Preview: Oklahoma State favored to repeat at Big 12 Championships in Tulsa, March 3-4
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Photo of Dean Heil of Oklahoma State and Bryce Meredith of Wyoming doing battle in the 2016 NCAA Championships finals. Another showdown between these two stars could happen at the 2018 Big 12s. Photo by Tony Rotundo, Wrestlers Are Warriors.
The favorite: Oklahoma State dominated the Big 12 Championships last year, putting all 10 Cowboys into the finals and claiming eight of the 10 gold medals. The Cowboys finished 83 points ahead of runners-up Oklahoma last year. Coming in at No. 5 nationally, OSU has three No. 1 seeds for this year’s Big 12s and three No. 2 seeds, so matching last year’s 10-finalist performance is highly unexpected. The Cowboys have three returning conference champions in Nick Piccininni (125), Dean Heil (141) and Preston Weigel (197). Heil, a two-time NCAA champion, is seeded No. 2 at the Big 12s behind 2016 NCAA runner-up Bryce Meredith of Wyoming (who is also No. 1 nationally at the weight). Throw in a No. 1 seed at heavyweight in Derek White. On paper, and also based upon results all year, Oklahoma State is a clear favorite. But it really shouldn't be like it was last year.
Other contenders: If Oklahoma State does hold serve, the big battle could be for second between No. 12 South Dakota State, No. 14 Wyoming and conference newcomer No. 15 Northern Iowa. These rankings are based upon dual meet results, so the tournament dynamic is different. UNI has the most No. 1 seeds of this group, with Max Thomsen (141), Taylor Lujan (174) and Drew Foster (184) at the top, plus two athletes who are seeded No. 3. Wyoming has a pair of No. 1 seeds, Meredith and Branson Ashworth (165), plus two No. 2 seeds. South Dakota State boasts a No. 1 seed in returning conference champion and NCAA runner-up Seth Gross (133), plus two No. 2 seeds and two No. 3 seeds. Really, the difference could be in the other placements, where wrestlers not expected to medal are able to crack into the top six at their weight class. It could be that Oklahoma State clinches the team title early, but the runner-up comes down to the last few bouts.
The teams: Air Force, Fresno State, Iowa State, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, South Dakota State, Utah Valley, West Virginia, Wyoming
Venue: BOK Center, Tulsa, Okla.
What’s new:
• There are two new teams in the Big 12 this year, with the addition of Northern Iowa, which came over from the MAC, and the reinstatement of Fresno State, which selected the Big 12 as its conference for its return to Div. I wrestling. The addition of the two programs brings the conference up to 12 teams, which actually matches the conference name. (Of course, that includes four core Big 12 programs and eight affiliates)
• New coaches to the conference meet include Fresno State’s Troy Steiner, his first year as a head coach, and UNI’s Doug Schwab, who is in his eighth year with the Panthers and has coached in two other conferences, but never in the Big 12. Another program has a new coach for the Big 12s, Iowa State’s Kevin Dresser, who coached 11 years in the ACC.
Who’s new?
• All of the athletes on the UNI and Fresno State lineups are new to the Big 12. UNI does have previous conference experience in the Mid American Conference, with five 2017 MAC medalists competing in the Big 12 this year. Taylor Lujan was 2017 MAC champion at 174. Runners-up from the 2017 MAC meet were Max Thomsen at 149 and Drew Foster at 184. Winning MAC bronze medals last year were Josh Alber at 133 and Jacob Holschlag at 197.
• Fresno State brings two No. 3 seeds to the party, Khristian Olivas (149) and AJ Nevills (285). Nevills is a freshman, but spent a grayshirt year at Penn State where his brother is the heavyweight, so this is his first conference meet. Olivas spent a year at Utah Valley before transferring, but was a redshirt there, so he also is doing his first conference championship too.
• Then there are the other freshmen. No. 2 seeds Taylor LaMont of Utah Valley at 125 and Montorie Bridges of Wyoming at 133 are freshmen. LaMont is ranked No. 7 nationally and Bridges is ranked No. 6. Other nationally ranked freshmen in the conference include Iowa State’s Ian Parker (No. 19 at 141) and Sam Colbray (No. 20 at 197).
Best weight class:
What’s your poison?
