NCAA wrestling championships: Recap, results for OU Sooners, OSU Cowboys on Day 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Oklahoma State wrestling team begins its pursuit of a top-five finish at the NCAA Wrestling Championships on Thursday at T-Mobile Center.
All 10 Cowboy wrestlers qualified for the event. OU sent five wrestlers to the tournament.
Here's what you need to know:
More: How Oklahoma State wrestling assistant coach Coleman Scott helped rejuvenate Cowboys
Cowboys close with two more losses
OSU 197-pounder Luke Surber, the 27th seed, saw his tournament come to an end with his second loss of the day, a 4-2 decision to Maryland’s Jaxon Smith, the 11 seed.
At heavyweight, 12th-seeded Konner Doucet was on the wrong end of a 6-1 decision against fifth-seeded Nathan Taylor of Lehigh.
OSU has three wrestlers in the quarterfinals and four more still alive in consolations.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
OU’s Josh Heindselman drops second-round match
He kept it closer than their last meeting, but OU’s Josh Heindselman couldn’t knock off Missouri’s Zach Elam. The sixth-seeded Elam advanced to the quarterfinals with a 4-0 decision over the 11th-seeded Heindselman.
Elam won an 8-0 major in their last meeting, the third-place match at the Big 12s.
The Sooners have three wrestlers still alive, with two in the consolation bracket and one in the quarterfinals.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
OU’s Stephen Buchanan advances
At 197 pounds, eighth-seeded Stephen Buchanan of OU wasted little time in getting to work. He had two takedowns in the first period and added two more in the third for a 14-3 major decision over ninth-seeded Stephen Little of Little Rock.
Buchanan is the first Sooner to reach the quarterfinals today.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
Dustin Plott reverses OSU trend with win
The No. 3 seed at 184 pounds, OSU’s Dustin Plott ended the Cowboy losing streak with a 17-3 major decision over 19th-seeded James Conway of Franklin & Marshall.
Plott was chasing a final takedown for the technical fall in the closing seconds, but couldn’t quite finish it off.
Still, he added his fifth bonus-point victory of the postseason, after picking up three at the Big 12 Championships earlier this month.
In Friday’s quarterfinal, Plott will face Bernie Truax of Penn State.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
OSU’s Brayden Thompson eliminated
The Cowboys were dealt their fifth straight loss and second elimination of the night when 174-pounder Brayden Thompson, the No. 25 seed, was defeated 10-4 by Minnesota’s Andrew Sparks.
The Pokes have three wrestlers left, with Dustin Plott and Konner Doucet battling for spots in the quarterfinals of their brackets.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
OSU’s Izzak Olejnik sent to consolations
After a strong start in the second round, OSU has seen its fortunes turn south.
OSU has lost four straight matches overall, three of them in second-round bouts with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line. At 165, Izzak Olejnik got to sudden-victory overtime against Michgan’s Cameron Amine tied at 1, but after a scramble, Olejnik appeared to lose his footing.
Amine pounced and got control for the winning takedown and a 4-1 victory.
The Cowboys are now 3-2 in second-round matches and 0-1 in elimination bouts.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
OSU suffers another loss. Izzak Olejnik appeared to lose his footing, which led to a takedown by Michigan's Cameron Amine in sudden-victory overtime. That's four straight losses for OSU
— Scott Wright (@ScottWrightOK) March 22, 2024
OU’s Jared Hill suffers second loss
Jared Hill of OU had his run at the NCAA Championships come to an end with a 15-2 major-decision loss to Lucas Revano of Penn in a Thursday night elimination match.
Hill came in as the No. 28 seed. He had been the No. 8 at the Big 12 Championships two weeks ago, but pulled an upset to earn an automatic bid to the NCAAs.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
Cowboys lose three straight
OSU had its first wrestler eliminated when 141-pounder Tagen Jamison suffered a 4-2 defeat to Cael Happel of Northern Iowa for Jamison’s second loss of the day. Happel is the No. 7 seed, but was upset in the opening round.
That was quickly followed by the second-round loss of 20th-seed Jordan Williams, knocking him into the consolation bracket. Williams dropped a 7-2 decision to fourth-seeded Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech.
