Cowboys Prepare for Conference Championship in Tulsa

Big 12 Championship Notes
Big 12 Championship Brackets

STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State Cowboy wrestling team begins postseason action at the 2020 Big 12 Wrestling Championship this weekend in Tulsa, Okla, on Saturday morning. Brackets position three Pokes atop their weight classes at the two-day tournament, including Nick Piccininni (125), Boo Lewallen (149) and Travis Wittlake (165). The Pokes will contend for their eighth consecutive league tournament title and the 22nd under head coach John Smith.

Tournament Details
The Big 12 Championship is divided into four sessions over two days of competition. Saturday's matches will begin at 11 a.m. On Sunday, wrestling resumes at 11 a.m. with the consolation semifinals. A look at the full schedule:

Saturday, March 7
Session I - 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Preliminary & Quarterfinals Matches
Session II - 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Semifinals & First and Second Round Consolations

Sunday, March 8
Session III - 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Consolation Semifinals & 3rd, 5th, 7th Place Matches
Session IV - 6 p.m.
Championship Matches

Watch:
Sessions I-III Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Session IV Fox Sports Network
Listen: Hot 93.7 KSPI-FM
Live Stats: Trackwrestling.com

Big 12 Tournament Seeds Announced
Oklahoma State wrestlers claimed No. 1 seeds at three weights in this season's Big 12 Championship brackets. Nick Piccininni is atop the 125-pound bracket for a third consecutive season. Boo Lewallen and Travis Wittlake each earned the top seed at their weights for the first time in their careers. Anthony Montalvo debuts at 184 pound in the Big 12 tournament as the second seed. He has only one conference loss on the season to Northern Iowa's Taylor Lujan. Wyatt Sheets will appear at the conference championship for a second season at 157 pounds where he was allotted the third seed. In his first Big 12 Championship outing, Dusty Hone is the No. 4 seed at 141 pounds. Dakota Geer (197) and Joe Smith (174) are seeded fifth for the Cowboys, and freshman Reece Witcraft lands at No. 6 among Big 12 133-pounders.

Returning Big 12 Champs
Oklahoma State has three previous conference champions in contention at this year's championship. Nick Piccininni (125), Boo Lewallen (149) and Joe Smith (174). Smith looks to claim conference title No. 3, and Lewallen seeks his second.

Conference King
Nick Piccininni looks to secure his fourth Big 12 Championship at the 2020 tournament. This season, he is 9-0 against Big 12 opponents with seven of those being bonus-point victories for the senior. Should the Cowboy win, he would become only the ninth Cowboy in program history to repeat the feat all four years. Of the previous eight four timers, only Alex Dieringer and Anthony Collica have also claimed team conference titles all four years. Piccininni looks to become the third.

John Smith at the Conference Meet
Coach John Smith has led the Cowboys to a combined 21 conference titles including 19 Big 12 Tournament championships and two regular season crowns. Since Smith took over the program in 1992, OSU has produced 120 individual conference champs. Under Smith the Cowboys have finished either first or second at the conference meet 23 times in 26 eligible years. (Smith inherited an OSU program that was on probation and was not eligible to compete for the conference crown his first two seasons). Smith is a 13-time selection as Big 12 Coach of the Year to go with his two Big Eight Coach of the Year accolades. Should the Cowboys claim a conference title this weekend, it would mark the longest run of consecutive Big 12 Championship wins in Smith's tenure and in the history of the conference. It would also give OSU its longest run of conference titles, matching the eight won from 1921-1928. The Cowboys look to add to 108 individual Big 12 titles and 287 conference champs. The team will seek its 52nd conference tournament title and 54th overall conference crown in program history.

Sheets Claims Final 2020 Conference Honor
Wyatt Sheets earned his second nod as Big 12 Wrestler of the Week on Feb. 25 following the final week of dual action. In a tough loss at Iowa, Sheets was a highlight for the Cowboys topping No. 5 Kaleb Young, 9-4, at 157 pounds. Sheets was the only Cowboy to earn the award for the Pokes this season, claiming the first after a win over 11th-ranked Jarrett Jacques of Missouri to start the month of February.

Conference Cowboys in the Classroom
Six Oklahoma State wrestlers claimed spots on the 2020 Academic All-Big 12 Wrestling Team, the conference office announced Thursday. First-team members in Austin Harris, Dusty Hone and Cornelius Putnam highlight the list for the Pokes. Andrew Marsden, Andrew Shomers and Travis Wittlake claimed second-team accolades for the team. It marks Marsden's third such Big 12 honor and is a first for Shomers and Wittlake. Additionally, Dusty Hone was named one of 89 student-athletes given the 2020 Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award. It's the conference's highest academic honor. In order to be eligible, student-athletes must have lettered at least once in their career while maintaining residence at their institution for at least one academic year. The honoree should have 100 hours of earned credit with a cumulative GPA of 3.80.

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Players Mentioned

Dakota Geer

Austin Harris

Dusty Hone

Boo Lewallen

Andrew Marsden

Anthony Montalvo

Nick Piccininni

Cornelius Putnam

Wyatt Sheets

Andrew Shomers

Joe Smith

Reece Witcraft

Travis Wittlake

Oklahoma State University Athletics