Recap: Cowboys Finish Second at Big 12 Wrestling Championships

TULSA — The Cowboys mustered more team points this weekend than they have in the past three Big 12 Championships, but in 2024, the best that number could do was second place.

Oklahoma State came second behind Iowa State in the BOK Center. The Cowboys finished with 141.5 points, and the bonus-happy Cyclones finished with 152.5. It’s the most points ever scored by a second-place team at the event. OSU hasn’t scored that many team points since the 2020 tournament — the last time it won the title outright.

“We didn’t lose the tournament — Iowa State won it,” OSU coach John Smith said. “Scored a lot of points. If you told me we were gonna score 140, I would’ve told you we won the tournament — we’re gonna win it.”

The Cowboys did have one individual champion, and it was another milestone accomplishment for that wrestler.

Daton Fix became the first wrestler to ever win five Big 12 individual crowns, as he bested ISU’s Evan Frost with an 8-5 decision. Fix held a 7-0 lead midway through the second period after a takedown in the first, an escape in the  second and another takedown.

Frost got on the board with an escape at the end of the second and another to start the third. Pushing for bonus points because the Cowboys’ team title hopes were still alive, Fix nearly got himself caught in a cradle on the edge of the mat, so he popped his head out and conceded a late takedown with 24 seconds to go to preserve his fifth title.

“Good work from him,” Smith said. “Five-time Big 12 champion, basically told the team it doesn’t matter. He knows that there’s something bigger.”

Troy Spratley was oh, so close to winning the Big 12’s 125-pound title in his first time of asking, but he ultimately fell to Wyoming’s Jore Volk 3-2 after Volk scored a takedown in the final 30 seconds.

The Cowboys’ other finalist was Jordan Williams at 149 pounds, but after suffering an injury in his semifinal bout, Williams was only able to make it into the second period of the final before bowing out via injury default. Smith said after the tournament he thinks Williams will be fine in 10 or 12 days.

OSU’s last bout of the night was one of the most highly anticipated coming into the tournament: Dustin Plott vs. Parker Keckeisen. They wrestled in Gallagher-Iba Arena earlier this season, where Keckeisen picked up a 12-6 win that was probably closer than the score indicated.

Plott tore through his side of the bracket on his way to Keckeisen, but Keckeisen proved Sunday night that he is a different breed of human being. Keckeisen beat Plott with a 14-5 major decision, taking Plott down four times.

In total, the Cowboys had six top-three finishers with their four finalists, plus Izzak Olejnik and Brayden Thompson battling to third in the early session Sunday afternoon. All 10 of the Cowboys secured automatic qualification into the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Kansas City later this month.

Team Results

OSU Results

125: Troy Spratley — second
133: Daton Fix — first
141: Tagen Jamison — fourth
149: Jordan Williams — second
157: Teague Travis — fourth
165: Izzak Olejnik — third
174: Brayden Thompson — third
184: Dustin Plott — second
197: Luke Surber — sixth
HWT: Konner Doucet — fifth

John Smith’s News Conference