Daton Fix Back as Cowboys Get Ready for Challenge Tourney
STILLWATER – Sunday is supposed to be a unique day in Oklahoma weather-wise but it will be a unique day from a wrestling standpoint. Fans that brave the heavy snow and cold forecast to get to one of wrestling’s great cathedrals in Gallagher-Iba Arena will be rewarded with a first of its kind event. The Cowboy Challenge Tournament will bring in wrestlers from West Virginia, Missouri, Wyoming, and Central Oklahoma along with the Cowboys. The competition starts at nine a.m. and the championship round begins at 1 p.m.
It’s dual season and a tournament is going to break out involving all of those school’s top wrestlers and some of their top back-ups at various weights. Each weight has an eight-wrestler bracket with winner’s and consolation brackets. It’s kind of like a mini NCAA of conference tournament.
The optional name for the event could be the Get Daton Fix Eligible for the NCAA Championships Tournament.
OSU fans know well that Fix is ranked No. 1 at 133-pounds despite not having competed yet this season except for the Orange-White ranking matches. Fix, also a favorite to wear the red, white, and blue of the USA in the upcoming Olympics was suspended by USADA for a small amount of ostarine in his system. It is a banned substance that is used to strengthen damaged muscles. Fix took a polygraph and passed. The amount in his system was very small.
“We obviously know that there was nothing intentional in his system and it was so minute that it was like a grain of salt in an Olympic-size swimming pool,” OSU coach John Smith told media in a Zoom conference. “But yet you have to find why it’s in your system, and that’s a process that’s kind of a little bit scary because you do get the maximum. The good thing is everything went the way we hoped it to go. We held strong on knowing that he intentionally did nothing.”
Coming back so late Fix has been working in the room and teammates say you couldn’t tell that he wasn’t working each week to wrestle in duals. Fix is a grinder that has never had a problem with working hard. Not competing was killing him. This is a kid that lives to wrestle and compete.
“He’s excited and it’s been a long journey,” Smith said when asked about the recent days and this season with the wait. “Some rules forced us to stretch it out further than we wanted, but we fought hard for him. His lawyer and Oklahoma State standing behind him. I said this from the beginning that he didn’t take anything to enhance his performance.”
The pressure is on, even though everybody in the sport knows he is the best 133-pounder out there, you have to prove it. In this case, Fix needs to wrestle four matches before the Big 12 Tournament in order to be eligible for anything other than an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Oklahoma State has one dual remaining next Sunday in hosting Oklahoma for the second Bedlam. With the eight man brackets for Sunday’s Cowboy Challenge Tournament, Fix should get four matches. There is the Bedlam dual next Sunday. If Fix doesn’t get four before the March 6 Big 12 Championships then he will need to win the Big 12 as his only option.
“It was a long time for him to be off and a lot of things happened in that process.” Smith said. “The one thing that did happen was he held on to his hopes and dreams that this would come to an end soon.”
This will benefit the other Oklahoma State wrestlers with a tournament experience, especially the three freshman starters for John Smith that include Trevor Mastrogiovanni at 125 pounds, A.J, Ferrari at 197-pounds, and Dustin Plott at 174.
“I haven’t wrestled a tournament in a really long time, so I’m just excited to get back to wrestling in a tournament,” Plott admitted. “It is my first ever Division I college tournament and I am really looking forward to it. I’m not going to treat it any different. “I’m very excited for this weekend.”
Here’ a look at the top wrestlers slated for the field of the Cowboy Challenge Tournament
| Weight | Top Oklahoma State Wrestler and Ranking in () | Other Top Competitors and Ranking in () |
| 125 | Trevor Mastrogiovanni (15) | Connor Brown, Missouri (18) |
| 133 | Daton Fix (1) | Matt Schmitt, Missouri (12); Ryan Sullivan, West Virginia (20) |
| 141 | Dusty Hone (UR) | Allan Hart, Missouri (5) |
| 149 | Boo Lewallen (4) | Brock Mauller, Missouri (3) |
| 157 | Wyatt Sheets (16) | Jarrett Jacques, Missouri (10); Jacob Wright, Wyoming (19) |
| 165 | Travis Wittlake (4) | Keegan O’Toole, Missouri (9) |
| 174 | Dustin Plott (12) | Hayden Hastings, Wyoming (10); Peyton Mocco, Missouri (11) |
| 184 | Dakota Geer (9) | Jeremiah Kent, Missouri (16) |
| 197 | AJ Ferrari (10) | Noah Adams, West Virginia (4); Stephen Buchanan, Wyoming (12); Rocky Elam, Missouri (15) |
| HWT | Austin Harris (UR) | Zach Elam, Missouri (15); Brian Andrews, Wyoming (16) |
Plott will see two ranked competitors ahead of him at his weight in No. 10 Hayden Hastings of Wyoming and No. 11 Peyton Mocco of Missouri.
“I’m definitely really excited about it and they are both good wrestlers. I don’t watch a lot of video, but I feel like if I wrestle the way I wrestle there won’t be any issues,” Plott said.
It should be grueling and it should be fun. Wrestling starts at nine a.m.