Fix, Ferrari Advance to Finals at NCAA Wrestling Championships
ST. LOUIS – Oklahoma State advanced two wrestlers to the finals of the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships Friday nightas Daton Fix and AJ Ferrari both came away with semifinal victories to help the Cowboys finish day two in third place with 86.5 points.
Fix, the undefeated, top-seeded wrestler at 133 pounds, won his semifinal matchup against Iowa’s fourth-seeded Austin DeSanto with a 3-2 decision. Fix grabbed an early takedown in the first and traded escapes with DeSanto for the remainder of the bout. He held on for the victory to earn the second NCAA finals appearance of his career. He’ll face No. 2 Roman Bravo-Young of Penn State for the national title.
“I thought through the last couple of weeks at the Big 12s and in some of his performances, you see some areas where (Fix) needs to continue to improve and he recognizes that,” coach John Smith said. “He had some competitive matches even with some big scores. They were hard matches that set his mind for the NCAA Championship.”
A true freshman who was seeded fourth at 197 pounds, Ferrari won his semifinal match with an upset of the top-seeded and previously unbeaten Myles Amine of Michigan. Although Ferrari entered as the underdog, he was the one who took control early and maintained it throughout the match. Ferrari grabbed a first-period takedown then used a full-period ride in the third period to advance with a 5-1 decision. He will face No. 6 Nino Bonaccorsi of Pittsburgh, and a win would make him just the third true freshman in Oklahoma State history to win an NCAA individual title, joining Pat Smith in 1990 and Richard Hutton in 1947.
"(Ferrari) just executes.” Smith said. “He backs up his work ethic with performance and not everybody does that. He's one kid that believes in his training and believes he's got to work hard, and he does. He works as hard as anyone I've ever coached. He puts the extra work in and I think more importantly he executes on the mat. There's not a lot of fear level with him.”
OSU senior Boo Lewallen also reached the semifinals in the 149-pound bracket, but dropped his match against Ohio State’s top-seeded Sammy Sasso. He will wrestle in consolation semifinals Saturday morning and can still finish as high as third place.
Three other Cowboys advanced to the placement matches, including Wyatt Sheets who provided one of the stories of the year. Sheets entered the tournament late as an alternate, filling in as the bottom-seeded, No. 33 wrestler in the 157-pound bracket. After a loss to the No. 1 seed, Sheets advanced all the way to the consolation quarterfinals to become the first No. 33 seed in NCAA tournament history to secure All-America honors. He will wrestle for seventh place Friday morning.
The other two Oklahoma State wrestlers in the medal rounds are No. 10 Travis Wittlake at 165 pounds and No. 11 Dakota Geer at 184 pounds. They join Lewallen in the consolation semifinals with their sights set on third place.
All six Cowboys wrestling Saturday have secured All-America honors. Lewallen earned his third All-America recognition, while Fix, Sheets, Wittlake and Geer earned their second. Ferrari earned his first and is the 17th true freshman in OSU history and the first since 2016 to become an All-American.
Heavyweight Austin Harris made an impressive effort from his spot as the 29-seed to finish as an All-American, but finished just one match shy with a loss in the consolation fourth round. No other 29-seed advanced as far as Harris.
The consolation semifinals and placement matches begins Saturday at 10 a.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. The finals will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.
2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships
March 19, 2021 | Enterprise Center | St. Louis, Mo.
(Friday Night)
Team Standings After Day Two (Top 5)
1. Iowa - 109.0
2. Penn State - 94.5
3. Oklahoma State - 86.5
4. Arizona State - 67.0
5. Michigan - 58.5
Semifinals
133: No. 1 Daton Fix (OSU) dec. No. 4 Austin DeSanto (Iowa), 3-2
149: No. 1 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) fall No. 4 Boo Lewallen (OSU), 4:01
197: No. 4 AJ Ferrari (OSU) dec. No. 1 Myles Amine (Michigan), 5-1
Consolation Fourth Round
157: No. 33 Wyatt Sheets (OSU) M. For. No. 12 Brady Berge (Penn State), M. For.
165: No. 10 Travis Wittlake (OSU) M. For. No. 4 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech), M. For.
184: No. 11 Dakota Geer (OSU) dec. No. 8 Taylor Venz (Nebraska), 8-2
285: No. 9 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) MD No. 29 Austin Harris (OSU), 13-5
Consolation Quarterfinals
157: No. 11 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) MD No. 33 Wyatt Sheets (OSU), 13-4
165: No. 10 Travis Wittlake (OSU) dec. No. 11 Cameron Amine (Michigan), 4-1
184: No. 11 Dakota Geer (OSU) dec. No. 5 Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech), 7-5
Consolation Semifinals Schedule (Saturday Morning)
149: No. 4 Boo Lewallen (OSU) vs. No. 17 Kyle Parco (Fresno State)
165: No. 10 Travis Wittlake (OSU) vs. No. 7 Ethan Smith (Ohio State)
184: No. 11 Dakota Geer (OSU) vs. No. 6 John Poznanski (Rutgers)
Seventh-Place Match Schedule (Saturday Morning)
157: No. 33 Wyatt Sheets (OSU) vs. No. 5 Kaleb Young (Iowa)
Finals Schedule (Saturday Night)
133: No. 1 Daton Fix (OSU) vs. No. 2 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State)
197: No. 4 AJ Ferrari (OSU) vs. No. 6 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh)
