OSU Wrestling: Updates From Big 12 Wrestling Championship

TULSA — The Big 12 Wrestling Championship is underway inside the BOK Center in Tulsa.

PFB will update this as much as possible throughout the weekend as you follow if Oklahoma State will end its two-year drought without a conference title. Below will be updates on how each OSU wrestler is doing in their bracket and a storyline to follow for each Cowboy. Team standings will also be updated at the end of each session.

125: Troy Spratley

Storyline to Follow: Spratley is one of four freshmen in OSU’s lineup making their postseason debut.

First Round: After a bye, Spratley will wrestle No. 7 Jett Strickenberger of West Virginia, who pinned Air Force’s Tucker Owens in the first round, in the quarterfinals.

Quarterfinals: Spratley made the semis in his first Big 12 tournament with an 8-4 decision over Stricklenberger in his first-ever postseason match. He’ll get ISU’s sixth-seeded Kysen Terukina, who upset No. 3 Stevo Poulin of Northern Colorado in the quarterfinals.

Semis: Spratley will wrestle for a title in his first Big 12 tournament, but not without some drama. Spratley and Terukina went to sudden victory tied 1-1 after both wrestlers escaped. And neither wrestler scored a takedown there, either. Spratley was awarded a stalling point late into sudden victory while trying to take Terukina down near the edge of the mat. The wrestlers went out of bounds, then Spratley was awarded the point to win 2-1. The win, at least briefly, put OSU ahead of ISU in team standings.

Spratley will wrestle fifth-seeded Jore Volk of Wyoming in the finals. Volk beat Spratley 5-1 early in the season.

Finals: Volk got a takedown with less than 30 seconds left in the match to beat Spratley 3-2 in the first match of the night. Spratley scored a reversal in the second period and Volk was unable to do anything against him until the very end.

133: Daton Fix

Storyline to Follow: Entering the tournament undefeated against Big 12 opponents in his career, Fix is looking to become the first five-time conference champion in Big 12 and OSU history.

First Round: Fix made easy work of North Dakota State’s Fernando Barreto with an 18-3 technical fall, giving OSU some much-needed bonus points early. Fix will wrestle No. 8 Garrett Ricks of Wyoming in the quarterfinals.

Quarterfinals: Fix pinned Ricks in the first period to add more bonus points for his team and seal his spot in the semis for the fifth time against fourth-seeded Derrick Cardinal of South Dakota State, who needed sudden victory to reach the semis.

Semis: For the fifth time, Fix is headed to the Big 12 finals after beating Cardinal 4-0. Fix will wrestle ISU’s Evan Frost, looking to become OSU’s first-ever five-time conference champion.

Finals: Fix became the first five-time conference champion in Big 12 and OSU history with an 8-5 decision over Frost. Fix was eyeing bonus points up 7-1 headed to the third with Frost electing to go neutral before Frost escaped and scored a late takedown to narrow the margin.

141: Tagen Jamison

Storyline to Follow: Jamison is one of four freshmen in OSU’s lineup making their postseason debut.

First Round: Jamison gave OSU bonus points for the second time in two opportunities with an 18-3 tech fall against OU’s Kaden Smith. He will get No. 7 Haiden Drury of Utah Valley in the quarterfinals.

Quarterfinals: Jamison sealed his first trip to the semis with a 10-0 major decision over Drury. Third-seeded Cael Happel of UNI was already there waiting for Jamison after a 10-3 decision over sixth-seeded Josh Edmond of Mizzou.

Semis: Tied 1-1 after exchanging escapes, Happel took Jamison down with less than 10 seconds left to win the match 4-1.

Consolations: Jamison started OSU’s Sunday with an 11-6 decision over 5 seed Clay Carlson of South Dakota State to send him to the third-place match against 6 seed Josh Edmond of Mizzou. Edmond beat 4 seed Jordan Titus (WVU) by injury default to get there.

Jamison had Edmond beat until Edmond got Jamison on his back late in the third to win 8-1. Jamison finishes in fourth place in his first Big 12 tournament.

149: Jordan Williams

Storyline to Follow: Williams is one of four freshmen in OSU’s lineup making their postseason debut.

First Round: After a bye, Williams will wrestle No. 5 Alek Martin from South Dakota State, who narrowly avoided an upset to unseeded Cal Baptist wrestler Dayne Morton with a second tiebreaker.

