Oklahoma State Cowboys send three to finals at Big 12 wrestling championships

TULSA — Kaden Gfeller spiked his headgear into the mat, looked to the crowd and pointed to his chest, a celebration seen frequently from the Oklahoma State wrestler after big wins.

Saturday night’s 5-2 tiebreaker decision over Wyoming’s Jacob Wright wasn’t the biggest of Gfeller’s career, and he hopes it isn’t his biggest of the weekend in the Big 12 Championships at the BOK Center.

The Cowboys’ 157-pound super-senior wants a third conference title in Sunday’s championship round. The consolation rounds are set to begin at noon Sunday on ESPN+ with the title matches beginning at 8 p.m. on ESPNU.

And once again, Gfeller will be on the mat. Out of eight semifinalists, OSU sent three wrestlers to the finals, with Daton Fix at 133 pounds and Dustin Plott at 174 joining Gfeller.

Missouri took control of the team race, sending six wrestlers to the finals and scoring 135 points. Iowa State moved into second place at 112 with OSU third at 102.5 and OU fourth at 78.

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For Gfeller, this opportunity means a little more. A year ago, he thought he was finished wrestling, but in August, decided to return to the team for his extra year of eligibility afforded by the NCAA after the COVID-19 pandemic.

When he showed up for his first day, Gfeller was nearly 50 pounds heavier than his current weight, and he’s carrying a lot of emotion because of what it has taken to get back to this point.

“I was fired up, man,” Gfeller said of his semifinal win. “I f*****g worked hard this year, man. You guys know. I weighed 200 pounds however long ago that was. I’ve come a long way. It felt good to get that win.”

Gfeller, the No. 2 seed, will face Jared Franek of North Dakota State in the final. Fix, seeking his fourth Big 12 title, will face third-seeded Zach Redding of Iowa State. Fix is the top seed, earning three bonus-point victories on his way to the final, improving to 25-0 on the season.

Plott is set for a rematch of last year’s title bout, when he defeated Missouri’s Peyton Mocco. Mocco won their previous meeting this season, but Plott didn’t have to work too hard on Saturday. After receiving a preliminary bye and winning his quarterfinal match 6-2, he pinned his semifinal opponent, Sam Wolf of Air Force, in the first period.

“Wrestle hard and have fun,” Plott said of his in-match thoughts. “Enjoy the moment.

“I’m wrestling relaxed, which is really good. Not being too serious. Sometimes I take myself a little too seriously. Relaxing and having fun has made this real enjoyable.”

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OU’s Tate Picklo reaches semifinals

Not long after leaving the mat following his quarterfinal victory in the 174-pound bracket, OU sophomore Tate Picklo smiled with confidence as he spoke about his emergent performance this season.

If he was a bit in disbelief, he hid it well.

After all, Picklo wasn’t even in the Sooners’ starting lineup two months ago.

Although his run got derailed in the semifinals, his two wins Saturday afternoon earned Picklo an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, which will be back at the BOK Center in two weeks.

Picklo was one of three Sooners to reach the semifinals — along with Joey Prata at 125 pounds and Mosha Schwartz at 141 — though none made it out.

Picklo, seeded fifth, upset fourth-seeded Demetrius Romero of Utah Valley 3-2 in the quarterfinals before falling to Missouri’s top-seeded Peyton Mocco 6-5.

Picklo escaped to tie the score at 5 in the final seconds, but Mocco had secured a riding time point for the win.

A Mustang native, Picklo figures he came to the Big 12 Championships three or four times to watch when he was younger. His first appearance on the mat didn’t seem to overwhelm him.

“It’s a great crowd,” said Picklo, who was the No. 1-ranked 195-pound recruit in the 2021 recruiting class after posting a 151-4 record at Mustang. “All the friends and family get to come watch and support. It means a lot to have people up in the stands and it really does make a difference.”

“I remember sitting up in those stands, looking down on the big guys, thinking, ‘Oh, I wanna be them.’ For me to actually be down here competing, it’s a super-cool feeling.”

Picklo entered the year as the backup at 184 pounds, but trimmed down to 174 and had immediate success, going 12-4 over the rest of the regular season.

Carter Young suffers scary knee injury

OSU coach John Smith says he will be cautious with 141-pound sophomore Carter Young, who suffered a frightening knee injury 15 seconds into his semifinal match.

Northern Colorado’s Andrew Alirez, the undefeated top seed in the bracket, took a shot and Young crumpled in pain.

“He’s OK,” Smith said, adding he was unsure if Young would be able to wrestle in consolation matches on Sunday. “We’re thankful that we know it’s not real serious.

“We’ll see how he feels in the morning. We’ll definitely be on the conservative side.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Big 12 wrestling championships: How OU, OSU are faring on Day 1