Cowboys Head to Tulsa for Big 12 Wrestling Championships

Full Notes
Brackets
Stream

The Basics
The No. 7 Oklahoma State wrestling team (14-3 overall; 8-1 Big 12) begins postseason action on Saturday at the Big 12 Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Cowboys enters the Big 12 Championships seeking the program's 56th conference championship and 20th Big 12 tournament team title after a program-record streak of nine consecutive tournament championships came to an end last season.

Tournament Schedule
The Big 12 Championship is divided into four sessions over two days of competition. Saturday's matches will begin at 10 a.m. CT. On Sunday, wrestling resumes at 12 p.m. with the medal matches and the finals in the evening beginning at 8 p.m. A look at the full schedule:

Saturday, March 4
Session I - 10 a.m.
Preliminary & Quarterfinals Matches
Session II - 5 p.m.
Semifinals & Quarterfinal Consolations

Sunday, March 5
Session III - 12 p.m.
Consolation Semifinals & 3rd, 5th Place Matches
Session IV - 8 p.m.
Championship Matches

Watch the Cowboys
Sessions I, II and III of the Big 12 Championship will stream live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The championship session on Sunday is set to air on ESPNU beginning at 8 p.m.

Live Stats & Play-By-Play
Sessions I, III and IV of the 2022 Big 12 Championship will be broadcasted on Hot 93.7 with Rex Holt on the call. The evening session on Saturday can be heard on Pete 94. 3 KSPI-FM with Rex going on air at 4:30 p.m. CT. The @CowboyWrestling Twitter page will also be live tweeting results from the tournament. Fans can follow along with the Pokes through brackets and live results at TrackWrestling.com.

About the Cowboys
No. 7 Oklahoma State went 14-3 during the regular season as it now turns its attention to the postseason in which the Pokes will not have to leave the state of Oklahoma with the Big 12 Championships and NCAA Championships both being held at the BOK Center in Tulsa.The Pokes will be led by top seed Daton Fix who will look to join an exclusive group of Cowboy wrestlers to win four individual conference championships. The Cowboys also return three other former Big 12 champions, including Kaden Gfeller and Dustin Plott who are the second seeds at 157 and 174 pounds, and Travis Wittlake who is the third seed at 184 pounds. Fix has been dominant as usual for Oklahoma State, compiling a 22-0 record with 12 bonus-point wins in the regular season as he closes in on 100 career wins. Gfeller returned to the Pokes in the fall and has gone 18-5 at 157 pounds, while Plott is 18-4 on the season with 11 of those coming against ranked opponents. For Wittlake, the bump up to 184 pounds has worked out as the senior is 16-4 on the season and ranked just outside the top-10 in the weight class. A pair of Cowboys will be making their second appearances at the Big 12 Championships as four seeds in their respective brackets. Carter Young has gone 13-10 this season at 141 pounds, and has four top-10 wins to his resume, including victories over the second and third seed in the 141-pound bracket this weekend. Luke Surber will wrestle as the fourth seed in a deep 197-pound bracket that includes three wrestlers ranked in the top-10 at the weight nationally. Wyatt Sheets will be making his fifth appearance at the Big 12 tournament with the addition of his COVID season. Victor Voinovich and Konner Doucet will be making their postseason debuts for Oklahoma State at the Big 12 Championships. Voinovich will be the fifth seed at 149 pounds after a 14-8 regular season, while Doucet will start as the eight seed in the heavyweight bracket. Reece Witcraft will enter the tournament unseeded at 125 pounds.

Cowboys in the Polls
Oklahoma State's roster features 10 wrestlers ranked in various polls this week, with three holding spots inside the top-10. Senior 133-pounder Daton Fix is the consensus No. 2 wrestler at his weight and is the highest ranked Cowboy as the reigning Big 12 champion and a national finalist the last two seasons. Following Fix, Dustin Plott appears as high as No. 9 at 174 pounds after earning All-America honors for the first time last season with a sixth-place finish. Kaden Gfeller (157) is back in the top-10 ranked as high as No. 9 by Intermat as he prepares to chase his third individual conference title. Carter Young holds steady at No. 15 at 141 pounds, while Luke Surber climbed up the rankings as high as No. 15 at 197 pounds after taking down No. 1 Rocky Elam in a vital upset in OSU's win over Missouri on Feb. 5. Victor Voinovich (149) and Konner Doucet (HWT) land at No. 19 and No. 20 in Intermat's rankings this week but are a few spots higher in other polls. Wyatt Sheets is ranked at No. 19 by FloWrestling at 165 pounds as he continues to navigate a gaunlet of a schedule to close out the regular season. At 125 pounds, Reece Witcraft made his first appearance in Intermat's rankings where he sits at No. 32.

John Smith at the Conference Meet
Coach John Smith has led the Cowboys to a combined 23 conference titles including 21 Big 12 Tournament championships and two regular season crowns. Since Smith took over the program in 1992, OSU has produced 129 individual conference champions. Under Smith the Cowboys have finished either first or second at the conference meet 25 times in 29 eligible years. (Smith inherited an OSU program that was on probation and was not eligible to compete for the conference crown his first two seasons). Smith is a 13-time selection as Big 12 Coach of the Year to go with his two Big Eight Coach of the Year accolades.

Two Cowboys Chasing the Century Mark
Cowboy seniors Daton Fix and Wyatt Sheets are both nearing 100 wins in their collegiate careers. The active leaders on Oklahoma State's roster with 94 wins for Fix and 84 for Sheets, the century mark could be within reach toward the end of this season. Sheets elected to return to OSU for his COVID season, while Fix is one of the winningest wrestlers in program history based on winning percentage and still has another year of eligibility he could take advantage of. OSU has had 44 wrestlers reach the 100-win mark in their career, most recently accomplished by Nick Piccininni during the 2020 season.Sheets is also on pace to crack the top 10 in total bouts for a career in OSU history. With 139 matches under his belt, Sheets needs six more to tie Jamal Parks for 10th place with 145. He has been a staple in the Oklahoma State lineup since the 2018-19 season as he prepares to close out his college career in March.

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Players Mentioned

Konner Doucet

Daton Fix

Kaden Gfeller

Dustin Plott

Wyatt Sheets

Luke Surber

Victor Voinovich

Reece Witcraft

Travis Wittlake

Carter Young

Oklahoma State University Athletics