Quarterfinals: Williams goes to the semis with his first Big 12 tournament win — a 13-8 decision over Martin. Williams will get top-seeded Casey Swiderski of ISU in a matchup that could keep the top of the team race close if Williams notches the upset.

Semis: Boy, was there drama in this one. Williams upset top-seeded Casey Swiderski of ISU 8-6 in a match that featured stall warnings, an injury and close calls. Williams led 3-2 after the second period before getting another takedown with 1:02 left in the third to go up 7-2. But as Swiderski was about to escape, the match was stopped and Williams was looked at for injury. The scramble was then reviewed with no points awarded in the end. Swiderski then got a takedown and quickly let Williams back up to narrow the margin to 8-5 late in the match. Williams was then warned for stalling and Swiderski was eventually given a stalling point, but Williams was still able to survive and advance.

Williams will wrestle West Virginia’s No. 3 Ty Watters in the finals. The two have never met before.

Finals: This was the worst way you want to see a match end. Watters was up 7-0 when he slammed Williams onto the mat. Williams injured his shoulder during his semifinal match Saturday and the slam apparently aggravated that injury, forcing Williams to forfeit because of injury. The injury not only ripped an individual Big 12 title away from Williams but also the Cowboys, as the loss sealed the team championship for Iowa State.

157: Teague Travis

Storyline to Follow: Travis is one of six Cowboys making their postseason debut after cracking the lineup thanks to a move up from 149 to 157 a month into the season.

First Round: Travis beat Cal Baptist’s Chaz Hallmark 8-5. He will get No. 6 Cael Swensen of South Dakota State, who had a bye in the first round, in the quarterfinals.

Quarterfinals: Sixth-seeded Swensen upset No. 3 Travis with a 13-5 major decision to give OSU its second loss of the tournament. Travis tied the score at four with a takedown in the third before letting Swensen up to go down 5-4 with about 1:30 left. Shortly after, Swensen got Travis on his back for four near-fall points that wound up being the dagger.

Consolations: Travis bounced back from being upset with a 9-5 decision against WVU’s Caleb Dowling. He then continued to fight back with a 9-1 major decision over Wyoming’s Sloan Swan later Saturday night.

Travis’ third session started with a 7-2 decision over OU’s Jared Hill, as Travis just ran out of time in the middle of a takedown to cinch bonus points. Travis will get a rematch with Swensen, who beat Travis in the quarterfinals, for third place.

Travis was just short in a 5-4 decision to Swensen to finish fourth in his first Big 12 tournament. Swensen was the only wrestler to beat Travis this weekend.

165: Izzak Olejnik

Storyline to Follow: Olejnik has already won two conference titles in the MAC, but after transferring from Northern Illinois, this is his first experience in the Big 12 Wrestling Championship in the toughest bracket the tournament has to offer.

First Round: After a bye, Olejnik will wrestle No. 5 Giano Petrucelli of Air Force, who earned an 11-0 major decision over Northern Colorado’s Derek Matthews in the first round.

Quarterfinals: Olejnik used an escape with 20 seconds left to get past Petrucelli 4-3 and onto the semis against top-seeded and defending national champion Keegan O’Toole of Mizzou, who pinned his quarterfinal opponent.

Semis: Olejnik kept himself in it against the toughest guy in the country at his weight but ultimately lost to Mizzou’s defending national champion Keegan O’Toole 7-1. O’Toole scored a takedown with about 30 seconds left to separate the margin and essentially seal the match. It will be a rematch in the finals with O’Toole and ISU’s David Carr, who is looking to become the first five-time conference champion in Big 12 history.

Consolations: Olejnik’s first consolation match after losing in the semis was an 11-1 major decision over UNI’s Jack Thomsen for OSU’s first bonus points of the day. Olejnik will wrestle 3 seed Peyton Hall from WVU for third place.

Olejnik, seeded 4, finishes his last conference tournament in third place after a 5-1 decision over Hall. The win against Hall also avenged a loss from earlier this season for Olejnik.

174: Brayden Thompson

Storyline to Follow: Thompson is one of four freshmen in OSU’s lineup making their postseason debut.

First Round: Thompson will get a Bedlam rematch in the quarterfinals after a bye the first round. OU’s sixth-seeded Tate Picklo beat No. 3 Thompson 5-2 in sudden victory when the two last met Feb. 18. Thompson is looking to end a three-match losing streak that finished out his regular season.

