Smith Points to A Couple of Weights at Big 12 for Cowboys Looking to Qualify 10 for NCAA
STILLWATER -- Oklahoma State has won 17 of the previous 23 Big 12 wrestling championships. That sounds pretty awesome, but when you are the top wrestling program in national championships won, All-Americans, and about every other category then conference championships are kind of expected to be automatic. The joke in Gallagher-Iba Arena is that the reason you find so many conference championship trophies in wrestling spread around the facility is that John Smith doesn't really care where they end up. It's the NCAA trophies he wants lined up Heritage Hall, the sports museum on the first floor.
The Cowboys have currently won seven Big 12 titles in a row with 2012 being the last time they didn't win it. Based on seedings, this weekend could be a mystery. The Cowboys line-up is not a mystery.
"We're set and we'll go with Nick (Piccininni) at 125, Reece (Witcraft) will be at 133, Dusty Hone at 141, and Boo (Lewallen) at 149," Smith said of the first four weights and maybe the strongest area of the tournament for the Pokes.
Piccininni (23-2) is the top seed, one of just three top-seeded Cowboys in the Big 12. He is ranked No. 4 in the nation at 125 pounds and could see Joey Thomas of West Virginia in the quarterfinals and he scored an 18-0 technical fall on Thomas this season.
Witcraft is No. 23 in the nation at 133 pounds and has a record of 16-8 this season. The sixth seed in the Big 12 bracket, Witcraft opens with Jared VanVleet of Air Force, who he decisioned 11-6 in the past month.
Hone is fourth seed and is ranked No. 15 in the nation at 141 pounds. He gets a first round bye and will face the winner of a preliminary match that will be new as he did not wrestler either D.J. Lloren of Fresno State or Kainalu Estrella of Utah Valley.
Boo Lewallen is the top seed at 149 pounds and comes in ranked No. 5 in the country with a record of 18-2. He has a bye to the quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon and will see either Jaron Jenson of Wyoming or Cameron Hunsaker of Utah Valley for the first time.
"Wyatt (Sheets) at 157, Travis (Wittlake) at 165, Joe (Smith) at 174, (Anthony) Montalvo at 184, Dakota (Geer) at 197, and we will go with Austin Harris at heavyweight," Smith finished the line-up for the Big 12 in Tulsa. With what he has done the last month, that has set Harris apart."
Wyatt Sheets is 18-6 on the season and now ranked No. 11 in the nation. He is the three seed in the Big 12 at 157 and will see one of two wrestlers he beat this season in the quarterfinals. He scored a 12-0 major decision over Alex Hornfeck of West Virginia and he had a 19-1 technical fall over Trey Brisker of Air Force.
Travis Wittlake is one of three Oklahoma State wrestlers with a top seed in his weight at the Big 12 Championships.
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Travis Wittlake has become a factor nationally at 165 pounds and he is the other number one seed for the Cowboys in the Big 12 Championships. He is now ranked No. 8 in the nation and is coming off a 3-2 loss to No. 2 Alex Marinelli of Iowa.
"I feel like I wrestled really well, it was a close match," Wittlake said of the battle with Marinelli. A red-shirt freshman from Coos Bay, Oregon, Wittlake feels confident. "It was a good gauge and I know I can win a national championship this year. I know I can do that."
He could see Austin Yant of Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals and Wittlake scored a 14-5 major decision on him early in the season.
Joe Smith struggled last season in the Big 12 and he is the fifth seed in Tulsa. Smith is 8-5 on the season and ranked No. 15 in the nation at 174 pounds. He will need to wrestle well to get into the NCAA Tournament. He lost to a North dakota State wrestler early in the season but it was not Luke Weber, who is the un-ranked wrestler for NDSU in Tulsa.
Anthony Montalvo is 20-5 on the season and ranked No. 12. He is the two seed in the Big 12, but has to wrestle a preliminary match against Hunter Cruz of Fresno State.
Dakota Geer (19-7) is the five seed in the Big 12 and is ranked No. 17 in the nation. He will open in the preliminary against Isaiah Perez of Fresno State. He would see Stephen Buchanan of Wyoming in the quarters. He lost to Buchanan 8-6 in a dual in Cheyenne.
At heavyweight the Cowboys have Austin Harris, who is un-ranked and not seeded. He is 5-10 on the season and has wrestled better late in the season. Harris opens in the preliminary against five seed Brian Andrews of Wyoming and he lost to Andrews in a 15-0 technical fall earlier this season.
"This is what we imagined when we put this (expanded) league together," Smith said. "We will get seven wrestlers in the NCAA at heavyweight, so we have a chance there. That is what I hoped and it looks like we will eventually have 70 wrestlers from the Big 12 in the NCAA Championships."
It will be interesting to see if Oklahoma State can qualify 10. It is also going to be more interesting than usual to see if they will win the Big 12 and by how much.