• If you evaluate it based upon which weight has the most highly ranked athletes on the national level, you would have to go with 133 pounds, which features No. 1 Seth Gross of SDSU, No. 4 Kaid Brock of OSU and No. 6 Montorie Bridges of Wyoming.
• If you are looking at which weight has the most automatic NCAA qualifiers which means the most depth, you’d have to go with 125 pounds, which has seven automatic spots in the NCAA Championships and four nationally ranked wrestlers in No. 6 Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State), No. 7 Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley), No. 15 Zeke Moisey (West Virginia) and No. 17 Christian Moody (Oklahoma).
• If you are looking for what weight might have the highest-powered finals, you might choose 141, where if the seeds hold up, Meredith and Heil would have another battle that will be big in determining NCAA seeds two weeks later. Heil beat Meredith in the 2016 NCAA finals, and in the 2017 Big 12 finals, but the most recent battle went to Meredith in a dual meet in Wyoming.
• If you want the one which could be the most volatile, perhaps you look at heavyweight, which has only one nationally ranked athlete in No. 12 Derek White of Oklahoma State and only three NCAA automatic qualifiers.
For this story, we go with 133 pounds, although the others could prove to be “better” when it is all said and done.
Notes:
• The Big 12 received 45 automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Championships, the third most among conferences behind the Big Ten (80) and the EIWA (47)
• Last year, the Oklahoma State Cowboys won their fifth consecutive team title and their 15th Big 12 title overall.
• In 2017, BOK Center set a Big 12 Conference attendance record when over 15,000 people attended the two-day event.
• The Big 12 announced that it will continue hosting the Big 12 Wrestling Championships in the BOK Center through 2020.
Nationally ranked wrestlers, preseeds and returning placers
(FloWrestling Rankings of Feb. 26)
125 pounds – (7 NCAA automatic qualifiers)
No. 6 Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State)
No. 7 Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley)
No. 15 Zeke Moisey (West Virginia)
No. 17 Christian Moody (Oklahoma)
Preseeds: 1. Piccininni, 2. LaMont, 3. Moisey, 4. Moody, 5. Connor Brown (South Dakota State), 6. Jay Schwarm (UNI), 7. Paul Bianchi (NDSU), 8. Drake Foster (Wyoming)
Returning 2017 Big 12 placers: Piccininni (1st), Moody (4th)
133 – (5 NCAA automatic qualifiers)
No. 1 Seth Gross (South Dakota State)
No. 4 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State)
No. 6 Montorie Bridges (Wyoming)
Preseeds: 1. Gross; 2. Bridges; 3. Brock; 4. Rico Montoya (Northern Colorado); 5. Matt Schmitt (West Virginia); 6. Cam Sykora (North Dakota State); 7. Jake Rubio (Oklahoma); 8. Isaac Jimenez (Air Force)
Returning 2017 Big 12 placers: Gross (1st), Brock (2nd), Sykora (3rd), Montoya (4th)
141 – (3 NCAA automatic qualifiers)
No. 1 Bryce Meredith (Wyoming)
No. 7 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State)
No. 9 Josh Alber (Northern Iowa)
No. 19 Ian Parker (Iowa State)
Preseeds: 1. Meredith, 2. Heil, 3. Alber, 4. Parker, 5. Henry Pohlmeyer (South Dakota State), 6. Alec Opsal (Air Force), 7. Christian Monserrat (West Virginia); 8. Matt Findlay (Utah Valley)
Returning 2017 Big 12 placers: Heil (1st), Meredith (2nd), Mike Longo of Oklahoma (3rd)
149 – (5 NCAA automatic qualifiers)
No. 6 Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa)
No. 14 Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma State)
Preseeds: 1. Thomsen; 2. Lewallen; 3. Khristian Olivas (Fresno State); 4. Jarrett Degan (Iowa State); 5. Sam Turner (Wyoming); 6. Davion Jeffries (Oklahoma); 7. Kyle Gliva (North Dakota State); 8. Dane Robbins (Air Force)
Returning 2017 Big 12 placers: Jeffries (2nd)
157 – (3 NCAA automatic qualifiers)
No. 8 Clayton Ream (North Dakota State)
No. 9 Archie Colgan (Wyoming)
Preseeds: 1. Ream; 2. Colgan; 3. Luke Zilverberg (South Dakota State); 4. Jonce Blaylock (Oklahoma State); 5. Logan Ryan (UNI); 6. Chase Straw (Iowa State); 7. Justin Thomas (Oklahoma); 8. Alex Mossing (Air Force)
Returning 2017 Big 12 placers: Ream (2nd), Mossing (4th), Zilverberg (4th at 165), Colgan (5th)
