OSU's six finalists are the most of any team in the 12-team event, with no other school having more than three. Cowboy finalists include Nick Piccininni (125 pounds), Kaid Brock (133 pounds), Dean Heil (141 pounds), Boo Lewallen (149 pounds), Chandler Rogers (165 pounds) and Derek White (heavyweight).
Heil and Piccininni both already have Big 12 titles to their credit, with Heil winning each of the last three at 141 pounds and Piccininni winning at 125 pounds as a freshman last season.
It marks the third Big 12 finals for Rogers, who has twice finished runner-up, and the second for Brock, who finished runner-up at 133 pounds last year. Lewallen and White are making their first appearances in the Big 12 finals, with this season also marking their first appearances at the event.
Also of note, Rogers, Heil and Brock will compete in rematches of last year's Big 12 finals at their respective weight classes, with Rogers facing North Dakota State's Andrew Fogarty, Heil facing Wyoming's Bryce Meredith and Brock facing South Dakota State's Seth Gross.
Rogers earned his spot in the finals after he picked up his team-leading 11th pin of the season in a first-period fall over Utah Valley's Demetrius Romero. The Cowboy opened with a pair of takedowns before turning Romero to his back to seal the match.
"Pins are always something that changes the momentum and builds a lot of confidence," Rogers said. "I'm just going in with the same attitude. Whatever happens, happens. At this point in the year, you've got nothing to lose. You've kind of just got to go for everything and not hold anything back."
Piccininni started the evening with a bang for the Cowboys as he turned a tight bout into an 11-3 major decision with a late takedown and four-point nearfall at the horn against No. 4 Christian Moody of Oklahoma. It was his 11th bonus-point win of the season and places him in the Big 12 finals for the second-straight season.
"Nick had a little bit of a slow start and strong finishes in both of his matches" head coach John Smith said. "The match was a little bit tight and he went and scored the last takedown and back points so those are the things you like to see. You aren't leaving it in the hands of a ref. You're separating the scores and making sure you get your hand raised so that's good for him"
Kaid Brock will wrestle in the 133-pound finals for the second-straight season after recording a 6-2 decision over Wyoming's Montorie Bridges. Brock was able to record a couple of takedowns in the win over Bridges -- a rematch of the December contest in Cheyenne, Wyo., that Bridges took, 11-10.
Heil will attempt to become the ninth Cowboy in school history to win four conference titles on Sunday, as he's set to match up with rival Bryce Meredith for the second consecutive season. Heil edged No. 3 seed Josh Alber of Northern Iowa, 2-0, in a tight match to advance.
Lewallen recorded a thrilling, 10-4 win over Oklahoma's Davion Jeffries in sudden victory on Saturday night to move onto the finals. After ending regulation tied at four, the redshirt sophomore was able to convert a takedown and quick four-point nearfall with just seconds remaining to lock up the win and move onto his first career conference finals appearance. Lewallen will take on Northern Iowa's Max Thomsen in the finals on Sunday.
"It was a tough match. People wrestle a little differently in postseason," Smith said. "You've got to expect a little bit of a tougher match. If you don't continue to score, you find yourself in overtime and tied. I'm happy with where he's at. He's wrestling a guy that made the semifinals last year so it's a chance to build your confidence and see where you're at going into the NCAA Championships."
White will also be competing in his first career Big 12 finals on Sunday, as he scored three takedowns en rout to an 8-1 win over Utah Valley's Dustin Dennison in the heavyweight semis. He will face Fresno State's AJ Nevills in the championship bout, who he defeated in the Cowboy win over the Bulldogs last month.
"Derek is continuing to score points and you like to see that against the competition," Smith said. "These are probably not the guys he's going to need to beat at the NCAA Championships but you're seeing him stretch the score, which you like to see. You don't want to see your athlete wrestling to his competition."
Saturday's second session also brought tough losses for Keegan Moore and Jacobe Smith to higher-ranked foes. Smith and Moore both took leads at one point in their matches against top-seeded Taylor Lujan and Drew Foster, respectively, but came up just short of moving on to the finals.
Preston Weigel also dropped a tough, semifinal match to West Virginia's Jacob Smith, 4-3.
The Cowboys will continue their Big 12 title defense Sunday at noon with consolation action. The finals will be wrestled at 6 p.m.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now