TULSA — The third-ranked Oklahoma State wrestling team will have eight finalists on Day 2 of the Big 12 Championships on Saturday at the BOK Center.
The 23rd-ranked Oklahoma Sooners have seven wrestlers still alive in consolation bouts
Follow along here for updates and results for the Cowboys and Sooners from the final day of the Big 12 Championships.
Watch the Big 12 wrestling championships with ESPN Unlimited
Live updates on Oklahoma State, OU at Big 12 wrestling
Championships match updates
Missouri’s Aeoden Sinclair followed up the win of teammate Cam Steed with a decisive victory of his own, 8-1 over No. 3 Eddie Neitenbach.
Sinclair scored a takedown 30 seconds into the match, then used an escape and takedown in the second period to pull away.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
Back near his hometown of Collinsville, Missouri’s Cam Steed scored a nearfall in the second period and a takedown in the third for a 10-6 win over OSU’s top-seeded Alex Facundo.
With Facundo starting the second period on bottom, Steed worked his way into a four-point nearfall that put Facundo in a serious deficit.
For a kid who grew up not far from Tulsa, winning in the BOK Center was a special moment.
“It feels so good, man,” Steed said. “Last year, I made it to the finals and I didn’t get the job done. Went into that match feeling great, feeling loose. Didn’t feel like I had any pressure.
“Last year, I made it such a big deal and I feel like it stopped me a lot from getting to my offense and being who I am.”
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
Nicco Ruiz, the No. 3 seed from Arizona State, pulled out a 2-1 decision in the rideout tiebreaker over OSU’s Dee Lockett.
Despite a match full of action — and some blood stoppages — neither wrestler finished a takedown, and the sudden-victory overtime went scoreless as well.
Ruiz escaped early in the first rideout tiebreaker, leaving Lockett to choose a neutral start for the second rideout. Ruiz avoided Lockett’s pursuits over the final 30 seconds for the win.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
Top-seeded Kaleb Larkin of Arizona State fought off a few late shots from OSU’s No. 2 Landon Robideau for a 4-3 decision.
Larkin put the first points on the board with an early takedown, then escaped at the start of the second. Robideau responded with a takedown late in the second to cut the deficit to 4-3.
But the OSU freshman couldn’t finish a couple of opportunities in which he got to Larkin’s leg.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
OSU’s Casey Swiderski used an early takedown and a second-period escape to hold off Northern Iowa’s No. 6 Caleb Rathjen for a 4-3 decision.
Swiderski got on the board with a takedown about a minute in and led 3-1 after the first period. Though he was twice penalized for stalling in the third period, Swiderski had enough cushion to hold on.
With the win, OSU is up to 163 points, and thus, clinches the Big 12 team title for the second straight year.
Despite an early takedown by OU’s DJ Parker in their third-place match, OSU 197-pounder Cody Merrill responded with a first-period takedown of his own and finished off a 6-4 decision.
Merrill had a first-period takedown in each of his matches, and because of his natural strength being his defense, early points proved valuable.
“It’s a real important thing, I think,” he said. “No matter how long it takes, my goal is always to get the first takedown.”
As a redshirt freshman appearing in his first Big 12 Championships, Merrill enjoyed the experience and is already looking forward to the NCAA Championships in two weeks.
“I’ve never been to a national tournament as a spectator, or even a conference tournament,” said Merrill, who is from the Northern California city of Gilroy. “It’s gonna be exciting. Can’t wait to put on a show for the guys.”
With Zack Ryder medically forfeiting his seventh-place match at 184 pounds, Merrill was the only Cowboy in action during Saturday’s early session.
Eight OSU wrestlers are set for finals matches in the championship round, which begins at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
With an NCAA bid on the line, OU 125-pounder Conrad Hendriksen forced the action that led to a pair of stalling penalties against Brady Roark of South Dakota State and Hendriksen made those stand for a 3-1 decision.
That locked Hendriksen into the NCAA field and gave the Sooners six guaranteed spots at the national tournament in Cleveland on March 20-22.
