Keegan O’Toole On His Preparation for the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championship

The Missouri wrestler will compete for his third straight national title in Kansas City, Mo., March 21-23.

Brett Rojo/For The Big 12 Conference

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri wrestling junior Keegan O'Toole (165) joined the program with many accolades notched in his belt already from his high school days.

He was the No. 2 recruit in the nation according to FloWrestling, had a high school record of 110-5, was All-American multiple times, and began perfecting the art of Folkstyle, Freestyle, and Greco wrestling, among other honors.

O'Toole has maintained a level head as he continues to dominate at the 165-pound weight class for the Tigers after winning his second Big 12 Wrestling Championship title on March 10. He is now working to become a three-time national champion this weekend at the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championship. He previously placed first in 2022 and 2023.

"It would mean my work has paid off [if I won again,]" O'Toole said. "But then again, I'm trying to chase things a lot higher than just a national title…I don't care if I win another wrestling match in my entire life. I want to enjoy it, and I want to improve every day."

When looking back at his success at the 2024 Big 12 Wrestling Championship, he said there's more he could work on to succeed this weekend.

"I don't necessarily think I wrestled the greatest, so [the NCAA's are] another opportunity to make adjustments and get better," he said.

He is looking to improve his performance offensively and mentally on the mat. He likens his approach to how businesses look to grow by looking at where he can improve and be more efficient.

O'Toole has the opportunity to wrestle more than just new opponents from other conferences; he has also has the chance to compete against wrestlers he grew up with, including Penn State redshirt freshman Mitchell Mesenbrink.

"[Mesenbrinks's] dad was my coach growing up," he said. "I went [to his club] right after they opened. I've been under his tutelage for over a decade."

The two grew up together wrestling at the same high school and for Mesenbrink’s club. Their skill sets, albeit similar, are also unique in their own ways.

"It'd be weird wrestling him, but it's not that different," he said. "I think it makes everyone back home really proud that [they] have two athletes going to Division 1 schools and wrestling each other on the biggest stage."

O'Toole's respect for others in the sport goes beyond those he grew up with. It extends to wrestlers like Iowa State senior David Carr. They have gone head-to-head in multiple Big 12 Wrestling and NCAA Championships. Many people see their matchup at duals during the season and postseason as some of the top matches to watch for the year.

O’Toole and Carr have traded off the No. 1 and No. 2 seed multiple times as opponents. After O'Toole won the 2024 Big 12 Wrestling Championship, he told reporters he greatly respects Carr despite the ‘rivalry.’

Another incredible chapter of the Big 12 Wrestling Championship at 165 pounds 👏

Congratulations to David Carr and 2024 Big 12 champ Keegan O'Toole... we'll see you both in Kansas City.

📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/KmUl990Jmn

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) March 11, 2024

O’Toole says he wants younger wrestlers looking up to them to understand that, at the end of the day, they are more than wrestlers.

"It's a great example [of] how you can be warriors, battle extremely hard and wrestle on the biggest of stages, and then walk off the mat and know that I wish I won or I'm glad I won,” O’Toole said. “But ultimately, something is going to come up the next day; your life is going to go on.”

As O’Toole continued discussing the balance between wrestling and day-to-day life, he mentioned how he believes him and Carr set the example.

"I think it's a good example to show that even at the highest level of wrestling, it's not everything," he said. "Once you can separate your value from wrestling and how you are successful or not, [you'll] start to enjoy it a lot more."

He says he has learned that discipline over time, and it is not something he has always been able to recognize or address.

"In high school, I think I did tie my performance to what I was worth," he said. "The only thing that really changed was digging into my faith more."

Heading into the championship weekend, O'Toole hopes to use those lessons to analyze and wrestle the best he can.

Missouri wrestling head coach Brian Smith sees O’Toole working diligently daily to tweak the little things and find what can make him the best on match day. 

If O’Toole places first at the tournament, he will be in the same place that J’den Cox (2013-17) was at when he graduated, a three-time national champion. The chances of O’Toole also hitting that milestone is something Smith believes he can accomplish.

“My mindset is there’s no doubt, but it’s probably the deepest [weight class],” Smith said. “The storylines and the drama now that David Carr is on our side of the bracket, and if we do see him, it’s in the semifinals. I don’t worry about it.”

Smith said that O’Toole is a go-getter, and it is just as fun for him as a coach to watch O’Toole as it is for the fans.

“It’s a joy to coach that because you see the little details that he was working on in the practice room and how it comes about in a match,” Smith said. “It’s fun to watch that.”

O’Toole’s first match of the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championship will be on March 21. He will wrestle the winner of No. 33 Jack Thomsen (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 32 Jake Logan (Lehigh) in Session I of the NCAA Wrestling championship.