NCAA wrestling championships recap: Oklahoma State wrestling in third place after Day 1

PHILADELPHIA — Deep inside the Wells Fargo Center, Oklahoma State wrestler Dean Hamiti Jr. was warming up for his upcoming match in the round of 16 at the NCAA Championships on Thursday night when teammate Caleb Fish’s match went to overtime.

“I heard a big boom and people go, ‘Ah!’ and I was like, that’s gotta be Fish,” Hamiti said with a laugh.

He didn’t have to see it to know Fish had pulled off the sudden-victory upset, one of many important wins for the Cowboys on the first day of the event.

The 12th-seeded Fish had narrowly avoided giving up nearfall points late in his match, surviving to get to overtime. After an early shot missed, Fish got under the arms of Ohio State’s fifth-seeded Brandon Cannon and threw him to the mat for the winning points in a 10-7 decision.

“I went for the shot and it wasn’t there, so I jacked him up,” Fish said. “I’m pretty confident in that position, so I was gonna squeeze until I got it.”

The win sent Fish to the quarterfinals at 157 pounds, and though other Cowboys had more dominant victories Thursday, Fish’s was the biggest.

“It was a very high-paced match,” OSU coach David Taylor said. “Both guys had a lot of opportunities to score.

“It was a good win for Caleb, and we told him, hey, this is not an ‘I’m satisfied’ moment. He’s got more work to do.”

Fish is one of six OSU wrestlers to reach the quarterfinals, putting them one win away from locking in top-eight finishes and All-American status.

“I felt like I was focused in the moment, just having fun,” Fish said of his upset win. “All I could think about is the national title is mine to win. Just gotta want it more.

“I just love it. We train the way we do so we can come out here and have fun.”

Of course, there’s more at stake this weekend than just individual accolades. The Cowboys ended the first day of action in third place with 27 points. Heavily favored Penn State has begun to pull away from the field with 39.5 points and Nebraska moved into second with 28.

The Cowboys did just about all they could Thursday. They brought nine wrestlers and eight are still alive, with Tagen Jamison and Teague Travis in consolations. 

The six Cowboys to go 2-0 on the day — Troy Spratley (125 pounds), Fish, Cameron Amine (165), Hamiti (174), Dustin Plott (184) and Wyatt Hendrickson (heavyweight) — combined for seven bonus-point wins, with Travis adding two more in his three matches.   

NCAA wrestling championships live updates on Cowboys, Sooners at Wells Fargo Center

OU keeps all five wrestlers alive

Thursday was a mixed bag of results for OU at the NCAA Championships, but all five Sooners who took the mat on the opening day of the event lived to see Day 2.

Each Sooner went 1-1, but most importantly, the three who lost their first-round matches staved off elimination in Thursday’s night session.

“This event, it’s a rollercoaster, right,” OU coach Roger Kish said. “The message has really been, be willing to endure it, because it’s a tough event. It’s a grind out there.

“We probably started off slower than we liked, but they came back and all five, through their wins and losses, executed well, performed well, competed well.”

OU’s Antonio Lorenzo (125 pounds), Mosha Schwartz (141) and Willie McDougald (149) opened the day with losses but bounced back for consolation victories that rode the rollercoaster Kish spoke of.

Lorenzo took control of his match to earn a major decision, while McDougald scored a quick takedown in sudden-victory overtime for his win.

OU dropped two matches to heavily favored opponents, with Gaven Sax losing a 4-0 decision against second-seeded Levi Haines of Penn State at 174 and Deanthony Parker Jr. losing to third-seeded Max McEnelly at 184.

“We’ve got five guys competing on Day 2,” Kish said. “It means there are opportunities. We gotta take advantage of them.”  

 — Scott Wright, Staff writer

OSU’s Wyatt Hendrickson pins another foe, Surber’s run ends

As nicknames go, Wyatt Pindrickson is hard to beat. As wrestlers go, so is Wyatt Hendrickson.

The second-seeded Cowboy heavyweight pinned his second opponent of the day, this one coming 52 seconds into the second period. Hendrickson had already built a 9-0 lead at that point and was working toward a technical fall when he put Cal Poly’s No. 15 Trevor Tinker on his back.

At 197, OSU’s Luke Surber saw his stay at the NCAAs end with a 14-3 major-decision loss to Illinois’ Zac Braunagel, the No. 9 seed. 

 — Scott Wright, Staff writer

OU’s Sax, Parker fall in round of 16

Aligned with title contenders, OU’s Gaven Sax and Deanthony Parker Jr. fell to the consolation bracket with losses in the round of 16.

Sax, the No. 18 seed at 174 pounds, gave up a first-period takedown against Penn State’s second-seeded Levi Haines, but fought off any more significant damage in a 4-0 decision.

