Cowboys Open Postseason at Big 12 Championships

The Basics
The No. 4 Oklahoma State wrestling team (14-1 overall; 8-0 Big 12) opens postseason action on Saturday, March 9, at the Big 12 Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Cowboys went a perfect 8-0 in duals against Big 12 opponents this season, including wins over No. 5 Iowa State and No. 10 Missouri, the league's highest-ranked teams after the Pokes. Oklahoma State is seeking its 56th conference championship and 20th tournament title of the Big 12 era. From 2013 to 2021, the Cowboys won a program-record nine Big 12 tournament championships in a row. In comparison, Iowa State ranks second in league history with four total Big 12 titles. Since the Big 12's inception in 1997, OSU has collected 120 individual conference championships, nearly three times more than Iowa State's second-place total of 45.

On the Air
Sessions I, II and III of the Big 12 Championships will be available for streaming on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Mike Leslie and Hardell Moore on the call. Sunday night's championship session is set to broadcast on ESPN2 with a crew of Mike Couzens, Rock Harrison and Quint Kessenich. The Cowboys are no stranger to a national audience, previously competing on ESPNU and FS1 already this year. The tournament can also be heard on the radio as Rex Holt provides coverage on Hot 93.7 KSPI-FM for sessions I, III and IV, and 105.5 KGFY-FM for the second session. Live stats and results will be provided on TrackWrestling.com, while the @CowboyWrestling page on X will also provide updates as they become available.

Cowboys at the Conference Championship
Just like on the national scale, Oklahoma State has dominated on the conference level as well, winning 55 league titles as a team and Cowboy wrestlers combining for 295 individual championships. OSU has continued its stranglehold over conference foes in the Big 12 era, capturing 19 team tournament titles as well as a pair of regular season dual championships. The next-highest championship total in league history is three. Oklahoma State's control over the Big 12 began from the league's inception in 1997 when it won eight of the first 10 tournament titles. The Cowboys then set a program record with nine straight conference championships from 2013 to 2021, a run that included the three-highest point totals ever posted at the event. Of OSU's 295 individual conference champions, 120 of them have come in the Big 12 era, almost three times more than Iowa State's second-place total of 45. At least two Cowboys have brought home a conference title every season since 2009, while also setting a Big 12 record in both 2013 and 2017 with eight individual champions.

Daton Fix enters the weekend with a unique opportunity to make history with four Big 12 titles already on his resume. In 2023, Fix won his fourth league crown at 133 pounds, making him one of just 10 Cowboys to ever achieve the feat. With another Big 12 championship on Sunday, Fix would become the first five-time champion in Big 12 and program history. Along with Fix, Iowa State's David Carr will also be aiming for his fifth Big 12 championship over the weekend. Meanwhile, Dustin Plott has won Big 12 titles in back-to-back seasons, but this weekend marks his first postseason appearance at 184 pounds. To capture a third-straight title, Plott will likely have to take down Northern Iowa's Parker Keckeisen, who has won three Big 12 championships in a row at the weight.

About the Cowboys
Oklahoma State completed the regular season with a 14-1 record and in the No. 4 spot of the final NWCA Coaches Poll, its highest final placement since 2019. The Cowboys' win total of 14 was their highest since that same year, as they defeated three opponents ranked in the top-five. OSU also racked up a dozen ranked wins on the year, most among all Division I teams, including 10 in a row prior to dropping its regular season finale against Iowa. Oklahoma State went a perfect 8-0 against conference opponents and also secured a season attendance average of 5,871, most in Gallagher-Iba Arena wrestling history. On February 18, 9,912 fans piled into Gallagher-Iba Arena to watch OSU win its 19th-straight Phillips 66 Bedlam Series dual before the venue hosted a sellout crowd of 13,721 against Iowa a week later. Together, the two crowds marked Oklahoma State's best attendance over a two-dual stretch in program history.

The Cowboys now turn their attention to the Big 12 Championships, where they'll have one of two lineups in the field with every starter seeded in the top-eight. Daton Fix leads the Cowboy lineup after receiving the top seed at 133 pounds for the fifth time in his career. At 13-0, Fix is the Big 12's only undefeated wrestler at the weight class and aiming to become the conference's first five-time champion. Dustin Plott also has championship experience in Tulsa, having won the 174-pound title in back-to-back years. Now competing at 184 pounds, Plott has put together an impressive 24-2 record and leads the squad in a number of categories.

Five Cowboys will be making their first career postseason appearance on Saturday. Redshirt freshmen Troy Spratley and Tagen Jamison received the No. 2 seed in their respective brackets, but both own wins over the top seed in their field. Teague Travis and Brayden Thompson are slated as the third seed at 157 and 174 pounds, respectively, while Jordan Williams makes his postseason debut as the No. 4 seed at 149 pounds. Izzak Olejnik will be competing at the Big 12 Championships for the first time in his career, but has plenty of conference tournament experience after winning the 165-pound MAC title each of the last two seasons. Luke Surber and Konner Doucet join Fix and Plott as the only other Cowboys with previous Big 12 Championship experience.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Konner Doucet

Daton Fix

Tagen Jamison

Izzak Olejnik

Dustin Plott

Troy Spratley

Luke Surber

Brayden Thompson

Teague Travis

Jordan Williams

Oklahoma State University Athletics