OSU Wrestling To Host the Cowboy Challenge Tournament

Cowboy Challenge Notes
Brackets

STILLWATER – The No. 6 Oklahoma State wrestling team hosts the Cowboy Challenge Tournament beginning at 11 a.m. on Sunday. The Cowboys welcome No. 5 Missouri, West Virginia and Wyoming into Gallagher-Iba Arena for the individual tournament.

Tournament Details
Date/Times:
Cowboy Challenge Tournament – Feb. 14, 2021/ 11 a.m. CT
Location: Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater, Okla.
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ (Starting at 4 p.m.)
Listen: Hot 93.7 KSPI-FM (Starting at 4 p.m.)
Live Stats: Trackwrestling.com

The Basics
Oklahoma State welcomes wrestlers from No. 5 Missouri, Wyoming, West Virginia to compete in the Cowboy Challenge Tournament on Sunday. The individual tournament will consist of an eight-man bracket at each weight, with the wrestlers being seeded by rank and then a random drawing. The quarterfinals will begin at 11 a.m. in Gallagher-Iba Arena with the finals set to begin at 4 p.m. CT. The No. 6 Cowboys are fresh off a trip to Norman where they won their first Bedlam matchup of the season 24-10, followed by a 45-0 rout of Little Rock.

How It Works
The Cowboy Challenge tournament consists of eight-man brackets at each weight class, filled with wrestlers from the participating teams who are seeded first by ranking, then by random selection. In weight classes with more than eight wrestlers, a wrestle off will take place to determine who makes it into the eight-seed bracket. Beginning at 11 a.m. each weight class, beginning with 125 pounds and moving up to heavyweight, will wrestle its quarterfinals round before moving onto the semifinals. The winners of the semifinal matches will wrestle on Mat 1 in the finals round, while the losers wrestle on Mat 2 for third place. The finals and third-place round will begin at 4 p.m. and stream on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Team score will not be counted.

FIXer Upper
The return of Daton Fix to the Cowboy lineup is finally here. The sophomore has not wrestled for Oklahoma State since the finals match of the 2019 NCAA Championships where he finished runner-up as a redshirt freshman. In that season, Fix went 34-2, with 14 of those wins against ranked opponents. Ranked No. 1 in the country at 133 pounds, Fix will look to sure up a position in the lineup that has struggled so far this season. OSU's starters have gone a combined 3-6 in duals, although Reece Witcraft did win his last two outings against Oklahoma and Little Rock.

Cowboys In The Polls
Oklahoma State's roster features 10 wrestlers ranked in various polls this week, with seven holding spots inside the top-10. Sophomore 133-pounder Daton Fix is the consensus No. 1 wrestler at 133 pounds and is the highest ranked Cowboy. Not far behind Fix are teammates and returning Big 12 individual champions Boo Lewallen and Travis Wittlake. Lewallen (149) ranks No. 4 among all of the polls, while Wittlake (165) ranges between No. 4 to a No. 5 ranking from FloWrestling. Three true freshmen appeared in the rankings after excellent starts to their college careers. Trevor Mastrogiovanni (125) has started the season 9-1 and is ranked as high as No. 15 by Intermat. 174-pounder Dustin Plott holds the highest ranking among the freshman claiming the No. 7 spot in TOM's poll. Finally, AJ Ferrari (197) appears in all four rankings, including a No. 9 spot in WIN's poll after a 9-0 start to his freshman campaign. Wyatt Sheets remains as high as No. 10 at 157 pounds after making his first dual starts of the season for the Cowboys against UNI and Iowa State. Senior Dakota Geer is ranked as high as No. 7 and as low as No. 10 at 184 pounds where he was an All-American in 2019 after wrestling at 197 pounds last season. Austin Harris appeared in The Open Mat's poll for the third-consecutive week. With a 6-3 start to the season and a major decision over Air Force's Wyatt Hendrickson, Harris landed at No. 26 in the heavyweight division this week. Appearing in polls for the first time this season is Dusty Hone (141), who has replaced an injured Kaid Brock in the starting lineup. a third-place finisher at the Big 12 Championships last March, Hone is ranked No. 17 by FloWrestling.

Tune In
Beginning at 11 a.m. CT, the entire Cowboy Challenge Tournament can be followed on Trackwrestling.com. The finals round of the event, which is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m., will be aired on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Lee Roy Smith and J Carl Guymon on the call and on the radio on Hot 93.7 KSPI-FM with Rex Holt.

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

AJ Ferrari

Daton Fix

Austin Harris

Boo Lewallen

Trevor Mastrogiovanni

Dustin Plott

Wyatt Sheets

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