Plott Never Quits, but Keckeisen Wins for Third Time and Takes NCAA Crown

(This story was written by Pokes Report’s Robert Allen, but was contributed to by Sean Maguire of Oklahoma State University Athletic Media Relations.)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Dustin Plott was never going to give in and the senior from Tuttle, Okla. has one more season to wrestle, so he is building on his career. He earned his third All-American honor and made his first championship match at his new weight of 184 pounds. He has been fantastic all season going 31-4. The trouble is three of those losses have been to the same opponent. Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa decisioned Plott 12-6 in the dual between UNI and OSU at Gallagher-Iba.

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Plott had a strong tournament and is a worthy rival of Keckeisen.

Two weeks ago in Tulsa, Keckeisen scored a major decision 14-5 to win the Big 12 Championship. There was hope that this would be different but the relentless attack and smoot transition in takedowns rewarded Keckeisen again with an 14-5 major decision and the national championship.

As strange as it sounds with Keckeisen winning the three meetings by a total of 40-16, these two are good rivals. You can see Keckeisen has to work hard, not only to get the lead, but especially to extend it against Plott, who never gives in.

Less than a minute into the first period, Keckeisen dropped down and got one of Plott’s legs and he was able to twist around on the mat and gain control for the takedown. The Northern Iowa wrestler wanted to build riding time here and he did expanding the ride to 48 seconds before Plott got Keckeisen’s hands seprated and spun away for the excape to make it 3-1.

Under a minute left in the first period, Plott needed to keep the score where it was, but Keckeisen had Plott on the edge of the mat and did a great job of keeping a hand, then a foot in the circle and finally got control to make it 6-1. Plott got the escape to make it 6-2.

Plott started the second period in the down position and got the escape fairly quick, but while the score was 6-3, Keckeisen had the riding time advantage at 1:11. 

In the third period, Keckeisen was down and got the escape in literally one second. Then he put the exclamation point on his championship with two picture perfect tachnical takedowns of grabbing the single leg, expanding to a  double leg, and then firmly gaining control in the back of the thighs and following through. The two takedowns, Plott’s two escapes, and the riding time point added up to 14-5.

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Olejnik finished fifth for his best ever.

The only win for the Cowboys came in the medal session on Saturday morning and early afternoon. 

Oklahoma State 165-pounder Izzak Olejnik claimed his best career finish at the NCAA Wrestling Championships Saturday morning, taking fifth place with a win over Stanford’s Hunter Garvin in the final match of his college career. A redshirt senior who transferred to OSU for his final season, Olejnik finished his tournament run by defeating Garvin with a 3-0 decision.

2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships

March 23, 2024 | T-Mobile Center | Kansas City, Mo.

Final Team Results

1. Penn State - 172.5

2. Cornell - 72.5

2. Michigan - 71.0

4. Iowa State - 68.5

5. Iowa - 67.0

6. Arizona State - 64.5

7. Virginia Tech - 64.0

8. Ohio State - 62.0

9. Nebraska - 60.5

10.

- 56.0

Consolation Semifinals

165: No. 6 Michael Caliendo (IOWA) dec. No. 7 Izzak Olejnik (OSU), 9-8

Fifth-Place Match

165: No. 7 Izzak Olejnik (OSU) dec. No. 20 Hunter Garvin (STAN), 3-0

Championship Matches

133: No. 6 Vito Arujau (COR) dec. No. 1 Daton Fix (OSU), 5-3

184:  No. 1 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) MD No. 3 Dustin Plott (OSU), 14-5