Luke Surber Named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week

STILLWATER - Oklahoma State's 197-pounder Luke Surber earned Big 12 Wrestler of the Week after his upset over No. 1 Rocky Elam on Sunday, making it back-to-back weeks a Cowboy has won the award.

Surber went 2-0 on the weekend taking decisions over Michigan's Rylan Rogers at Bout at the Ballpark, 6-2, and Missouri's Elam, 5-4.

In a must-win match for the Cowboys against Missouri, Surber opened the scoring by taking Elam down with a minute to go in the first period. The final 15 seconds of the period was the difference in the match, consisting of an escape and takedown for Elam, followed by a reversal from Surber with seconds left in the period to take a 4-3 lead. From there, both wrestlers would escape from the down position in the following periods, leading Surber to a 5-4 decision. The win marked the first time a Cowboy has defeated a top-ranked wrestler since the 2021 NCAA Championships.

It is the first wrestler of the week honor for Surber in his career, and he is the second Cowboy to earn the honor this season after Carter Young did so last week.