to take down the nation’s No. 9 heavyweight. As big as that win was, Colling just considered it a relief.

“It wasn’t a surprise, but it just felt like a relief,” Colling said. “Because I wrestled so horribly (against Iowa State).”

The win was a relief to his coach, too. Cody finally sees his heavyweight gaining the confidence he needs to reach his vast potential.

“Confidence-wise, I feel like I can beat anyone in the country,” Colling said. “My body has to be ready, my mind has to be ready, but I don’t doubt that I can do it.”