Cowboys in a Tight Race for Big 12 Title with One Session Remaining

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TULSA, Okla. – Oklahoma State wrestlers Travis Wittlake and Dakota Geer each claimed a third-place finish at Session III of the 2021 Big 12 Wrestling Championships Sunday morning, helping position the team to compete for a ninth-straight Big 12 tournament title Sunday night.

The two third-place finishes were followed up by a fourth-place finish from Dustin Plott at 174-pounds, a fifth-place finish from Trevor Mastrogiovanni at 125 pounds and an eighth-place finish from 141-pounder Kaden Gfeller.

Combining Saturday's and this morning's results, OSU secured seven automatic bids to the 2021 NCAA Championships in St. Louis, including 125, 133, 149, 165, 174, 184 and 197 pounds.

The team combined for a 6-3 record in Session III, which moved the Cowboys from third to second in the team standings and cut its deficit from 11 points to eight points with only Sunday night's finals remaining.

It puts the Cowboys right in the middle of a four-team race for the Big 12 team title, as OSU, Oklahoma, Iowa State and Wyoming all have at least three finalists in Session IV and are within 15 points of each other. OU leads the way with 120 points, followed by Oklahoma State with 112, Iowa State with 109.5 and Wyoming with 105.5.

Wittlake claimed his 165-pound title with a 9-3 win over second-seeded Peyton Hall of West Virginia and Geer's third-place match win came against fourth-seeded Alan Clothier of Northern Colorado, 7-1. They both got there after cruising to wins in the consolation semifinals, winning 11-4 and 12-4, respectively.

Plott also won his consolation semifinal with a 6-4 decision, but came up short in his third-place bout, falling to higher-seeded Hayden Hastings of Wyoming, 4-2.

In the Cowboys' lone fifth-place match, Mastrogiovanni recorded an 18-1 technical fall over Iowa State's Kysen Terukina, bouncing back after he was upset in the consolation semifinal round.

Gfeller reached the seventh-place match after his performance Saturday, but had to record a medical forfeit Sunday morning.

The 2021 Big 12 Wrestling Championships conclude with the finals in Session IV at 5 p.m. at the BOK Center in Tulsa. OSU has three wrestlers competing, as sophomore Daton Fix (133) aims for his second title, senior Boo Lewallen (149) aims for his third and AJ Ferrari (197) tries to become the 13th true freshman in OSU history and the first since 2016 to win a conference title.

Fans can follow live results on trackwrestling.com, live updates on Twitter via @CowboyWrestling and watch live on ESPN2.

2021 Big 12 Wrestling Championship
March 7, 2020 | BOK Center | Tulsa, Okla.

Session III (Sunday Morning)

Team Standings After Session Two
1. Oklahoma - 120.0
2. Oklahoma State - 112.0
3. Iowa State - 109.5
4. Wyoming - 105.5
5. North Dakota State - 74.0
6. Northern Iowa - 71.0
7. Northern Colorado - 70.5
8. South Dakota State - 67.5
9. West Virginia - 57.0
10. Utah Valley - 51.0
11. Air Force - 32.5
12. Fresno State - 31.0

Consolation Semifinals (Sunday Morning)
125: No. 4 Killian Cardinale (West Virginia) dec. No. 3 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (OSU), 7-1
165: No. 1 Travis Wittlake (OSU) dec. No. 7 Austin Yant (Northern Iowa), 11-4
174: No. 3 Dustin Plott (OSU) dec. No. 5 Cody Surratt (Air Force), 6-4
184: No. 3 Dakota Geer (OSU) MD No. 5 Sam Colbray (Iowa State), 12-4

Third-Place Matches (Sunday Morning)
165: No. 1 Travis Wittlake (OSU) dec. No. 2 Peyton Hall (West Virginia), 9-3
174: No. 2 Hayden Hastings (Wyoming) dec. No. 3 Dustin Plott (OSU), 4-2
184: No. 3 Dakota Geer (OSU) dec. No. 4 Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado), 7-1

Fifth-Place Match (Sunday Morning)
125: No. 3 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (OSU) TF No. 7 Kysen Terukina (Iowa State), 18-1, 6:00

Seventh-Place Match (Sunday Morning)
141: No. 6 Chris Sandoval (Northern Colorado) M. For. Kaden Gfeller (OSU), M. For.

Finals Schedule (Sunday Night)
133: No. 1 Daton Fix (OSU) vs. Tony Madrigal (Oklahoma)
149: No. 1 Boo Lewallen (OSU) vs. No. 3 Mitch Moore (Oklahoma)
197: No. 4 AJ Ferrari (OSU) vs. No. 2 Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming)

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Cowboys in a Tight Race for Big 12 Title with One Session Remaining

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AJ Ferrari

Daton Fix

Boo Lewallen

Trevor Mastrogiovanni

Dustin Plott

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