Big 12 Conference reveals championship pre-seeds

IRVING, Texas – The Big 12 Conference released its pre-seeds for the Big 12 Championships, set for March 3-4 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.

Six schools scored No. 1 seeds, including Oklahoma State and new Big 12 affiliate Northern Iowa, who each bring three top-seeded wrestlers to Tulsa. Wyoming boasts two at the No. 1-spot, while North Dakota State and South Dakota State each have one.

The seeds, as voted by the conference coaches, will compete over the weekend for 45 automatic qualifying bids to the NCAA Championships, as well as the 2018 Big 12 Championship team title.

Oklahoma State is the only original Big 12 member to have a top-seeded wrestler.

The Cowboys boast top-ranked Big 12 wrestlers in Nick Piccininni at 125 pounds, Preston Weigel at 197 pound and Derek White at heavyweight, while Northern Iowa has Max Thomsen at 149 pounds, Taylor Lujan at 174 pounds and Drew Foster at 184 pounds.

Wyoming has a pair of guys at the top of the bracket, including Bryce Meredith at 141 and Brandon Ashworth at 165 pounds.

Seth Gross of South Dakota State is the top seed at 133 pounds and North Dakota State’s Clayton Ream is the 1-seed at 157 pounds.

Oklahoma State aims for its sixth-straight Big 12 team title and 52nd overall conference championship.

The 2018 Big 12 Championships open Saturday at the BOK Center in Tulsa with the first session beginning at 11 a.m. CT. For tickets and other information, visit here.