OSU in Third with Three Semifinalists at NCAA Wrestling Championships
ST. LOUIS – The Oklahoma State wrestling team went 12-2 in the early part of day two at the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships Friday, including a 3-0 performance in the quarterfinals to help secure a third-place spot in the team standings with 51 points.
No. 1 Daton Fix (133 pounds), No. 4 Boo Lewallen (149 pounds) and No. 4 AJ Ferrari (197 pounds) all won exciting quarterfinal matches to move on to the semifinals, but the Cowboys in the consolation bracket also came up with big wins to move OSU up on the team scoreboard.
Fix’s win came against No. 8 Chris Cannon of Northwestern as he controlled the entire match and ended it with a fall in 5:10 to move to 12-0 on the year and tally his sixth pin of the season. He has also won 11 bouts this year with bonus points attached, including each of his three wins at the NCAA tournament.
Continuing a nail-biter run in the championship bracket, Lewallen won his second straight match in overtime, getting a takedown in sudden victory to knock off No. 12 Max Murin of Iowa, 6-4. It is the first time the redshirt senior has reached the NCAA semifinals in a career that’s included overcoming multiple significant injuries.
“I like to pride myself by the things that I’ve been through that empower me to be in this position that I’m in,” Lewallen said. “I’m lucky to have this opportunity.”
Ferrari finished off OSU’s quarterfinal round with a 3-2 win over No. 5 Jacob Warner of Iowa, using a third-period reversal and nearly two and half minutes of riding time to become OSU’s first true freshman semifinalist since 2016.
As important and impressive as the Cowboys’ performance in the championship bracket was, several others came through with upset wins in the consolation bracket.
The biggest upsets came from No. 33-seed Wyatt Sheets at 157 pounds and No. 29-seed Austin Harris at heavyweight, who both won two matches against higher seeds to stay alive and move on to the fourth round of the consolation bracket. They are now the two lowest-seeded wrestlers still competing at the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships.
Sheets moved on with a 6-3 win over No. 18 Cade DeVos of South Dakota State and a 6-4 win over No. 26 Johnny Lovett of Central Michigan, while Harris advanced with a 7-4 decision over No. 3 Matt Stencel of Central Michigan and a second-period fall over No. 11 Zach Elam of Missouri to provide two of the most exciting upsets of the tournament. His win over Stencel was the second-biggest upset of the tournament, according to seeds.
Sheets and Harris were joined by No. 10 Travis Wittlake at 165 pounds and No. 11 Dakota Geer at 184 pounds as Cowboys to go 2-0 Friday morning and reach the fourth round of the consolation bracket. All four need to win one more bout Friday evening to earn All-America honors.
No. 21 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (125 pounds) and No. 18 Dustin Plott (174 pounds) also wrestled early Friday in the consolation brackets. Mastrogiovanni was only able to win his first bout in the second round before a third-round loss and Plott was eliminated in round two.
The next session begins Friday at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN2. Fans can stream every mat live on ESPN.com or through the ESPN app, and Cowboy fans can also follow along on Twitter through @CowboyWrestling.
2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships
March 19, 2021 | Enterprise Center | St. Louis, Mo.
(Friday Morning)
Team Standings Entering Semifinals (Top 5)
1. Iowa - 73.5
2. Penn State - 57.5
3. Oklahoma State - 51.0
4. NC State - 46.0
5. Missouri - 40.0
Quarterfinals
133: No. 1 Daton Fix (OSU) fall No. 8 Chris Cannon (Northwestern), 5:10
149: No. 4 Boo Lewallen (OSU) dec. No. 12 Max Murin (Iowa), 6-4, SV1
197: No. 4 AJ Ferrari (OSU) dec. No. 5 Jacob Warner (Iowa), 3-2
Consolation Second Round
125: No. 21 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (OSU) dec. No. 11 Dylan Ragusin (Michigan), 6-0
157: No. 33 Wyatt Sheets (OSU) dec. No. 18 Cade DeVos (South Dakota State), 6-3
165: No. 10 Travis Wittlake (OSU) MD No. 25 Jake Tucker (Michigan State), 10-2
174: No. 16 Clay Lautt (North Carolina) dec. No. 18 Dustin Plott (OSU), 6-2
184: No. 11 Dakota Geer (OSU) TF No. 21 Dominic Ducharme (CSU Bakersfield), 18-0, 6:02
285: No. 29 Austin Harris (OSU) dec. No. 3 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan), 7-4
Consolation Third Round
125: No. 19 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) dec. No. 21 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (OSU), 7-3
157: No. 33 Wyatt Sheets (OSU) dec. No. 26 Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan), 6-4
165: No. 10 Travis Wittlake (OSU) dec. No. 18 Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois), 7-3
184: No. 11 Dakota Geer (OSU) dec. No. 29 Samuel Colbray (Iowa State), 9-4
285: No. 29 Austin Harris (OSU) fall No. 11 Zach Elam (Missouri), 3:58
Semifinals Schedule (Friday Night)
133: No. 1 Daton Fix (OSU) vs. No. 4 Austin DeSanto (Iowa)
149: No. 4 Boo Lewallen (OSU) vs. No. 1 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State)
197: No. 4 AJ Ferrari (OSU) vs. No. 1 Myles Amine (Michigan)
Consolation Fourth Round Schedule (Friday Night)
157: No. 33 Wyatt Sheets (OSU) vs. No. 12 Brady Berge (Penn State)
165: No. 10 Travis Wittlake (OSU) vs. No. 4 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech)
184: No. 11 Dakota Geer (OSU) vs. No. 8 Taylor Venz (Nebraska)
285: No. 29 Austin Harris (OSU) vs. No. 9 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State)