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Cowboys Hold on to Win Big 12 Wrestling Championship

The Cowboys needed a late surge to secure the Big 12 crown.
Taylor Skieens|
Oklahoma State's Wyatt Hendrickson watches player introductions during the college wrestling dual between Oklahoma State and Air Force at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla., Friday, Jan., 3, 2025.
Oklahoma State's Wyatt Hendrickson watches player introductions during the college wrestling dual between Oklahoma State and Air Force at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla., Friday, Jan., 3, 2025. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oklahoma State had six wrestlers in the final round on Sunday night and one eliminated Saturday, the consolation and placement round was rather quiet for Oklahoma State but they still needed some crucial points to maintain their narrow lead.

The Pokes went 3-3 overall in the session, with 149-pound Teague Travis and 157-pound Caleb Fish each losing their last match to finish fourth. At 165, Cameron Amine lost his consolation semifinal, then won the fifth-place match via medical forfeit. 

Following those early matches the Cowboys added points, but saw their overall lead dwindle to 12. OSU ended the early session with 149.5 points with Northern Iowa second at 137.5. The Pokes had six wrestlers in the finals and Northern Iowa had four. Three of those were slated to be head-to-head battles.

The Cowboys headed into the final day of action needing just one victory to secure the Big 12 team championship. What would seem like an easy task for the No. 3 ranked Cowboys, turned out to be more of challenge as the meet came to an end.

Troy Spratley and Tagen Jamison were both impressive leading up to the finals. They would have to settle for runner-up finishes as the Cowboy overall lead began to slowly dwindle.

Dean Hamiti lost his first match of the season in what was a fantastic final against O’Toole. The two unbeaten wrestlers went to sudden-victory, where O’Toole got a match-winning takedown to win 7-4.

Dustin Plott and Luke Surber both dropped their finals matches heading into the final division of the night. How fitting that Oklahoma State’s Big 12 Championship hopes would come down to Mr. Cowboy Wyatt Hendrickson.

The team race between OSU and UNI was all even heading into Hendrickson’s showdown with Cohlton Schultz. Hendrickson won an early season match against Schultz by an 11- 1 final but Sunday night proved to be a bit of chore.

Hendrickson scored a takedown in the first period but gave up a reversal and two nearfall points before an escape tied it at 4 heading into the second. He escaped and scored another takedown in the second. He was able to weather the storm in the third period to come away with an 8-5 victory. The team championship was the Cowboys first outright Big 12 Championship since 2020.

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Taylor Skieens
TAYLOR SKIEENS

Taylor Skieens has been an avid sports journalist with the McCurtain Gazette in Idabel, Oklahoma for seven years. He holds the title of Sports Editor for one of the oldest remaining print publications in the state of Oklahoma. Taylor grew up in the small lumber town of Wright City Oklahoma where he played baseball and basketball for the Lumberjax.

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