OSU Wrestling in Big 12 Title Race with Only the Finals Remaining

Photo by: OSU Athletics

OSU Wrestling in Big 12 Title Race with Only the Finals Remaining

March 10, 2024 | Cowboy Wrestling

TULSA, Okla. – The Oklahoma State wrestling team finished the third session of the 2024 Big 12 Wrestling Championships in second place Sunday morning and trails Iowa State by just 7.0 points entering Sunday night's finals.

At 137.5 points for OSU and 144.5 points for Iowa State, they are the only two teams that remain in contention for the team title. The Cowboys have four finalists competing Sunday night and the Cyclones have five, with the only head-to-head matchup coming at 133 pounds.

"We're closing the gap, and credit to Iowa State with the bonus wins," coach John Smith said. "We're going to have to win hard matches tonight. I think we still have a shot at (the team championship). For us to win, we're going to have to have some upsets."

With four-points earned for a finals win and up to two more for a bonus-point win, Oklahoma State will likely need to win at least two more individual titles than Iowa State to take the team championship.

The Cowboys completed Sunday's early session with two third-place finishers in Izzak Olejnik (165 pounds) and Brayden Thompson (174 pounds), two fourth-place finishers in Tagen Jamison (141 pounds) and Teague Travis (157 pounds), a fifth-place finisher in Konner Doucet (HWT) and a sixth-place finisher in Luke Surber (197 pounds).

The results secured automatic berths to the NCAA Championships for all 10 Cowboy wrestlers, making Oklahoma State the only team in the Big 12 with that claim.

Sunday's action started with the consolation semifinals, where the Cowboys went 4-0 in matches they were favored in and fell short in upset bids at the two highest weight classes.

From there, No. 4 seed Olejnik upset third-seeded Peyton Hall of West Virginia, 5-1, and No. 3 seed Thompson upset second-seeded MJ Gaitan of Iowa State, 8-2, to claim their third-place finishes, while Jamison and Travis dropped decisions to finish fourth. Olejnik's and Thompson's wins avenged regular season losses to their respective opponents.

Doucet then won his fifth-place match over West Virginia's Michael Wolfgram to finish fifth, while Surber fell to higher-seeded Wyatt Voelker of Northern Iowa to finish sixth.

The final session of the 2024 Big 12 Wrestling Championships begins at 7:30 p.m. CT. Fans can watch the action live on ESPN2, see live results on TrackWrestling.com and follow updates via @CowboyWrestling on X.

The Cowboy finalists include Troy Spratley at 125 pounds, Daton Fix at 133 pounds, Jordan Williams at 149 pounds and Dustin Plott at 184 pounds. It marks the fifth Big 12 finals appearance for Fix, the third for Plott and the first for both Spratley and Williams.

2024 Big 12 Wrestling Championships
March 10, 2024 | BOK Center | Tulsa, Okla.

Session III (Sunday Afternoon)

Team Standings After Session III
1. Iowa State - 144.5
2. Oklahoma State - 137.5
3. South Dakota State - 114.0
4. Missouri - 111.5
5. West Virginia - 91.5
6. Northern Iowa - 91.0
7. Oklahoma - 68.5
8. Wyoming - 64.5
9. Air Force - 45.0
10. Northern Colorado - 33.5
11. North Dakota State - 28.0
12. Utah Valley - 22.0
13. California Baptist - 16.0

Consolation Semifinals
141: No. 2 Tagen Jamison (OSU) dec. No. 5 Clay Carlson (South Dakota State), 11-6
157: No. 3 Teague Travis (OSU) dec. No. 8 Jared Hill (Oklahoma), 7-2
165: No. 4 Izzak Olejnik (OSU) MD Jack Thomsen (Northern Iowa), 11-1
174: No. 3 Brayden Thompson (OSU) dec. No. 8 Brody Conley (West Virginia), 4-2
197: No. 2 Stephen Buchanan (Oklahoma) dec. No. 7 Luke Surber (OSU), 6-2
HWT: No. 3 Zach Elam (Missouri) dec. No. 5 Konner Doucet (OSU), 2-0

3rd Place Matches
141: No. 6 Josh Edmond (Missouri) dec. No. 2 Tagen Jamison (OSU), 8-1
157: No. 6 Cael Swensen (South Dakota State) dec. No. 3 Teague Travis (OSU), 5-4
165: No. 4 Izzak Olejnik (OSU) dec. No. 3 Peyton Hall (West Virginia) 5-1
174: No. 3 Brayden Thompson (OSU) dec. No. 2 MJ Gaitan (Iowa St), 8-2

5th Place Matches
197: No. 5 Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa) fall No. 7 Luke Surber (OSU), 6:32
HWT: No. 5 Konner Doucet (OSU) dec. No. 7 Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia), 5-2

Finals Matchups (Sunday Night)
125: No. 2 Troy Spratley (OSU) vs. No. 5 Jore Volk (Wyoming)
133: No. 1 Daton Fix (OSU) vs. No. 2 Evan Frost (Iowa State)
141: No. 1 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State) vs. No. 3 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa)
149: No. 3 Ty Watters (West Virginia) vs. No. 4 Jordan Williams (OSU)
157: No. 2 Ryder Downey (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 4 Cody Chittum (Iowa State)
165: No. 1 Keegan O`Toole (Missouri) vs. No. 2 David Carr (Iowa State)
174: No. 1 Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) vs. No. 7 Gaven Sax (North Dakota State)
184: No. 1 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 2 Dustin Plott (OSU)
197: No. 1 Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) vs. No. 3 Rocky Elam (Missouri)
HWT: No. 1 Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) vs. No. 2 Yonger Bastida (Iowa State)