Wrestling Gets Six in the Semifinals after First Session of Big 12 in Tulsa
(This story originated with Oklahoma State University athletic media relations and was mostly written by Emily Lingenfelter.)
TULSA, Okla. – Oklahoma State finished the first session of the 2020 Big 12 Wrestling Championship with 61 team points and advanced six wrestlers through to Saturday night’s semifinal round. The Cowboys sit in second place in the team standings, just three points behind Iowa State. Iowa State had eight wrestlers that made their way into the semifinals.
“We had bonus points with several of our wins, and this is a team that really has to work to get bonus points,” coach John Smith said. “That’s who we are. It’s not gonna come easy. We’re gonna have to go out and earn it, and we’re gonna have to really wrestle the full seven minutes for any of that to happen. As we get into the championship bracket the matches get a little bit tougher, so it’s important that we get our hands raised.”
Nick Piccininni (125), Dusty Hone (141), Boo Lewallen (149), Wyatt Sheets (157), Travis Wittlake (165) and Joe Smith (174) all went undefeated in the first of four sessions at the event to reach the semifinals. Of OSU’s five wrestlers who competed in the preliminary round, Smith was the lone Cowboy to go 2-0 and reach the semifinals.
Fifth-seeded Smith advanced through the preliminary round with a hard-fought 4-3 decision over Luke Weber of North Dakota State before earning a sudden victory upset win over No. 4 seed Kimball Bastian of Utah Valley in the quarterfinal, 3-1.
Smith has already over wrestled his seed. Every win for him the rest of the way is huge and he now looks like he will qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Piccininni, Hone, Lewallen, Sheets and Wittlake each wrestled their first bouts of the day in the quarterfinals and all of them won with bonus points attached. Piccininni, Lewallen, Sheets and Wittlake each earned technical falls over lower-seeded opponents, while fourth-seeded Hone knocked off fifth-seeded DJ Lloren of Fresno State with an 11-3 major decision.
Anthony Montalvo and Dakota Geer had explosive wins to open their tournaments in the preliminary round at 184 and 197 pounds, respectively, as they earned falls in back-to-back matches to move on to the quarterfinals. They each lost tightly contested matches later in the session to drop into the consolation bracket.
Reece Witcraft and Austin Harris are set to wrestle in the consolation bracket as well after dropping their opening matches at 133 pounds and heavyweight. Wittcraft's loss was unexpected, but Harris was unseeded and is trying to find his way into one of the seven bids the Big 12 will get for heavyweight wrestlers in the NCAA Championship.
As a team, the Cowboys finished the session with a 9-4 record in individual bouts. All 10 wrestlers return to action in the second session, which is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at the BOK Center in Tulsa. Seven of the Cowboys’ 10 opening opponents in the session are seeded fourth or higher in their weight classes.
“This is a little bit different of a tournament than it has been in the past,” John Smith said. “We knew we might be in this position where we’re gonna have to fight. These guys in the consolations are gonna have to show up and be ready to fight and be ready to handle tight competitive matches.”
Fans can follow live results on trackwrestling.com, live updates on Twitter via @CowboyWrestling and watch each mat live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
2020 Big 12 Wrestling Championship
March 7, 2020 | BOK Center | Tulsa, Okla.
Team Standings After Session One
1. Iowa State - 64.0
2. Oklahoma State - 61.0
3. South Dakota State - 42.0
4. Oklahoma - 41.0
5. Northern Iowa - 38.0
6. Wyoming - 37.0
7. North Dakota State - 36.5
8. Northern Colorado - 24.0
9. Utah Valley - 15.0
10. West Virginia - 13.0
11. Air Force - 9.0
12. Fresno State - 7.5
Preliminary Round
133: Jared Van Vleet (Air Force) dec. No. 6 Reece Witcraft (OSU), 9-6
174: No. 5 Joe Smith (OSU) dec. Luke Weber (North Dakota State), 4-3
184: No. 2 Anthony Montalvo (OSU) fall Hunter Cruz (Fresno State), 1:21
197: No. 5 Dakota Geer (OSU) fall Isaiah Perez (Fresno State), 3:19
HWT: No. 5 Brian Andrews (Wyoming) dec. Austin Harris (OSU), 8-2
Quarterfinals
125: No. 1 Nick Piccininni (OSU) tech. fall No. 8 Joey Thomas (West Virginia), 20-3, 7:00
141: No. 4 Dusty Hone (OSU) maj. dec. No. 5 DJ Lloren (Fresno State), 11-3
149: No. 1 Boo Lewallen (OSU) tech. fall Cameron Hunsaker (Utah Valley), 15-0, 3:10
157: No. 3 Wyatt Sheets (OSU) tech. fall No. 6 Alex Hornfeck (West Virginia), 16-1, 7:00
165: No. 1 Travis Wittlake (OSU) tech. fall No. 8 Austin Yant (Northern Iowa), 17-1, 6:43
174: No. 5 Joe Smith (OSU) dec. No. 4 Kimball Bastian (Utah Valley), 3-1, SV1
184: No. 7 Tate Samuelson (Wyoming) dec. No. 2 Anthony Montalvo (OSU), 3-2
197: No. 4 Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming) dec. No. 5 Dakota Geer (OSU), 9-5
Semifinals Schedule (Saturday Night)
125: No. 1 Nick Piccininni (OSU) vs. No. 4 McGwire Midkiff (North Dakota State)
141: No. 4 Dusty Hone (OSU) vs. No. 1 Dom Demas (Oklahoma)
149: No. 1 Boo Lewallen (OSU) vs. No. 4 Jarrett Degen (Iowa State)
157: No. 3 Wyatt Sheets (OSU) vs. No. 2 Jared Franek (North Dakota State)
165: No. 1 Travis Wittlake (OSU) vs. No. 4 Tanner Cook (South Dakota State)
174: No. 5 Joe Smith (OSU) vs. No. 1 Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa)
First Round Consolation Schedule (Saturday Night)
133: No. 6 Reece Witcraft (OSU) vs. No. 1 Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley)
184: No. 2 Anthony Montalvo (OSU) vs. Jackson Moomau (West Virginia)
197: No. 5 Dakota Geer (OSU) vs. Joel Shapiro (Iowa State)
HWT: Austin Harris (OSU) vs. No. 7 Brandon Metz (North Dakota State)
