Four Cowboys Wrap Up Medal Rounds at NCAA Wrestling Championships

ST. LOUIS – The Oklahoma State wrestling team wrapped up Saturday morning's medal rounds at the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships as Boo Lewallen, Travis Wittlake, Dakota Geer and Wyatt Sheets each earned a spot on the podium. Their efforts kept OSU in third place in the team standings and within striking distance of a runner-up finish with only Saturday night's final round remaining.

Lewallen, the No. 4 wrestler at 149 pounds, and Wittlake, the No. 10 wrestler at 165 pounds, each took home fourth-place honors after winning in the consolation semifinals and falling in closely contested third-place matches.

A redshirt senior, Lewallen earned bonus points for the Cowboys with an 8-0 major decision over Fresno State's No. 17 Kyle Parco in the consolation semifinal before falling 5-3 in the third-place bout to Yahya Thomas of Northwestern. Lewallen wraps up his Cowboy career with three Big 12 titles, three All-America honors and an 83-16 overall record.

Wittlake earned a 7-4 upset win over No. 7 Ethan Smith of Ohio State in the consolation semifinals to advance to the third-place bout, avenging a 4-3 loss to Smith in the second round of the championship bracket. He nearly claimed a third-place finish in his next bout against No. 6 Keegan O`Toole of Missouri as he scored a last-second takedown that would have given him the win, but after a review it was ruled that he was just short of beating the clock in a 4-3 loss.

OSU's lone wrestler to finish Saturday's early session with a win, Geer moved on from a 10-6 defeat in the 184-pound consolation semifinal to finish with a 6-0 upset over Northern Illinois' No. 7 Brit Wilson in the fifth-place match. He took control with takedowns in each of the last two periods and rode out the final 1:49 to earn the win.

"I think I was seeded lower than I should've been, but I expected to be an All-American," Geer said. "I got a couple good wins over some guys. I lost to the same Rutgers guy twice in the same tournament, so that's obviously one I would like to get back. Overall I think I had a pretty good tournament. I'm happy to get out there and get fifth."

Sheets was the final Cowboy to earn a place at the tournament, as he took eighth in the 157-pound bracket to earn the highest finish for a No. 33 seed in NCAA tournament history. He nearly finished seventh, but fell just short in yet another upset bid in a 3-2 loss to No. 5 Kaleb Young of Iowa.

With 95.5 team points and two wrestlers in Saturday night's finals, Oklahoma State can still earn a runner-up team finish as the Cowboys trail second-place Penn State by just two points. Iowa has clinched the team title with 125 points.

The finals begin Saturday at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN, where OSU's top-seeded Daton Fix aims for a title at 133 pounds against Penn State's No. 2 Roman Bravo-Young and No. 4 AJ Ferrari tries for the 197-pound title against No. 6 Nino Bonaccorsi of Pittsburgh. Fans can also stream the finals on ESPN.com or through the ESPN app, and Cowboy fans can follow along on Twitter through @CowboyWrestling.

2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships
March 20, 2021 | Enterprise Center | St. Louis, Mo.
(Saturday Morning)

Team Standings Entering the Finals (Top 5)

1. Iowa - 125.0

2. Penn State - 97.5

3. Oklahoma State - 95.5

4. Arizona State - 74.0

5. Michigan - 69.0

Consolation Semifinals

149: No. 4 Boo Lewallen (OSU) MD No. 17 Kyle Parco (Fresno State), 8-0

165: No. 10 Travis Wittlake (OSU) dec. No. 7 Ethan Smith (Ohio State), 7-4

184: No. 6 John Poznanski (Rutgers) dec. No. 11 Dakota Geer (OSU), 10-6

Third-Place Matches

149: No. 25 Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) dec. No. 4 Boo Lewallen (OSU), 5-3

165: No. 6 Keegan O`Toole (Missouri) dec. No. 10 Travis Wittlake (OSU), 4-3

Fifth-Place Matches

184: No. 11 Dakota Geer (OSU) dec. No. 7 Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois), 6-0

Seventh-Place Match

157: No. 5 Kaleb Young (Iowa) dec. No. 33 Wyatt Sheets (OSU), 3-2

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)