165 – (6 NCAA automatic qualifiers)
No. 6 Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State)
No. 13 Branson Ashworth (Wyoming)
No. 16 Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley)
No. 20 Andrew Fogarty (North Dakota State)
Preseeds: 1. Ashcraft; 2. Rogers, 3. Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley); 4. Andrew Fogarty (North Dakota State); 5. Keilan Torres (Northern Colorado); 6. Dawaylon Barnes (Oklahoma); 7. Alex Lopouchanski (Air Force); 8. Nick Kiussis (West Virginia)
Returning 2017 Big 12 placers: Rogers (2nd), Torres (3rd), Ashworth (5th), Fogarty (6th)
174 - (5 NCAA automatic qualifiers)
No. 7 Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa)
No. 10 David Kocer (South Dakota State)
No. 14 Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma State)
No. 15 Yoanse Mejias (Oklahoma)
Preseeds: 1. Lujan; 2. Mejias; 3. Kocer; 4. Smith; 5. Kimball Bastian (Utah Valley); 6. Kyle Pope (Wyoming); 7. Michael Billingsly (Air Force); 8. Parker VonEgidy (West Virginia)
Returning 2017 Big 12 placers: Kocer (3rd), Pope (5th), Bastian (6th)
184 – (4 NCAA automatic qualifiers)
No. 11 Drew Foster (Northern Iowa)
Preseeds: 1. Foster; 2. Martin Mueller (South Dakota State); 3. Dylan Gabel (Northern Colorado); 4. Keegan Moore (Oklahoma State); 5. Chaz Polson (Wyoming); 6. Gary Jantzer (Utah Valley); 7. Dane Pestano (Iowa State); 8. Zen Ikehara (Air Force)
Returning 2017 Big 12 placers: Gabel (2nd), Mueller (3rd), Tyler McNutt of North Dakota State (6th)
197 - (4 NCAA automatic qualifiers)
No 4 Preston Weigel (Oklahoma State)
No. 11 Nathan Rotert (South Dakota State)
No. 15 Jacob Holschlag (Northern Iowa)
No. 20 Sammy Colbray (Iowa State)
Preseeds: 1. Weigel; 2. Rotert; 3. Holschlag, 4. Jake Smith (West Virginia); 5. Colbray; 6. Tanner Orndorff (Utah Valley); 7. Jacob Seely (Northern Colorado); 8. Anthony McLaughlin (Air Force)
Returning 2017 Big 12 placers: Weigel (1st), Smith (2nd), Rotert (4th), Cordell Eaton of North Dakota State (6th)
285 - (3 NCAA automatic qualifiers)
No. 12 Derek White (Oklahoma State)
Preseeds: 1. White, 2. Marcus Harrington (Iowa State); 3. AJ Nevills (Fresno State); 4. Dustin Dennison (Utah Valley); 5. Dan Stribal (North Dakota State); 6. Alex Macki (South Dakota State); 7. Carter Isley (Northern Iowa); 8. Sam Eagan (Wyoming)
Returning 2017 Big 12 placers: Dennison (2nd), Harrington (5th at 197)
Click here for full Big 12 Preseed Brackets
Ranked Teams (final NWCA Rankings)
No. 5 Oklahoma State
No. 12 South Dakota State
No. 14 Wyoming
No. 15 Northern Iowa
2017 Big 12 Champions
125 - Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State)
133 - Seth Gross (South Dakota State)
141 - Dean Heil (Oklahoma State)
149 - Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State)
157 - Joe Smith (Oklahoma State)
165 - Dylan Cottrell (West Virginia)
174 - Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State)
184 - Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State)
197 - Preston Weigel (Oklahoma State)
285 - Austin Schafer (Oklahoma State)
BIG 12 WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE
(Central time)
Saturday, March 3
Session 1: 11AM (Preliminary Matches)
Session 2: 5PM (Semifinals)
Sunday, March 4
Session 3: 12PM (Consolation Semifinals)
Session 4: 6PM (Finals)
Broadcast: FloWrestling
Tickets, which range in price from $33 to $53 are available at the Big 12 Wrestling Championships website
The favorite: Oklahoma State dominated the Big 12 Championships last year, putting all 10 Cowboys into the finals and claiming eight of the 10 gold medals. The Cowboys finished 83 points ahead of runners-up Oklahoma last year. Coming in at No. 5 nationally, OSU has three No. 1 seeds for this year’s Big 12s and three No. 2 seeds, so matching last year’s 10-finalist performance is highly unexpected. The Cowboys have three returning conference champions in Nick Piccininni (125), Dean Heil (141) and Preston Weigel (197). Heil, a two-time NCAA champion, is seeded No. 2 at the Big 12s behind 2016 NCAA runner-up Bryce Meredith of Wyoming (who is also No. 1 nationally at the weight). Throw in a No. 1 seed at heavyweight in Derek White. On paper, and also based upon results all year, Oklahoma State is a clear favorite. But it really shouldn't be like it was last year.
