Five Thoughts on the Big 12 Wrestling Tournament

The Cowboys dominated their way to another conference title. It was the 52nd in program history, the sixth-straight Big 12 title, and the 20th conference title for John Smith. All incredible numbers.

Here are my five thoughts on the weekend.

1. John Smith is the master

John Smith is incredible at getting his guys to wrestle their best at the right time. The Cowboys wrestled above their seed at six weights, to their seed at three, and only fell below their seed at one weight which was Preston Weigel who finished third as the one seed dropping a controversial semifinal match. Weigel was also wrestling for the first time in a few months off of a midseason injury. It’s really impressive how good John is at getting OSU to peak at the end of the year.

2. Keegan Moore answered the doubters

A lot of people have questioned Moore as a starter after struggles midseason and since the Cowboys had another option at 184 with Andrew Marsden. We can never know what Marsden would have done, but Keegan looked great. In the semifinal he really pushed the guy that majored him a few weeks ago, then he really came back strong on the backside to finish third taking out the 2 seed in the consolation final.

It was a really good weekend for Moore and you have to feel like he’s clearly wrestling his best right now. It’ll be really interesting to see what he does at the NCAA tournament. If he can solidify that weight for OSU as one the Cowboys could score some points at the NCAA tournament with next year, it will be huge for the team race.

3. Weigel and Smith’s Health Status

Preston Weigel might not be 100 percent, but I think Jacobe Smith is. This was the first time either of them had wrestled in a while. Early on in Jacobe’s first match I thought he was stepping somewhat lightly on his knee and may not be completely healthy, but then in the second period he nailed a blast double taking the other guy out of bounds that quickly shifted my opinion on that.

I think he’s fine. Weigel I felt a little different about. They never really announced specifics on his injury, but he just didn’t seem all there physically to me. To be fair, he lost to a very good wrestler, and 197 is good in the Big 12. But, again, I just don’t feel like he’s quite 100 percent healthy. Hopefully he will be in two weeks.

4. Chris Perry is earning his paycheck

Perry seems to be the right guy for the job. When they made the staff changes this summer a lot of people wondered how it would play out. Was he the right guy? Is it just because he’s John’s nephew? Etc… But the results have dispelled any notions of nepotism, and it’s pretty clear that the dude can coach.

He’s the biggest coach on staff and works with the big boys on the team. If you’ve never been around a wrestling room it’s not a situation where he’s the only one working with those guys, but he’s probably the most involved.

You’ve got a junior college transfer in Jacobe Smith, a freshman in Keegan Moore, a guy in Preston Weigel who as a recruit was not very highly touted, and a transfer who bumped up from 197 to heavyweight in Derek White. All have made huge strides and Perry deserves some credit there. Not to mention within a month or so of his hire they flipped a few big recruits, which I can confirm he played a big role in. He’s putting in some work and doing a good job.

5. Boo Lewallen could make some noise at the NCAA tournament

He looked great early in the season, but then when he took over as starter, Lewallen hit a rough patch. At the time I wondered if it wasn’t maybe nerves, or pressure since he had looked so good early on? Maybe his injuries were catching back up to him? Maybe even his size was an issue? He’s up from 141 last year.

Everything seems to have settled out and he’s wrestling really well now. Thomsen, who he beat in the finals, is a very good wrestler, an All-American and top 8 guy in every ranking. Boo beat the brakes off him. Let’s hope it carries over into the NCAA tournament.