Oklahoma State Sends Four Wrestlers to Big 12 Finals
TULSA, Okla. – The Oklahoma State wrestling team wrapped up the first day of the 2022 Big 12 Wrestling Championships Saturday in third place with 90 team points, sending four Cowboys through to Sunday night's finals and three to Sunday morning's placement matches.
OSU's four finalists are tied for the most in the tournament. Missouri, who leads the team race with 109.5 points, also has four. Oklahoma is in second place with 93.5 points and one finalist, while the Cowboys sit in third with 90 points.
Top seeds Daton Fix, Kaden Gfeller and Dustin Plott reached the finals with wins in the 133-pound, 149-pound and 174-pound semifinal bouts, respectively, and seventh-seeded Luke Surber joined them with an upset win over the No. 3 seed in his bracket at heavyweight.
"I thought we had some good things, and there were some things that I didn't like, but that's kind of how it works with a team that has struggled a little bit," coach John Smith said. "I was pleased with our finalists. (Kaden) Gfeller got tested for a while and recovered and put him away. (Luke) Surber did a nice job avenging three losses into wins."
A junior who aims for his third Big 12 title tomorrow, Fix cruised to a 13-3 major decision over Iowa State's fifth-seeded Ramazan Attasauov. It moved to fix to 20-0 and marked his 15th bonus-point win this season.
"I was going out there to get bonus points knowing it is going to be a tight team race," Fix said. "I wrestled two guys today who I beat worse than I did in the duals. I think I'm peaking at the right time and am looking forward to tomorrow and nationals."
Gfeller was the next OSU semifinalist on the mat, knocking off fifth-seeded Colin Realbuto of Northern Iowa, 11-5. The Cowboy senior trailed 4-2 in the final period before a flurry that included a reversal, four-point nearfall and takedown separated him for a decisive win. Gfeller, now 17-2 this season, will try for his second conference title after winning the 149-pound crown as a freshman in 2019.
Oklahoma State sophomores, Plott and Surber both reached the Big 12 finals for the first time in their careers by winning hard-fought semifinal matches that came down to the final seconds. They each recorded a first-period takedown and held off their opponents for the final two periods to reach the finals. Plott topped No. 4 seed Lance Runyon of Northern Iowa with a 3-1 decision, while Surber earned his second straight upset of the day with a 3-2 win over No. 3 Sam Schuyler of Iowa State. Surber is the second-lowest seeded wrestler from any school and the lowest seeded Cowboy to reach the Big 12 finals since the event began in 1997.
"I just have to get tough," Surber said. "That's what the coaches preach to me. I just have to be tougher right now. I'm a little small, but being tough has won me these matches."
OSU's Trevor Mastrogiovanni and Dakota Geer also reached the semifinal rounds at 125 and 184 pounds, respectively, but fell into the consolation semifinals after dropping their bouts. They can still finish as high as third place with two wins in Sunday's early session.
True freshman 141-pounder Carter Young will also wrestle in Sunday's early session, as he reached the seventh-place match with after a win in the consolation first round and loss in the consolation quarterfinals.
Three Cowboys were eliminated on the first day, as Wyatt Sheets (157 pounds) Travis Wittlake (165 pounds) and Gavin Stika (197 pounds) fell in the first consolation round.
The second and final day of the Big 12 Championships begins with Session III at 12 p.m. Sunday, where third through eighth place finishers will be determined. It wraps up with the championship bouts in Session IV at 7 p.m. at the BOK Center in Tulsa.
Fans can follow live results on trackwrestling.com, live updates on Twitter via @CowboyWrestling and watch each mat live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the championship matches on ESPN2.
2022 Big 12 Wrestling Championships
March 5, 2022 | BOK Center | Tulsa, Okla.
Session II (Saturday Night)
Team Standings After Session II
1. Missouri - 109.5
2. Oklahoma - 93.5
3. Oklahoma State - 90.0
4. N. Iowa - 85.0
5. Iowa St. - 82.5
6. West Virginia - 56.0
7. North Dakota State - 54.0
7. South Dakota State - 54.0
9. Wyoming - 43.0
10. Air Force - 34.5
11. N. Colorado - 31.5
12. Utah Valley - 30.0
Semifinals
125: No. 1 Killian Cardinale (West Virginia) dec. No. 4 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (OSU), 9-2
133: No. 1 Daton Fix (OSU) MD No. 5 Ramazan Attasauov (Iowa St.), 13-3
149: No. 1 Kaden Gfeller (OSU) dec. No. 5 Colin Realbuto (N. Iowa), 11-5
174: No. 1 Dustin Plott (OSU) dec. No. 4 Lance Runyon (N. Iowa), 3-1
184: No. 1 Parker Keckeisen (N. Iowa) MD No. 4 Dakota Geer (OSU), 19-7
HWT: No. 7 Luke Surber (OSU) dec. No. 3 Sam Schuyler (Iowa St.), 3-2
Consolation First Round
141: No. 5 Carter Young (OSU) dec. No. 6 Cael Happel (N. Iowa), 10-5
157: Alex Hornfeck (West Virginia) dec. No. 3 Wyatt Sheets (OSU), 7-1
165: No. 6 Tanner Cook (South Dakota State) dec. No. 4 Travis Wittlake (OSU), 9-4
197: No. 5 Rocky Elam (Missouri) dec. Gavin Stika (OSU), 4-1
Consolation Quarterfinals
141: No. 1 Ian Parker (Iowa St.) dec. No. 5 Carter Young (OSU), 5-1
Consolation Semifinals Schedule (Sunday Morning)
125: No. 4 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (OSU) vs. No. 2 Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley)
184: No. 4 Dakota Geer (OSU) vs. No. 7 Keegan Moore (Oklahoma)
Seventh-Place Match (Sunday Morning)
141: No. 5 Carter Young (OSU) vs. Ty Smith (Utah Valley)
Finals Schedule (Sunday Night)
133: No. 1 Daton Fix (OSU) vs. No. 2 Kyle Biscoglia (N. Iowa)
149: No. 1 Kaden Gfeller (OSU) vs. No. 2 Willie McDougald (Oklahoma)
174: No. 1 Dustin Plott (OSU) vs. No. 6 Peyton Mocco (Missouri)
HWT: No. 7 Luke Surber (OSU) vs. No. 1 Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force)