Then at 157, OSU’s 16th-seeded Teague Travis lost his battle with top-seeded Levi Haines of Penn State via 19-4 technical fall. Like Williams, Travis falls into the consolation bracket and will be in an elimination match Friday morning.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
OU’s Koelzer eliminated, McDougald to consolations
OU 133-pounder Jace Koelzer saw his run at the NCAA Championships come to an end with a 7-3 loss to 20th-seeded Tyler Wells of Minnesota. Koelzer, who is from nearby Olathe, Kansas, was the No. 29 seed.
At 149 pounds, OU's Willie McDougald was knocked into the consolation bracket with a 9-0 loss to fifth-seeded Ty Watters of West Virginia.
The No. 21 seed, McDougald will be in action Friday morning in an elimination match.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
OSU’s Troy Spratley, Daton Fix advance to quarterfinals
The Cowboys started off the evening session with force, earning wins at 125 and 133 pounds.
At 125, sixth-seeded Troy Spratley finished off an 8-1 decision over Virginia Tech’s Cooper Flynn, the No. 11 seed.
At 133, top-seeded Daton Fix had a closer call, needing a last-minute escape for a 5-4 decision over Ohio State’s Nic Bouzakis. Bouzakis attacked early and often, but Fix avoided him until the final period. That’s when Bouzakis escaped and got a takedown within the first 45 seconds of the period.
Fix escaped with 1:08 to go for a 5-4 lead and he made that stand for the win.
The quarterfinals are set for the Friday morning session.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
Session I updates
Konner Doucet gives OSU seventh win of round
OSU heavyweight Konner Doucet rode out the entire second period, scoring nearfall points in the closing seconds, then got a third-period reversal for a 5-0 win.
Doucet, the No. 12 seed, advanced over 21st-seeded Dayton Pitzer of Pittsburgh, who entered the tournament with just five losses.
OSU finishes the first round with seven wins in 10 matches and scored 10 points, good for ninth place after the first session. Penn State leads the way with 15.5 points.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
OU’s Josh Heindselman advances
OU finished the first round with three wins in five matches, capped by heavyweight Josh Heindselman’s 4-2 win over Matthew Cover of Princeton.
Heindselman, the No. 11 seed, is set for a rematch of the Big 12 Championships’ third-place match from two weeks ago with Missouri’s Zach Elam. Elam won that meeting with a major decision.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
More: NCAA wrestlings championships: Oklahoma State gets a jolt from Jordan Williams' upset win
OSU’s Luke Surber drops opener
An injury-plagued season landed OSU’s Luke Surber as the No. 27 seed at 197 pounds, which led to a difficult draw this week.
Surber dropped his opening match, 6-0, to sixth-seeded Lou Deprez of Binghamton, moving Surber into the elimination round on Thursday night.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
OU’s Stephen Buchanan with bonus-point win
WIth one match to go, OU has a 2-2 record in the first round.
The Sooners got bonus points from 197-pounder Stephen Buchanan. The No. 8 seed scored an 18-1 technical fall over Benjamin Smith of Cleveland State.
Buchanan had four takedowns and two nearfalls, closing out the match 16 seconds into the third period.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
OSU’s Dustin Plott cruises to technical fall
OSU 184-pounder Dustin Plott — whose primary goal this week is a rematch with top-seeded Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa in the championship match — started his NCAA action with an 18-2 technical fall in two periods.
Plott needed just 35 seconds for his first takedown, then rode out the rest of the first period, trying to work his way toward back points.
The second period was much of the same, along with a couple of allowed escapes to pile up points. Plott looked to be close to a pin as the second period expired. But the nearfall points he scored in doing so gave him the tech fall.
The third-seeded Plott is the second OSU wrestler to post bonus points on Thursday, along with Daton Fix.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
Really felt like Dustin Plott was going to get the pin there. Instead, the four nearfall points give him an 18-2 tech fall. OSU 6-2 with two bonus-point wins so far.
— Scott Wright (@ScottWrightOK) March 21, 2024
OSU’s Izzak Olejnik advances, Brayden Thompson comes up short
Appearing in his fifth NCAA Championship but his first with OSU, seventh-seeded Izzak Olejnik made a first-period takedown stand on his way to a 5-0 win in his opening match at 165 pounds.
Moments later, the Cowboys suffered their second loss of the first round when 174-pounder Brayden Thompson’s upset bid came up just short.
