Fix into Finals for Third Time, Cowboys Have Two All-Americans Fewest Since 1953
DETROIT – For the third time in his career, Oklahoma State’s Daton Fix is a finalist at the NCAA Wrestling Championships and will get his chance to win his first NCAA Championship in a rematch from 2021.
The Cowboy junior used a takedown in the first period, a quick escape in the second and another takedown with less than 10 seconds remaining in the third to secure a 5-1 decision over No. 3 Michael McGee of Arizona State in the 133-pound semifinal round on Friday night.
Fix, who is 25-0 on the year, has now earned a rematch of last year’s finals matchup against Penn State’s top-seeded Roman Bravo-Young, who also enters the bout undefeated on the year.
"That’s the match I've been looking for for about a year now, so it's here tomorrow, " Fix said. "It's going to go down. It's been on my mind ever since it took place last time, so you know, wish I would have scored more points, but I can do that tomorrow."
OSU’s 62nd wrestler to earn three All-America honors, Fix was joined as an All-American Friday night by sophomore Dustin Plott, who finished a heroic comeback in the fourth consolation round of the 174-pound bracket to secure the honor. It will be the fewest number of All-Americans for the Cowboys in wrestling since 1953 when Oklahoma State also had two All-Americans.
Down 7-4 with less 15 seconds remaining in the third period, Plott made a late shot and finished a takedown against Ohio State’s seventh-seeded Ethan Smith, then rode out the period to push his riding time over the one-minute mark and force a sudden victory period.
Plott kept the pressure on and scored the deciding takedown just over halfway through the extra time to become an All-American for the first time in his career, advancing to the consolation quarterfinals with a 9-7 decision.
The next bout pitted Plott against No. 10 Clay Lautt of North Carolina, who ended Plott’s run as a freshman at last year's NCAA tournament. Lautt scored the first takedown of the bout, but a flurry in the final 10 seconds of the second period featuring a takedown and a nearfall gave Plott a wide lead. He went on to finish an 11-3 major decision to advance to Saturday morning’s consolation semifinal round. Plott secured at least a sixth-place finish with the performance, and he can still finish as high as third place. He’ll face No. 4 Hayden Hidlay of NC State to start his competition tomorrow.
"Well, I think the one thing we've seen out of Dustin throughout this tournament is as he has compiled more matches, we've seen him improve with his confidence, his conditioning and his work ethic," Smith said. "I think you just throw in these matches and he's not only getting better, he's getting tougher. We just saw one of his better matches of his career."
With the addition of Fix and Plott to the list, Oklahoma State wrestling has now won 483 All-America honors in its history, far more than any other program.
Cowboy 149-pounder Kaden Gfeller also wrestled in Friday night’s session, but fell, 7-4, to No. 3 Austin Gomez of Wisconsin to bow out of the tournament and finish one win short of All-America honors.
As a team, the Cowboys sit in 13th place with 38.5 points and one day remaining at the event.
The fifth session of the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships begins at 10 a.m. CT Saturday morning and will feature Plott in the consolation semifinals and placement matches. The sixth and final session will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday night as Fix aims for his first NCAA title. Fans can watch the action from Session V live on ESPNU and Session VI live on ESPN. Every match can also be streamed live on ESPN.com or through the ESPN app.
.2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships
March 18, 2022 | Little Caesars Arena | Detroit, Mich.
Session IV (Friday Night)
Team Standings After Session IV (Top 15)
1. Penn State - 108
2. Michigan - 84.5
3. Arizona State - 63.5
4. Iowa - 62
5. Nebraska - 54
6. Northwestern - 49
7. Virginia Tech - 48
8. Cornell - 45
9. Missouri - 42
9. Ohio State - 42
11. Minnesota - 41
12. NC State - 40.5
13. Oklahoma State - 38.5
14. Oregon State - 38
14. Princeton - 38.5
Semifinals
133: No. 2 Daton Fix (OSU) dec. No. 3 Michael McGee (Arizona State), 5-1
Consolation Fourth Round
149: No. 3 Austin Gomez (Wisconsin) dec. No. 9 Kaden Gfeller (OSU), 7-4
174: No. 6 Dustin Plott (OSU) dec. No. 7 Ethan Smith (Ohio State), 9-7, SV1
Consolation Quarterfinals
174: No. 6 Dustin Plott (OSU) MD No. 10 Clay Lautt (North Carolina), 11-3
Consolation Semifinals Schedule (Saturday Morning)
174: No. 6 Dustin Plott (OSU) vs. No. 4 Hayden Hidlay (NC State)
Finals Schedule (Saturday Night)
133: No. 2 Daton Fix (OSU) vs. No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State)
