Jamison and Teague Flip Flop Being the Star of Semifinals for OSU at Big 12 Wrestling

TULSA, Okla. – Saturday night’s semifinals proved to be a more challenging session for the Cowboys at the Big 12 Wrestling Championships. The potential story of the tournament for Oklahoma State was unseeded Teague Travis at 149 pounds. He was 2-0 and a step way from wrestling for the championship. Travis was dealing with No. 2 seed Paniro  Johnson of Iowa State. Just prior to Travis’ match, No. 4 seed Tagen Jamison at 141 was set to try his fortune against top seed Andrew Alirez of Northern Colorado. In a matter of 20 minutes those two Cowboys traded places with Jamison now the story of the event for Oklahoma State and Travis, still a good story, knocked into the consolations. Oklahoma State ended the evening solidly in first place by over 30 points and with six wrestlers in the championships Sunday night.

All of Tagen Jamison’s success followed a slightly controversial start to the day when it was alleged that Jamison and OU 133 pound wrestler Cleveland Belton were not in line for weigh in by the specified time and that they were still working out and trying to make weight. Several coaches protested and felt they should be disqualified, but the Big 12 officials did not. Both wrestlers made weight.

Jamison fell behind in the first period when Alirez got a single and worked it for a good 30 seconds and finally got the takedown. Jamison with an escape made it 3-1. In the second period Jamison started down and got an escape to make it 3-2. Jamison was close with a takedown, but could not pull his head out of Alirez chest to get control. 

In the third period, Jamison got the riding time under a minute before Alirez escaped. Then the wild third period with Alirez getting a stalling point and then Jamison with a takedown that looked like it would be the difference. Instead, Alirez got a reversal to take the lead. Jamison got an escape and tied at 6-6 it was on to sudden victory.

Jamison about a minute in got the takedown and immediately turned Alirez for a four-point near fall and a 13-6 win that had the mostly Oklahoma State crowd screaming. Tagen Jamison (20-3) knocked off the top seed and will now wrestle Cael Happle of Northern Iowa, who won by a 14-3 major decision over Jacob Frost of Iowa State.

At 149, Travis Teague was near perfect in the morning session advancing after a long layoff and coming in unseeded after dropping weight to get down to 149. Iowa State’s No. 2 seed Paniro Johnson got both takedowns in the match, one in the first period and one in the second and that really was all he needed in a 7-3 win. Johnson was the better wrestler and Travis goes down to the consolations. 

Caleb Fish lost his semifinal match in the strangest of fashion. The No. 2 seed was wrestling No. 6 seed Vinny Zerban of Northern Colorado. Fish got a first period takedown with 12 seconds left and Zerban had to go back to the medical room because of suspected concussion. After a near 15 delay, Zerban was back and started down for the final 12 seconds and got an escape out of it. Remember that point. An escape early in the second by Fish made it 4-1, but then in the third period Zerban started with an escape. After a stalling call that went against Fish it was 4-2 and then almost at the buzzer in the third, Zerban (17-4) got a takedown. OSU challenged it but it was upheld and Fish (17-8) dropped into the consolations. 

The top part of the Cowboys lineup kept the push going as 174 pounds top seed Dean Hamiti Jr. (22-0) won major decision 17-8 over Cade DeVos of South Dakota State. He will finlly get to wrestle Missouri’s defending NCAA champion Keegan O’Toole, who won his semifinal in a 10-1 major decision.   

Fresh off two pins earlier in the day, Oklahoma State 184 pounder Dustin Plott got all he wanted from South Dakota State’s No. 3 seed Bennett Burge. Trailing 3-1 going to the second, Plott got an escape and then used a single to get a takedown to go up 5-3. Add a stall call and riding time and it was 7-3.

Plott will get his old nemesis from Northern Iowa in top seed, No. 1-ranked, and defending NCAA Champion Parker Keckheisen. Keckheisen beat Plott in the NCAA final last season and at the Big 12 and twice this season. Plott is 18-3 and Keckheisen is 23-0.

Luke Surber advanced with a 1-0 decision. That’s right! He hung on 1-0 with a second period escape. Top seed Surber (22-2) will wrestle Northern Iowa’s Wyatt Voelker who is the No.3 seed.

Oklahoma State No. 3 heavyweight in the nation and top seed Wyatt Hendrickson was the only wrestler in the finals to pin all three of his opponents as he pinned Joey Mora of OU in 3:22. Mora was the first wrestler to take the Cowboys second lieutenant in the Air Force to the second period. Hendrickson will draw Cohlton Schultz of Arizona State in the finals. Hedrickson beat Schultz in Stillwater this season 9-5. Hendrickson is now 24-0 and Schultz is 23-3.

The action at 124 pounds to start the session was pretty mundane, but successful as Troy Spratley was scoreless with his opponent unseeded Tristan Daugherty of North Dakota State after the first period.Spratley, the No. 4 seed picked up a qucik escape starting on bottom in the second period. Then he added another point on a stall call on Daugherty and that was it. Spratley advanced to the finals on Sunday night against West Virginia wrestler Jett Strickenberger. Strickenberger brought the flash with a fall at 2:15 in the first period. Strickenberger did the same to Spratley in the dual this season in Stillwater.

Oklahoma State’s team lead had shrunk by the end of the evening as they lead with 137.5 points followed Northern Iowa with 120.5 points, South Dakota State 87.5 points, and defending champ Iowa State with 84.

Besides the finalists, three Cowboys will wrestle in the consolation semifinals in the morning as Cameron Amine advanced there with two wins. onr by tech fall and the other a major decision. Teague Travis and Caleb Fish will wrestle there in the morning. At 133 pounds Reece Witcraft lost in the quarterfinals after a first round bye and then he lost in his first wrestleback Saturday night, so he is done.