Oklahoma State Seeks Seventh Consecutive Conference Title

Big 12 Notes PDF

2019 Big 12 Championships
Date/Time: March 9-10, 2019/11:00 a.m. CT
Location: BOK Center, Tulsa, Okla.
Watch: FloWrestling.com/Finals on Fox Sports
Radio: Pete 97.3-KSPI FM
Live Stats: FloArena

Cowboy Quick Hits
When Oklahoma State (15-0, 8-0) takes the mats for the Big 12 Championships, it seeks its 17th Big 12 tournament title in 22 attempts since the league held its first championship in 1997. Coach John Smith has led the Cowboys to 20 conference championships and has coached 114 individual conference champs since taking over the program in 1991-92. Under Smith's direction, Oklahoma State has finished first or second at the conference meet 22 times in 25 eligible years. The undefeated Cowboys seek their seventh consecutive conference title at the 2019 Big 12 Championships.

The Basics
The Big 12 Championship is divided into four sessions over two days of competition. Saturday's action will begin at 11 a.m. Sunday competition will begin at 8 a.m. A look at the full schedule:

Saturday, March 9
Session I - 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Preliminary & Quarterfinals Matches
Session II - 5:00 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Semifinal & Consolation Quarterfinal Matches

Sunday, March 10
Session III - 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Consolation Semifinals, 3rd & 5th Place Matches
Session IV - 7:00 p.m.
Championship Matches

Returning Big 12 Champs
Coach John Smith returns four previous Big 12 Champions in this year's tournament lineup including Nick Piccininni (125), Joe Smith (165), Preston Weigel (197) and Derek White (HWT). Piccininni seeks his third-straight conference title. Weigel and Smith go for No. 3 and White will attempt to go back-to-back to close out his Cowboy career.

John Smith at the Big 12s
Coach John Smith has led the Cowboys to 20 conference championships and has coached 114 individual conference champs since taking over the program in 1991-92. Under Smith, Oklahoma State has finished either first or second at the conference meet 22 times in 25 eligible years (Smith inherited an OSU program that was on probation at the time of his hiring and was not eligible to compete for the conference crown his first two seasons.) He is a 13-time selection as Big 12 Coach of the Year to go with his two Big Eight Coach of the Year accolades.

Three-Peats
Cowboys Nick Piccininni, Joe Smith and Preston Weigel are each in the hunt for their third Big 12 Conference Titles this weekend in Tulsa. Weigel won his top conference honor in 2016 as a redshirt freshman. After entering the postseason meet as the fifth seed, he knocked off South Dakota State's Nate Rotert, 4-3, in the finals. In 2017, the Cowboy took first in Tulsa over Rotert a second time. Piccininni has won back-to-back 125-pound titles at the conference meet. His first, in 2017, came in sudden victory over Josh Rodriguez (NDSU), and the most recent came via fall last season over West Virginia's Zeke Moisey. After going back-to-back at the conference tournament in 2016-17, Smith returns to the conference tournament at 165 pounds in search of his third Big 12 title.

Freshman Trio
Daton Fix (133), Kaden Gfeller (149) and Wyatt Sheets (157) make their Big 12 Conference tournament debuts this weekend in Tulsa. Gfeller and Fix are the top seeds in their respective brackets with Sheets seeded at No. 4. In the history of the program, OSU freshman have claimed conference titles 23 times; three of those freshmen are contending for titles at the conference meet this weekend (Piccininni, Joe Smith and Weigel). John Smith has coached 14 of those wrestlers.

The Big 12 at the NCAA Championships
This season the Big 12 Conference was allotted a record 53 qualifier allocations to the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the end of the month in Pittsburgh, Pa. Allocations are dispersed among the 10 weight classes with the most spots coming at 149 and 197 pounds (7). Four classes received five positions (125, 133, 174 and 184), and three earned six (149, 165 and 285). The 157-pound weight class received only one spot. Since adding affiliate members in 2016, the conference has earned 174 allocations, with this year's 53 marking the most.

Oklahoma State Seeks Seventh Consecutive Conference Title

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Players Mentioned

Daton Fix

Kaden Gfeller

Nick Piccininni

Wyatt Sheets

Joe Smith

Preston Weigel

Derek White

Oklahoma State University Athletics