Other contenders: If Oklahoma State does hold serve, the big battle could be for second between No. 12 South Dakota State, No. 14 Wyoming and conference newcomer No. 15 Northern Iowa. These rankings are based upon dual meet results, so the tournament dynamic is different. UNI has the most No. 1 seeds of this group, with Max Thomsen (141), Taylor Lujan (174) and Drew Foster (184) at the top, plus two athletes who are seeded No. 3. Wyoming has a pair of No. 1 seeds, Meredith and Branson Ashworth (165), plus two No. 2 seeds. South Dakota State boasts a No. 1 seed in returning conference champion and NCAA runner-up Seth Gross (133), plus two No. 2 seeds and two No. 3 seeds. Really, the difference could be in the other placements, where wrestlers not expected to medal are able to crack into the top six at their weight class. It could be that Oklahoma State clinches the team title early, but the runner-up comes down to the last few bouts.
The teams: Air Force, Fresno State, Iowa State, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, South Dakota State, Utah Valley, West Virginia, Wyoming
Venue: BOK Center, Tulsa, Okla.
What’s new:
• There are two new teams in the Big 12 this year, with the addition of Northern Iowa, which came over from the MAC, and the reinstatement of Fresno State, which selected the Big 12 as its conference for its return to Div. I wrestling. The addition of the two programs brings the conference up to 12 teams, which actually matches the conference name. (Of course, that includes four core Big 12 programs and eight affiliates)
• New coaches to the conference meet include Fresno State’s Troy Steiner, his first year as a head coach, and UNI’s Doug Schwab, who is in his eighth year with the Panthers and has coached in two other conferences, but never in the Big 12. Another program has a new coach for the Big 12s, Iowa State’s Kevin Dresser, who coached 11 years in the ACC.
Who’s new?
• All of the athletes on the UNI and Fresno State lineups are new to the Big 12. UNI does have previous conference experience in the Mid American Conference, with five 2017 MAC medalists competing in the Big 12 this year. Taylor Lujan was 2017 MAC champion at 174. Runners-up from the 2017 MAC meet were Max Thomsen at 149 and Drew Foster at 184. Winning MAC bronze medals last year were Josh Alber at 133 and Jacob Holschlag at 197.
• Fresno State brings two No. 3 seeds to the party, Khristian Olivas (149) and AJ Nevills (285). Nevills is a freshman, but spent a grayshirt year at Penn State where his brother is the heavyweight, so this is his first conference meet. Olivas spent a year at Utah Valley before transferring, but was a redshirt there, so he also is doing his first conference championship too.
• Then there are the other freshmen. No. 2 seeds Taylor LaMont of Utah Valley at 125 and Montorie Bridges of Wyoming at 133 are freshmen. LaMont is ranked No. 7 nationally and Bridges is ranked No. 6. Other nationally ranked freshmen in the conference include Iowa State’s Ian Parker (No. 19 at 141) and Sam Colbray (No. 20 at 197).
Best weight class:
What’s your poison?
• If you evaluate it based upon which weight has the most highly ranked athletes on the national level, you would have to go with 133 pounds, which features No. 1 Seth Gross of SDSU, No. 4 Kaid Brock of OSU and No. 6 Montorie Bridges of Wyoming.