Parker, the No. 14 seed at 184, suffered an 11-3 major-decision loss to Minnesota’s third-seeded Max McEnelly.

 — Scott Wright, Staff writer

Consolations: OU’s Schwartz, McDougald stay alive

Two more Sooners kept their tournaments alive, guaranteeing that all five OU wrestlers will survive the first day of the tournament.

In the 141-pound consolation, Mosha Schwartz defeated No. 30 Briar Priest of Pittsburgh 9-5, using a pair of first-period takedowns to build a lead.

At 149, OU’s Willie McDougald scored a takedown 14 seconds into sudden-victory overtime to defeat No. 28 Dylan Gilcher of Michigan.

 — Scott Wright, Staff writer

More bonus points for OSU’s Dean Hamiti, Dustin Plott

The Cowboy upper-weights added more bonus points to the scoreboard, as they’ve done all season.

At 174, third-seeded Dean Hamiti Jr. rolled to a 15-3 major decision over No. 14 Matthew Singleton of North Carolina State. It was an important performance for Hamiti, considering he had to scratch out an 8-4 decision when the two met in the regular season.

Hamiti will face Iowa’s 11th-seeded Patrick Kennedy in Friday’s quarterfinals. Kennedy did not wrestle when the Cowboys and Hawkeyes met in February.

At 184, fourth-seeded Dustin Plott powered his way to a 12-2 major over Columbia’s No. 20 Nick Fine. Plott had two takedowns in the third period and was looking for another when time ran out.

 — Scott Wright, Staff writer

165 pounds: OSU’s Cameron Amine holds on for victory

It wasn’t the textbook method for winning, but this week, winning is all that matters.

OSU’s eighth-seeded Cameron Amine took a 1-0 lead with an escape early in the second period, then benefited from two penalty points on the way to a 3-1 decision over Missouri’s No. 9 Cam Steed. Steed is originally from Collinsville.

 — Scott Wright, Staff writer

157 pounds: Caleb Fish hooks big upset in overtime

Relying on his strong upper-body moves, OSU’s 12th-seeded Caleb Fish pulled an upset over No. 5 Brandon Cannon of Ohio State to advance to the quarterfinals.

Early in the sudden-victory period, Fish attempted a low shot and missed, but got under Cannon, raising him up then throwing him to the mat for the winning takedown in a 10-7 decision.

The match had been back-and-forth all the way through, with each wrestler scoring a takedown and escape in the first period. Fish took a 6-5 lead with a reversal early in the third, but Cannon returned the reversal for a 7-6 edge.

Ohio State coaches challenged, saying Cannon had scored nearfall points, but video review upheld the no-call. Fish escaped to tie the match at 7 and neither wrestler could score over the final minute.

Fish will face 20th-seed Trevor Chumbley of Northwestern, who upset Virginia Tech’s No. 4 Rafael Hipolito in the round of 16.

 — Scott Wright, Staff writer

149-pound consolation: Another major decision for Teague Travis

OSU’s 33rd-seeded Teague Travis advanced in the consolation round with his second major decision of the day.

Travis was working toward a sixth takedown that would have given him the technical fall, but 16th-seeded Trae McDaniel held off the attack. Travis won 17-4, thanks to two takedowns in each of the first and second periods.

 — Scott Wright, Staff writer

141 pounds: OSU’s Tagen Jamison can’t finish reversal, falls in round of 16

OSU’s seventh-seeded Tagen Jamison jumped out to an early lead, but couldn’t hold off 10th-seeded CJ Composito of Penn in a 6-4 decision.

Jamison was working toward a reversal in the closing seconds, but couldn’t get his foot free to earn what would have been the tying points.

It looked like OSU coach David Taylor might’ve considered throwing the challenge brick, but teams are limited to three or fewer challenges for the duration of the tournament.  

Jamison struck quickly with a forceful takedown less than 45 seconds into the match and he rode Composito for the remainder of the period. But he couldn’t make the 4-0 lead or the 2:17 in riding time hold up.

 — Scott Wright, Staff writer

125-pound consolation: OU’s Antonio Lorenzo advances with major decision

With a third-period takedown and a riding time point, OU’s 21st-seeded Antonio Lorenzo kept his tournament alive with a consolation win over No. 28 Koda Holeman of Cal Poly.

Lorenzo will be back in action in Friday’s early session in an elimination match against Wisconsin’s 11th-seeded Nicolar Rivera.

 — Scott Wright, Staff writer

125 pounds: OSU’s Troy Spratley survives tight match

A second-period reversal was all Troy Spratley could muster, but it was all he needed in OSU's opening match of the evening session at the NCAA Championships.

The seventh-seeded Cowboy won a 2-1 decision over 10th-seeded Stevo Poulin of Northern Colorado to advance to the round of eight. After Spratley’s reversal in the second period, he was penalized in the third to bring Poulin within a point.