Quarterfinals: Thompson finally got a takedown with 14 seconds left in sudden victory to end his losing streak with a 4-1 decision over Picklo. Seventh-seeded Gaven Sax of North Dakota State upset ISU’s No. 2 MJ Gaitan in the quarterfinals to meet Thompson in the semis.

Semis: Thompson got a late escape to make it 2-2 on the scoreboard, but 2:27 of riding time gave Sax the 3-2 decision to punch the seventh seed’s ticket to the finals.

Consolations: After losing in the semis Saturday night, Thompson beat 8 seed Brody Conley 4-2 to secure a spot in the third-place match against ISU’s MJ Gaitan, who is the 2 seed and has stormed through the consolation bracket after dropping his first match.

Thompson, a true freshman, concluded his first Big 12 tournament with a third-place finish and maybe his biggest win of the season — a commanding 8-2 decision over Gaitan in the midst of a tight team race between the Cowboys and Cyclones.

184: Dustin Plott

Storyline to Follow: Plott was a two-time Big 12 champion at 174, but after moving up this season, he now shares a weight class with NCAA runner-up Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa. If both do what they should in the first two sessions, it’ll set up a matchup everyone has been anticipating for the 184-pound final.

First Round: It was quick work for Plott in the first round, as he stuck OU’s Giuseppe Hoose in the first period to give OSU a pair of tech falls and a pin in its first four matches of the tournament. Plott gets No. 7 Dennis Robin of WVU in the quarterfinals.

Quarterfinals: Plott notched more bonus points with a 19-3 tech fall against Robin. A win against sixth-seeded Sam Wolf of Air Force in the semis likely sets up the highly anticipated finals match between Plott and UNI’s Parker Keckeisen.

Semis: We get the finals match we’ve been waiting for, as Plott and Keckeisen both won their semifinal bouts. Plott handled Wolf with a 20-4 tech fall, while Keckeisen beat Mizzou’s Colton Hawks 11-3.

Finals: Plott lost to Keckeisen again in a 14-5 major decision to finish second.

197: Luke Surber

Storyline to Follow: Surber has the seventh seed after a regular season riddled with injuries. He needs a solid showing this weekend with the Big 12 being allocated six qualifiers at 197.

First Round: Unseeded North Dakota State wrestler Spencer Mooberry caught seventh-seeded Surber in a headlock and pinned him in the first period for OSU’s only loss in the first round.

Consolations: Surber rebounded with an 8-2 decision over ISU’s Julien Broderson, knocking out the first Cyclone of the tournament to help OSU out in the team race.

After a disappointing start, Surber’s night ended with him punching his ticket to nationals with a takedown in sudden victory to beat 4 seed Evan Bockman from Utah Valley. His Sunday will start against OU’s No. 2 Stephen Buchanan.

Surber was OSU’s first loss of the day in a 6-2 decision to Buchanan. The match was much closer than the score, though, as Surber got a little wild down 3-2 in the final seconds trying to get a winning takedown, but instead he gave up a takedown to separate the margin. Surber will wrestle 5 seed Wyatt Voelker of UNI for fifth place.

Voelker pinned Surber, bookending Surber’s tournament on the wrong end of falls to finish in sixth place as the 7 seed. Even with the pins, Surber did enough this weekend to punch his ticket to the NCAA tournament, sending all 10 OSU wrestlers to Kansas City.

285: Konner Doucet

Storyline to Follow: Doucet isn’t on the edge as much as Surber, but in a weight allocated only five qualifiers, a bad weekend for Doucet could leave him at home in two weeks.

First Round: Doucet narrowly beat unseeded Chris Island of Cal Baptist 2-0 to advance to a Bedlam rematch against fourth-seeded Josh Heindselman, who Doucet has split two close matches with this season.

Quarterfinals: Doucet gave up a takedown in sudden victory to lose another close one to Heindselman, 4-1.

Consolations: Doucet recovered with a 4-0 decision over North Dakota State’s Devon Dawson. He then made sure all Cowboys survived Day 1 with a 2-0 decision against South Dakota State’s Luke Rasmussen to conclude the second session for OSU.

Doucet lost to 3 seed Zach Elam of Mizzou 2-0 after Elam escaped in the second period then rode out Doucet the entire third period. Doucet will wrestle WVU’s Michael Wolfgram for fifth place.

Doucet claimed fifth place as the 5 seed with a 5-2 decision over Wolfgram.

Final Team Standings

PFB Big 12 Wrestling Championship Content

Five Thoughts on Opening Day

Recap from Day 1

Photo Gallery

Preview