• If you are looking at which weight has the most automatic NCAA qualifiers which means the most depth, you’d have to go with 125 pounds, which has seven automatic spots in the NCAA Championships and four nationally ranked wrestlers in No. 6 Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State), No. 7 Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley), No. 15 Zeke Moisey (West Virginia) and No. 17 Christian Moody (Oklahoma).
• If you are looking for what weight might have the highest-powered finals, you might choose 141, where if the seeds hold up, Meredith and Heil would have another battle that will be big in determining NCAA seeds two weeks later. Heil beat Meredith in the 2016 NCAA finals, and in the 2017 Big 12 finals, but the most recent battle went to Meredith in a dual meet in Wyoming.
• If you want the one which could be the most volatile, perhaps you look at heavyweight, which has only one nationally ranked athlete in No. 12 Derek White of Oklahoma State and only three NCAA automatic qualifiers.
For this story, we go with 133 pounds, although the others could prove to be “better” when it is all said and done.
Notes:
• The Big 12 received 45 automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Championships, the third most among conferences behind the Big Ten (80) and the EIWA (47)
• Last year, the Oklahoma State Cowboys won their fifth consecutive team title and their 15th Big 12 title overall.
• In 2017, BOK Center set a Big 12 Conference attendance record when over 15,000 people attended the two-day event.
• The Big 12 announced that it will continue hosting the Big 12 Wrestling Championships in the BOK Center through 2020.
Nationally ranked wrestlers, preseeds and returning placers
(FloWrestling Rankings of Feb. 26)
125 pounds – (7 NCAA automatic qualifiers)
No. 6 Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State)
No. 7 Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley)
No. 15 Zeke Moisey (West Virginia)
No. 17 Christian Moody (Oklahoma)
Preseeds: 1. Piccininni, 2. LaMont, 3. Moisey, 4. Moody, 5. Connor Brown (South Dakota State), 6. Jay Schwarm (UNI), 7. Paul Bianchi (NDSU), 8. Drake Foster (Wyoming)
Returning 2017 Big 12 placers: Piccininni (1st), Moody (4th)
133 – (5 NCAA automatic qualifiers)
No. 1 Seth Gross (South Dakota State)
No. 4 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State)
No. 6 Montorie Bridges (Wyoming)
Preseeds: 1. Gross; 2. Bridges; 3. Brock; 4. Rico Montoya (Northern Colorado); 5. Matt Schmitt (West Virginia); 6. Cam Sykora (North Dakota State); 7. Jake Rubio (Oklahoma); 8. Isaac Jimenez (Air Force)
Returning 2017 Big 12 placers: Gross (1st), Brock (2nd), Sykora (3rd), Montoya (4th)
141 – (3 NCAA automatic qualifiers)
No. 1 Bryce Meredith (Wyoming)
No. 7 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State)
No. 9 Josh Alber (Northern Iowa)
No. 19 Ian Parker (Iowa State)
Preseeds: 1. Meredith, 2. Heil, 3. Alber, 4. Parker, 5. Henry Pohlmeyer (South Dakota State), 6. Alec Opsal (Air Force), 7. Christian Monserrat (West Virginia); 8. Matt Findlay (Utah Valley)
Returning 2017 Big 12 placers: Heil (1st), Meredith (2nd), Mike Longo of Oklahoma (3rd)
149 – (5 NCAA automatic qualifiers)
No. 6 Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa)
No. 14 Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma State)
Preseeds: 1. Thomsen; 2. Lewallen; 3. Khristian Olivas (Fresno State); 4. Jarrett Degan (Iowa State); 5. Sam Turner (Wyoming); 6. Davion Jeffries (Oklahoma); 7. Kyle Gliva (North Dakota State); 8. Dane Robbins (Air Force)
Returning 2017 Big 12 placers: Jeffries (2nd)
157 – (3 NCAA automatic qualifiers)
No. 8 Clayton Ream (North Dakota State)
No. 9 Archie Colgan (Wyoming)
