Recap: OSU Wrestling Goes 15-2 in Prelim, Quarterfinals of Big 12 Tournament

TULSA, Okla. — The Cowboys rolled through their prelim matches and looked strong doing it. They scored bonus points at every weight with the exception of 157. At 157 Wyatt Sheets gave up an early take-down and fought back to pick up a 5-3 decision. Here are the complete results.

Prelim Results

133-Daton Fix WBF over Ryan Molitor SDSU 6:01
141-Kaid Brock Tech-fall Aric Williams SDSU 15-0
149-Kaden Gfeller MD Alec Opsal Air Force 14-2
157-Wyatt Sheets Decision Kyler Rea WVU 5-3
165-Joe Smith WBF Macoy Flanagan Northern Colorado 1:02
197-Preston Weigel Tech Fall Izaak Shedenhelm UNI 15-0
285-Derek White MD Jake Boyd OU 11-1

Quarterfinals

In the quarterfinals things got a bit tougher for the Cowboys. Fix was pushed by Gary Joint of Fresno State and even gave up a rare take-down. Kaden Gfeller found himself in a battle with Jaden Van Maanen and of North Dakota State. A riding time point ended up being the difference in a 9-8 decision for Gfeller.

One of the tougher casualties of the round was at 157. Sheets dropped a 10-1 major decision to Luke Webber. With only one automatic qualifying spot at 157 Sheets will have to rely on an at large bid to the NCAA tournament. He will have to come back and finish third there to have any real chance at that bid.

Joe Smith had his much anticipated match with No. 2 seed Demetrius Romero. Joe built up a big lead early and was up 8-6 with about one minute left in the match. He fell 12-8 after a giving up a late take-down and back points.

Jacobe Smith picked up a first period fall at 174 with only one second left in the period. Dakota Geer followed that up with a fairly comfortable win over Will Sumner 7-6. He gave up a late escape closing the score a bit, but was in control.

Preston Weigel is looking really strong and won a textbook Preston Weigel match — 3-0 with a take-down and ton of riding time. Derek White closed out the round with a dominant major 12-3.

Quarterfinal Results

125-Nick Piccininni Tech fall Mitch Brown Utah Valley 17-2
133-Daton Fix DEC Gary Joint Fresno State 7-3
141-Kaid Brock win by injury default Matt Findlay Utah Valley
149-Kaden Gfeller DEC Jaden Van Maanen NDSU 9-8
157-Luke Webber NDSU DEC Wyatt Sheets 10-1
165-Demetrius Romero Utah Valley DEC Joe Smith 12-8
174-Jacobe Smith WBF Dominic Kincaid Fresno State 2:59
184-Dakota Geer DEC Will Sumner Utah Valley 7-6
197-Preston Weigel DEC Cale Davidson Wyoming 3-0
285-Derek White Maj Decision Kayne Hutchison Air Force 12-3

Next Round (Semifinals)

125-Nick Piccininni vs. Montoya UNCO
133-Daton Fix vs. Schmitt WVU
141-Kaid Brock vs. Sandoval UNCO
149-Kaden Gfeller vs. Olivas Fresno State
174-Jacobe Smith vs. Hastings WYO
184-Dakota Geer vs. Foster UNI
197-Preston Weigel vs. Woodley OU
HWT-Derek White vs. Orndorf Utah Valley

Consolation

157-Sheets vs. Moore UNI
165-Smith vs. Thomas OU

The Cowboys are favored every match this next round on Saturday evening. Joe Smith will need to win at least two more to secure an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Here’s a look at the standings after the first two rounds.

1. Oklahoma State – 65.5
2. Iowa State – 48.5
3. Northern Iowa – 35.5
4. Wyoming – 31.5
5. Fresno State – 28.5
6. North Dakota State – 27
7. Oklahoma – 26
8. Utah Valley – 23
9. Northern Colorado – 13.5
10. South Dakota State – 11
11. West Virginia – 9
12. Air Force – 2