“Conrad is just an outstanding guy,” OU coach Roger Kish said. “He loves the sport of wrestling, he loves training, he loves competing. He’s a tough kid and with a guy like that, you’ve never got to question his work or what he’s doing or why.
“So just really happy and really proud of a guy like Conrad.”
The Sooners who have earned automatic bids are Hendriksen, Carter Schmidt at 133, Tyler Wells at 141, Carter Schubert at 174, DJ Parker at 197 and Juan Mora at heavyweight.
Wells, Schubert, Parker and Mora each finished fourth to tie for the team’s best individual finishes. At the close of the early session, OU sat in seventh place in team scoring at 73 points.
“It’s a number of peaks and valleys,” Kish said. “Really proud of our 133-pounder, Carter Schmidt. Quite an underdog coming into the tournament. He’s a great kid who loves wrestling, and it really paid off for him here today, because he’s gonna have an opportunity here in a couple weeks.”
Schmidt came in as the No. 12 seed but finished seventh, clinching one of the eight NCAA allocations at the weight.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
Sparked by a takedown less than 30 seconds into the match, OSU’s third-seeded Cody Merrill topped Bennet Berge, the No. 4 seed from South Dakota State, in the consolation semifinals.
Merrill will wrestle for third place later in the session against OU’s DJ Parker.
Parker went to sudden-victory overtime against Arizona State’s Colton Hawks, pulling out an 8-5 decision with a takedown 22 seconds into the overtime period.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
OU 125-pounder Conrad Hendriksen lost 8-2 to third-seeded Jett Strickenberger in the consolation semifinals Saturday and will wrestle for fifth place.
He’ll face fourth-seeded Brady Roard of South Dakota State in a match that will decide the final NCAA allocation at the weight.
At 133, OU’s unseeded Carter Schmidt defeated South Dakota State’s Cale Seaton in the second period to claim seventh place. He had already secured an NCAA bid.
At 141, No. 6 Tyler Wells of OU advanced via medical forfeit in the consolation semifinals and will wrestle No. 7 Carter Nogle of Air Force for third place. Both wrestlers are assured of NCAA allocations.
At 165, Peyten Kellar of OU dropped a 14-9 decision to Gabriel Schumm of Cal Baptist to finish eighth. He needed a top-four finish to earn an NCAA bid.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
What time is Big 12 wrestling today?
- Date: Saturday, March 7
- Session 3 start time: Noon CT
- Session 4 start time: 7 p.m. CT
- Where: BOK Center, Tulsa
The Big 12 wrestling championships start at noon CT Saturday at the BOK Center in Tulsa.
What channel is Big 12 wrestling on today? How to watch, stream Cowboys, Sooners
Oklahoma State and OU will be broadcast from the Big 12 Championships on ESPN+ for both Saturday sessions.
What is the Big 12 wrestling schedule?
Saturday, March 7
- Session 3: Consolation and placement matches, noon CT (ESPN+)
- Session 4: Championships, 7 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
Oklahoma State wrestling highlights at Big 12 Championships
If X/Twitter feed doesn’t load, click HERE.
Times and TV channels are TBD.
- Nov. 7: OSU 33, Stanford 7
- Nov. 15-16: National Duals, third place
- Nov. 21: OSU 34, Air Force 6
- Nov. 23: OSU 25, Arizona State 11
- Dec. 14: OSU 34, West Virginia 3
- Dec. 21: OSU 22, Nebraska 12
- Jan. 11: OSU 37, Oklahoma 0
- Jan. 23: OSU 33, Missouri 3
- Jan. 25: Utah Valley (postponed)
- Jan. 30: OSU 34, Northern Iowa 3
- Feb. 1: OSU 24, Iowa State 9
- Feb. 6: OSU 41, Little Rock 6
- Feb. 15: OSU 19, Virginia Tech 12
- Feb. 22: OSU 32, Iowa 11
- March 6-7: Big 12 Tournament (at BOK Center in Tulsa)
- March 19-21: NCAA Championships (in Cleveland)