Preseeds: 1. Ream; 2. Colgan; 3. Luke Zilverberg (South Dakota State); 4. Jonce Blaylock (Oklahoma State); 5. Logan Ryan (UNI); 6. Chase Straw (Iowa State); 7. Justin Thomas (Oklahoma); 8. Alex Mossing (Air Force)
Returning 2017 Big 12 placers: Ream (2nd), Mossing (4th), Zilverberg (4th at 165), Colgan (5th)
165 – (6 NCAA automatic qualifiers)
No. 6 Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State)
No. 13 Branson Ashworth (Wyoming)
No. 16 Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley)
No. 20 Andrew Fogarty (North Dakota State)
Preseeds: 1. Ashcraft; 2. Rogers, 3. Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley); 4. Andrew Fogarty (North Dakota State); 5. Keilan Torres (Northern Colorado); 6. Dawaylon Barnes (Oklahoma); 7. Alex Lopouchanski (Air Force); 8. Nick Kiussis (West Virginia)
Returning 2017 Big 12 placers: Rogers (2nd), Torres (3rd), Ashworth (5th), Fogarty (6th)
174 - (5 NCAA automatic qualifiers)
No. 7 Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa)
No. 10 David Kocer (South Dakota State)
No. 14 Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma State)
No. 15 Yoanse Mejias (Oklahoma)
Preseeds: 1. Lujan; 2. Mejias; 3. Kocer; 4. Smith; 5. Kimball Bastian (Utah Valley); 6. Kyle Pope (Wyoming); 7. Michael Billingsly (Air Force); 8. Parker VonEgidy (West Virginia)
Returning 2017 Big 12 placers: Kocer (3rd), Pope (5th), Bastian (6th)
184 – (4 NCAA automatic qualifiers)
No. 11 Drew Foster (Northern Iowa)
Preseeds: 1. Foster; 2. Martin Mueller (South Dakota State); 3. Dylan Gabel (Northern Colorado); 4. Keegan Moore (Oklahoma State); 5. Chaz Polson (Wyoming); 6. Gary Jantzer (Utah Valley); 7. Dane Pestano (Iowa State); 8. Zen Ikehara (Air Force)
Returning 2017 Big 12 placers: Gabel (2nd), Mueller (3rd), Tyler McNutt of North Dakota State (6th)
197 - (4 NCAA automatic qualifiers)
No 4 Preston Weigel (Oklahoma State)
No. 11 Nathan Rotert (South Dakota State)
No. 15 Jacob Holschlag (Northern Iowa)
No. 20 Sammy Colbray (Iowa State)
Preseeds: 1. Weigel; 2. Rotert; 3. Holschlag, 4. Jake Smith (West Virginia); 5. Colbray; 6. Tanner Orndorff (Utah Valley); 7. Jacob Seely (Northern Colorado); 8. Anthony McLaughlin (Air Force)
Returning 2017 Big 12 placers: Weigel (1st), Smith (2nd), Rotert (4th), Cordell Eaton of North Dakota State (6th)
285 - (3 NCAA automatic qualifiers)
No. 12 Derek White (Oklahoma State)
Preseeds: 1. White, 2. Marcus Harrington (Iowa State); 3. AJ Nevills (Fresno State); 4. Dustin Dennison (Utah Valley); 5. Dan Stribal (North Dakota State); 6. Alex Macki (South Dakota State); 7. Carter Isley (Northern Iowa); 8. Sam Eagan (Wyoming)
Returning 2017 Big 12 placers: Dennison (2nd), Harrington (5th at 197)
Click here for full Big 12 Preseed Brackets
Ranked Teams (final NWCA Rankings)
No. 5 Oklahoma State
No. 12 South Dakota State
No. 14 Wyoming
No. 15 Northern Iowa
2017 Big 12 Champions
125 - Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State)
133 - Seth Gross (South Dakota State)
141 - Dean Heil (Oklahoma State)
149 - Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State)
157 - Joe Smith (Oklahoma State)
165 - Dylan Cottrell (West Virginia)
174 - Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State)
184 - Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State)
197 - Preston Weigel (Oklahoma State)
285 - Austin Schafer (Oklahoma State)
BIG 12 WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE
(Central time)
Saturday, March 3
Session 1: 11AM (Preliminary Matches)
Session 2: 5PM (Semifinals)
Sunday, March 4
Session 3: 12PM (Consolation Semifinals)
Session 4: 6PM (Finals)
Broadcast: FloWrestling
Tickets, which range in price from $33 to $53 are available at the Big 12 Wrestling Championships website
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