Cowboy Wrestling Takes Nine to Cleveland for NCAA Championships

Postseason Guide

STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State wrestling team will bring nine wrestlers to this weekend's NCAA Championships in Cleveland, Ohio. Action is set to begin Thursday, March 15 and run through Saturday, March 17 at Quicken Loans Arena.

Tournament Schedule
The NCAA Championships are divided into six sessions over three days of competition. Thursday's action will begin at 11 a.m., with Friday and Saturday's beginning at 10 a.m. A look at the full schedule:

Thursday, March 15
11 a.m. - Session I
6 p.m. - Session II

Friday, March 16
10 a.m. - Session III
7 p.m. - Session IV

Saturday, March 17
10 a.m. - Session V
7 p.m. - Session VI

*All times Central

Watch the Cowboys
Every match of the NCAA Championships will be broadcast on ESPN3. Fans can watch the morning sessions live on ESPNU, while Thursday and Friday's primetime sessions will be broadcast on ESPN, and Saturday's will be on ESPN2.

Live Stats and Play-by-Play
Fans can follow the action online through live results and play-by-play on www.arena.flowrestling.org. Simply go to the site and the link to live results and play-by-play will be prominently displayed.

Listen Live
Fans can listen to the action in Cleveland live on 93.7 KSPI-FM or okstate.com with Rex Holt and Roger Moore on the call.

In the Polls
The Cowboys enter this weekend's tournament with nine wrestlers ranked at their respective weights.

Three Cowboys enter this weekend's tournament ranked inside the top five after All-American performances a season ago. Two-time NCAA Champion Dean Heil is ranked No. 5 by Intermat, while Kaid Brock is also ranked as high as No. 3 by Amateur Wrestling News. At 197 pounds, Preston Weigel is ranked as high as No. 5 by Amateur Wrestling News. Returning All-American Nick Piccininni is ranked No. 6 by FloWrestling at 125. Chandler Rogers is ranked No. 6 at 165 pounds by The Open Mat.
A couple of newcomers to the OSU lineup currently hold rankings as well. Heavyweight Derek White is slotted at No. 8 by Amateur Wrestling News. Boo Lewallen is ranked as high as No. 9 at 149 pounds. Meanwhile, Jacobe Smith comes in at No. 8 at 174, according to The Open Mat. Keegan Moore comes in at No. 25 at 184.

Cowboys at the Tournament
The Oklahoma State wrestling program boasts 34 NCAA titles all-time, making it the winningest program in all of college sports.

Cowboy wrestlers have combined to win 142 NCAA individual titles and 458 All-America honors through the years, far surpassing the second-place totals held by Iowa (81 champions and 323 All-Americans).

John Smith at the NCAA Tournament
John Smith has led the Cowboys to five NCAA titles, and has coached 32 NCAA individual champions and 125 All-Americans since taking over the program in 1991-92.

His 32 NCAA champions and his 125 All-Americans lead all active coaches.

Big 12 Championship Recap
The Oklahoma State wrestling team claimed its sixth-consecutive team title at the Big 12 Wrestling Championship Sunday, adding individual championships from Nick Piccininni at 125 pounds, Boo Lewallen at 149 pounds, Chandler Rogers at 165 pounds and Derek White at heavyweight.

OSU finished with 137 team points, beating second-place Northern Iowa by 40.5 points. The Cowboys' four individual champions was the most in the conference, while no other team had more than two.

The team championship also marks coach John Smith's 20th career conference title and OSU's 52nd overall conference title in wrestling. With the addition of the four individual champions Sunday, OSU now has 102 Big 12 champions and 281 conference champions in its wrestling history.

Final Team Standings
1. Oklahoma State - 137
2. Northern Iowa - 96.5
3. South Dakota State - 94
4. Wyoming - 82.5
5. North Dakota State - 57
6. Oklahoma - 52
7. Iowa State - 51
8. Utah Valley - 50.5
9. West Virginia - 50
10. Northern Colorado - 30.5
11. Fresno State - 26.5
12. Air Force - 22.5

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Cowboy Wrestling Takes Nine to Cleveland for NCAA Championships

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