Spratley will take on second-seeded Matt Ramos of Purdue, a top title contender who is 28-1 on the season.

 — Scott Wright, Staff writer

Wyatt Hendrickson’s pin ends strong first session for OSU

OSU’s second-seeded heavyweight, Wyatt Hendrickson needed only 78 seconds to finish his first match at the NCAA Championships.

Hendrickson put Michigan State’s 31st-seeded Max Vanadia on his back for the pin at the 1:18 mark to increase OSU’s team score for the first session to 15.5.

That has the Cowboys in second place, with heavy favorite Penn State at 24 points.

OSU went 8-2 in the early session and will have just two wrestlers in elimination matches in Thursday’s night session.

OU scored three points and is tied for 32nd after going 2-3 in the first round. Three Sooners will be in elimination matches Thursday night.

 — Scott Wright, Staff writer

197 pounds: Cowboys suffer first upset loss

OSU’s eighth-seeded Luke Surber had taken early control of his match, but the Citadel’s 25th-seeded Patrick Brophy swung momentum with a takedown that turned into nearfall points on the way to an 18-7 major-decision upset of Surber.

Surber led 7-2 in the second period before Brophy’s seven-point swing for a 9-7 lead. Brophy led 10-7 in the third and avoided a Surber attack, then flipped out of a scramble before scoring another takedown and nearfall points.

The pressure will be on Surber in the elimination round Thursday night. He’ll take on another highly seeded wrestler who was upset in the first round, Zac Braunagel of Illinois, the No. 9 seed. 

 — Scott Wright, Staff writer

184 pounds: OSU’s Dustin Plott rolls to tech fall, OU's Parker scores major decision

Another copycat victory for the Cowboys.

Not long after Dean Hamiti Jr. registered an 18-1 technical fall at 174 pounds, Dustin Plott did the same at 184.  Plott went to work quickly in the win over Princeton’s Kole Mulhauser, giving OSU its fourth bonus-point win of the day.

OU's Deanthony Parker Jr., also known as D.J., scored the first bonus-point victory of the tournament for the Sooners. With a third-period takedown, Parker earned a 10-0 win over Eddie Neitenbach of Wyoming.

 — Scott Wright, Staff writer

174 pounds: OSU’s Dean Hamiti scores tech fall, OU’s Gaven Sax advances

OSU added more bonus points thanks to third-seeded Dean Hamiti Jr.’s 18-1 technical fall. Hamiti had three takedowns and a four-point nearfall over the first two periods, then ended the match with a takedown 9 seconds into the third.

That’s the third bonus-point win of the day for OSU.

OU’s 18th-seeded Gaven Sax pulled off an upset with a 5-0 win over No. 15 Luca Augustine of Pittsburgh. The match was scoreless into the third period when Sax turned Augustine for a four-point nearfall during a full-period rideout.

Up next for Sax is second-seeded Levi Haines of Penn State on Thursday night.

 — Scott Wright, Staff writer

165 pounds: OSU's Cameron Amine follow’s Fish’s lead

It was nearly identical to his teammate’s win, but OSU’s eighth-seeded Cameron Amine moved into the Round of 16. 

Like Caleb Fish moments before him, Amine got an escape in the second period, then rode out Nick Hamilton of Virginia for the entire third period for a 2-0 win.

 — Scott Wright, Staff writer

157 pounds: Caleb Fish advances with tight win

It wasn’t fancy, but it moved him forward. OSU’s 12th-seeded Caleb Fish used a second-period escape then a third-period rideout for all the points he needed in a 2-0 win over No. 21 Logan Rozynski of Lehigh in the first round.

Through four matches in which the Cowboys were favored, they are 4-0 with two bonus-point wins. Their only loss has come against the No. 1 seed at 149 pounds.

 — Scott Wright, Staff writer

149 pounds: OU’s Willie McDougald come up short

Taking on Oregon State’s 12th-seeded Ethan Stiles, OU’s No. 21 Willie McDougald suffered a 6-4 loss in the opening round 

When Stiles escaped early in the third period, he led 5-3, but McDougald couldn’t score a takedown for the lead. 

 — Scott Wright, Staff writer

149 pounds: Teague Travis falls to top seed

OSU’s No. 33 Teague Travis did his job in the early rounds, earning bonus points in his pig-tail match, then pushing top-seeded Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech to the wire.

The undefeated Henson held on for a 4-0 win, scoring a takedown late in the first period, then an escape in the third. At the end of both the second and third periods, Travis was working toward a takedown, but ran out of time in each.

Travis falls into the consolation bracket and will be back in action later today against 16th-seeded Trae McDaniel of Army.

 — Scott Wright, Staff writer

141 pounds: OSU's Tagen Jamison advances, OU's Schwartz defeated

In a very active match that resulted in limited offense, OSU’s No. 7 Tagen Jamison advanced with a 5-1 win over Eligh Rivera of Princeton.