Thompson, the No. 25 seed, was pursuing a takedown in the final minute, but couldn’t close it, suffering a 4-3 loss to eighth-seeded Adam Kemp of Cal Poly.
The Pokes are 5-2 through the first seven matches of the opening round.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
OSU’s Teague Travis advances, will face No. 1 seed
OSU 157-pounder Teague Travis will get a shot at Penn State star Levi Haines.
Travis, the No. 16 seed, moved on with a first-round win over 17th-seeded Brock Mauller of Missouri. Power by a pair of second-period takedowns, Travis built a lead and finished off a 7-2 decision.
Travis will take on the undefeated Haines in Thursday night’s action.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
OU’s Jared Hill comes up short in upset bid
Wrestling the No. 5 seed, Ryder Downey of Northern Iowa, OU 157-pounder Jared Hill got to the third period in a scoreless tie.
But with Downey choosing to start the third period in the down position, he escaped and took Hill down, which gave Downey all he needed for a 4-1 decision.
Hill will be in an elimination match Thursday night.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
OSU’s Jordan Williams wins with late nearfall
The health of OSU 149-pounder Jordan Williams doesn’t appear to be an issue.
Two weeks after suffering a shoulder injury that resulted in an injury default in the Big 12 finals, Williams scrambled his way to a 12-5 decision in Thursday’s first round.
The No. 20 seed, Williams was tied at 5 with Iowa’s 12th-seeded Caleb Rathjen, but the two found themselves in a late scramble. Williams came out on top, working his way into a cradle hold for a takedown and nearfall points.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
The most Jordan Williams stuff ever.
Tie match late, great scramble between Williams and Rathjen. Williams locks up a nearside cradle for the win.— Christian Pyles (@CPyles8) March 21, 2024
Late takedown saves OU’s Willie McDougald
OU 149-pounder advanced with a 5-4 upset decision over Maryland’s 13th-seeded Ethan Miller.
McDougald, the No. 21 seed, trailed 4-2 in the closing seconds, with only a pair of escapes to his credit. But he recorded a takedown with :03 on the clock to secure the win and advance to Thursday night’s second round.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
OSU’s Daton Fix wins, Tagen Jamison upset
The Cowboys suffered their first loss of the opening round when a riding time point turned out to be the difference in a 9-8 loss for Cowboy 141-pounder Tagen Jamison against Indiana’s Danny Fongaro.
Jamison escaped with 15 seconds left to tie the match at 8, but could not score a last-second takedown and was defeated. He’ll be back in action Thursday night in an elimination match.
At 133 pounds, top-seeded Daton Fix cruised to technical fall victory in his opening match against Dyson Dunham of VMI.
Fix scored early, piled on riding time and looked to be on his way to a major decision. But in the final 10 seconds, Fix scored a takedown and nearfall for an 18-1 technical fall.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
OSU’s Troy Spratley opens with win
Troy Spratley opened the Cowboys’ run at the NCAA Championships with a 6-0 decision over Max Gallagher of Penn. Spratley rode Gallagher for the entire second period and scored four nearfall points along the way.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
OU’s Jace Koelzer suffers 10-0 loss
After his run from unseeded at the Big 12 Championships to earning an automatic bid to this week’s event, OU 133-pounder Jace Koelzer suffered a 10-0 loss to Dylan Shawver of Rutgers in his opening match. Koelzer will be in an elimination match Thursday night.
—Scott Wright, Staff writer
NCAA wrestling brackets
More: Can Penn State be beaten at NCAA Wrestling Championships? Oklahoma State among contenders
How to watch NCAA Wrestling Championships
Session 1, 11 a.m. Thursday
TV: ESPNU
How to watch online: Watch ESPN (here's how to stream it live)
Session 2, 6 p.m. Thursday
TV: ESPN
How to watch online: Watch ESPN (here's how to stream it live)
More: How Oklahoma State's Daton Fix is prepping for both NCAA wrestling finals, Olympic trials
When is the NCAA Wrestling Championships?
2024 Big 12 Wrestling Championship Schedule
Thursday, March 21
Session 1: Opening round, 11 a.m. (ESPNU and ESPN+)
Session 2: Second round and elimination matches, 6 p.m. (ESPN and ESPN+)
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: NCAA wrestling championships: Day 1 analysis, results for OU, OSU