Cowboys Make History At Big 12 Championships

The Oklahoma State wrestling team became the first team in history to send all 10 wrestlers to the finals of the Big 12 Wrestling Championships Saturday, going a perfect 20-0 on its way to mathematically clinching the conference title on the first day of the two-day event.
 
The championship will mark the Cowboys' 51st conference title and 15th Big 12 championship. With the win, John Smith earns his 19th conference title as head coach of the Cowboys and Oklahoma State University celebrates its 400th overall team conference championship in all sports combined.
 
OSU recorded two falls and five major decisions in the semifinals, and have now won 17 of their 20 matches at the event with bonus points, including seven falls.
 
"We've got 10 in the finals," Smith said. "I've never done that before in 25 years. There were times when we had five teams. They put it out there. The guys that I thought were struggling a little bit seemed to show some things that I haven't seen all year long. It's amazing what you can do when you're feeling good about yourself and the guys around you are competing hard."
 
At 125 pounds, redshirt freshman Nick Piccininni followed up a technical fall from Saturday morning with a 4-0 victory over Wyoming's Drew Templeman in the semis to clinch his first career Big 12 finals appearance. Piccininni will take on top-seeded Josh Rodriguez of North Dakota State Sunday for the title.
 
Kaid Brock will also compete in his first conference championship match at 133 pounds after edging third-seeded Earl Hall, 7-4, to advance. Brock added onto a first-period fall over Air Force's Dylan Hyder in the day's first session to move to 25-1 on the season. The Cowboy redshirt freshman will try to avenge his January loss to No. 1 seed Seth Gross in the finals on Sunday.
 
After not recording a pin during the regular season, defending national champion Dean Heil turned in a pair of falls to open his Big 12 weekend. Heil dropped Northern Colorado's Timmy Box in 1:44 to advance to the 141-pound championship match, where he will face 2016 national runner-up Bryce Meredith of Wyoming.
 
Senior Anthony Collica recorded a major decision over Wyoming's Cole Mendenhall in his semifinal matchup to follow up a second-period pin in his second-round match at 149. Collica moves to 19-2 on the season, setting up a championship bout with Oklahoma's Davion Jeffries on Sunday. A win would make Collica the eighth Cowboy wrestler to win four conference championships.
 
Sophomore Joe Smith clinched the Cowboys' 10th bid to the NCAA Championships, notching an 8-0 major over Wyoming's Archie Colgan. With a 16-0 technical fall in the opening session, Smith outscored his opponents 24-0 in the first two matches of the weekend. The Cowboy will look to lock up his second Big 12 title Sunday against second-seeded Clay Ream of North Dakota State.
 
With his second fall of the day, Chandler Rogers locked up a spot in the finals as well. Rogers pinned Luke Zilverberg in 2:02 for his second first-period fall of the tournament. The redshirt freshman will face West Virginia's Dylan Cottrell in the final match at 165, looking for his first career conference title.
 
Senior Kyle Crutchmer defeated 2016 All-American Lelund Weatherspoon in his semifinal bout to advance. Crutchmer pulled out a 3-1 victory to add to a 19-7 major decision in the second round and set the stage for a title match against Oklahoma's Matt Reed.
 
"I'm from this city, so I love it," Crutchmer said." There was a lot of orange out here today. I'm just happy that I got a shot at the finals tomorrow, and hopefully I'll come out on top."
 
Nolan Boyd recorded his second major decision of the day in a 9-0 victory over Iowa State's Carson Powell. With the win, the Cowboy senior has recorded bonus points in eight of his last 10 wins. Boyd will match up with Northern Colorado's Dylan Gabel in the 184-pound finals.
 
Redshirt sophomore Preston Weigel provided perhaps the strongest performance of the day, overwhelming No. 2 seed Nate Rotert in a 9-0 major decision to advance into the 197-pound finals. Weigel shut out his opponents 24-0 on Saturday on his way to Sunday's championship, where he will compete for his second career Big 12 crown against West Virginia's Jacob Smith.
 
"It was nice to send him out and him be the 10th one to make the finals," Smith said. "It was a little bit more pressure on him against a quality athlete that beat him once. In the end, it was about the takedown and the dominance on top."
 
Senior heavyweight Austin Schafer continued his strong return to the mat with an 11-0 shutout major decision over North Dakota State's Ben Tynan. Schafer sets his sights on the first conference championship of his career with a bout against Utah Valley's Dustin Dennison on Sunday.
 
"It's been a great tournament for the team. We've been wrestling for each other. We've been going out there and lighting it up, which is awesome. In the postseason, you really want to see that and that's when we really need to turn it on. In the semis, I hadn't wrestled in about a month, but it feels good to come out and be successful. I really pushed myself through a full match to get ready for a full match tomorrow. I'm really excited about that."

The Cowboys will compete in the finals Sunday at 1 p.m. Fans can watch the broadcast live on Fox Sports Network.

2017 Big 12 Wrestling Championships | BOK Center | Tulsa, Okla.

Semifinals
125: Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) dec. Drew Templeman (Wyoming), 4-0
133: Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) dec. Earl Hall (Iowa State), 7-4
141: Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) fall Timmy Box (Northern Colorado), 1:44
149: Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State) MD Cole Mendenhall (Wyoming), 16-4
157: Joe Smith (Oklahoma State) MD Archie Colgan (Wyoming), 8-0
165: Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State) fall Luke Zilverberg (South Dakota State), 2:02
174: Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State) dec. Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State), 3-1
184: Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State) MD Carson Powell (Iowa State), 9-0
197: Preston Weigel (Oklahoma State) MD Nate Rotert (South Dakota State), 9-0
285: Austin Schafer (Oklahoma State) MD Ben Tynan (North Dakota State), 11-0

Finals Schedule (1 p.m. Sunday)
125: Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) vs. Josh Rodriguez (North Dakota State)
133: Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) vs. Seth Gross (South Dakota State)
141: Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) vs. Bryce Meredith (Wyoming)
149: Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State) vs. Davion Jeffries (Oklahoma)
157: Joe Smith (Oklahoma State) vs. Clay Ream (North Dakota State)
165: Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State) vs. Dylan Cottrell (West Virginia)
174: Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State) vs. Matt Reed (Oklahoma)
184: Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State) vs. Dylan Gabel (Northern Colorado)
197: Preston Weigel (Oklahoma State) vs. Jacob Smith (West Virginia)
285: Austin Schafer (Oklahoma State) vs. Dustin Dennison (Utah Valley)

Team Standings After Session Two
1. Oklahoma State – 155.5 
2. North Dakota State – 70.5
3. South Dakota State – 64.5
4. Oklahoma – 63
5. Wyoming – 50
6. Iowa State – 49.5
7. West Virginia – 42.5
8. Northern Colorado – 33
9. Utah Valley – 32
10. Air Force – 22.5