Jamison used an escape and takedown in the second period to take control of the match. 

OU's 19th-seeded Mosha Schwartz was sent to the consolation bracket, suffering a third-period pin against Michigan's No. 14 Sergio Lemley.

 — Scott Wright, Staff writer

125 pounds: OSU’s Troy Spratley rolls, OU’s Antonio Lorenzo comes up short of upset

With a takedown and two nearfalls in the first period, OSU’s seventh-seeded Troy Spratley had no issues in his opening match, a 15-0 technical fall over Keyveon Roller of Virginia that ended in the second period.

OU’s Antonio Lorenzo, the No. 21 seed, lost his opening match in a near upset, dropping a 6-5 decision against 12th-seeded Dean Peterson of Rutgers.

 — Scott Wright, Staff writer

Pig-tail round: OSU’s Teague Travis opens with major decision

OSU's No. 33 seed Teague Travis, a late addition to the lineup for the Big 12 Championships two weeks ago, landed the No. 33 seed because he’s only wrestled seven matches this season.

He opened with a first-period takedown of Wynton Denkins of Campbell, then added another takedown in each period on his way to an 11-1 major decision to begin his run at the NCAA Championships.

Up next, Travis will face undefeated No. 1 seed Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech.

 — Scott Wright, Staff writer

What time do the NCAA wrestling championships start?

Here's a look at the start times, TV channels and round schedule for all three days of the NCAA Championships:

Thursday, March 20

• Session 1: Preliminary & First Rounds, 11 a.m. on ESPNU
• Session 2: Second Round, Consolation First Round, 6 p.m. on ESPN

Friday, March 21

• Session 3: Quarterfinals, Consolation Second & Third Rounds, 11 a.m. on ESPNU
• Session 4: Semifinals, Consolation Fourth & Fifth Rounds – 7 p.m. on ESPN2

Saturday, March 22

• Session 5: Consolation Semifinals, Placement Matches – 10 a.m. on ESPNU (Four Mats)
• Session 6: Championship Matches – 6 p.m. on ESPN (One Mat)

The Oklahoma State wrestling team has nine competitors at the NCAA Championships and OU wrestling has five.

Finals predictions for NCAA Championships

125 pounds: No. 2 Matt Ramos, Purdue, vs. No. 5 Richie Figueroa, Arizona State

Ramos suffered his first loss last week. Reigning champ Figueroa should bounce back from a challenging run at the Big 12 Championships.

133 pounds: No. 1 Lucas Byrd, Illinois, vs. No. 2 Drake Ayala, Iowa

Byrd pinned Ayala in the Big Ten final to secure the No. 1 seed.

141 pounds: No. 1 Brock Hardy, Nebraska, vs. No. 3 Jesse Mendez, Ohio State

Hardy was strong at the Big Ten championships. Mendez is the reigning national champ. 

149 pounds: No. 1 Caleb Henson, Virginia Tech, vs. No. 2 Ridge Lovett, Nebraska

The bottom half of the bracket is loaded and should lead to a wildly entertaining semifinal matchup.

157 pounds: No. 1 Tyler Kasak, Penn State, vs. No. 2 Meyer Shapiro, Cornell

Both have battled injuries this year, so health is key to making this matchup happen. 

165 pounds: No. 1 Mitchell Messenbrink, Penn State, vs. No. 3 Mikey Caliendo, Iowa

Caliendo will have to upset No. 2 Peyton Hall of West Virginia, who has just one loss this year.

174 pounds: No. 1 Keegan O’Toole, Missouri, vs. No. 3 Dean Hamiti, Oklahoma State

A rematch of the Big 12 final, which went to the undefeated O’Toole.

184 pounds: No. 1 Carter Starocci, Penn State, vs. No. 2 Parker Keckeisen, Northern Iowa

A pair of dominant, undefeated wrestlers seem destined for a championship showdown.

197 pounds: No. 3 AJ Ferrari, Cal State Bakersfield, vs. No. 4 Josh Barr, Penn State

Ferrari will likely face Iowa’s Stephen Buchanan — formerly of OU — in the semifinals, while Barr should get a third match against Michigan’s top-seeded Jacob Cardenas after they split during the season.

Heavyweight: No. 1 Gable Steveson, Minnesota, vs. No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State

Can Oklahoma State’s No. 2 Wyatt Hendrickson hold off Kerkvliet, the reigning champ, to get to the finals?

What channel are the NCAA wrestling championships on today?

• Session I broadcast: ESPNU (here's how to stream it live)
• Session II broadcast: ESPN

Thursday's first session of the NCAA Championships will be on ESPNU. The evening session will be on ESPN.

Oklahoma State wrestling highlights at NCAA Championships

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