TULSA, Okla. — North Dakota State 125 Josh Rodriguez and 157 Clay Ream both placed second at the Big 12 Wrestling Championships on Sunday, March 5 in the BOK Center. NDSU 133 Cam Sykora placed third, 285 Ben Tynan finished fourth, and 165 Andrew Fogarty, 184 Tyler McNutt and 197 Cordell Eaton all placed sixth.
North Dakota State finished fourth in the team standings with 82.5 points. Oklahoma State claimed eight individual titles to win its fifth straight Big 12 championship with 176.5 points. The Cowboys have won 15 of the last 21 championships. Oklahoma was second (93.5), South Dakota State was third (90.5) and Wyoming was fifth (71.5).
NDSU automatically qualified four wrestlers 125 Rodriguez, 133 Sykora, 157 Ream and 285 Tynan for the NCAA Division I Championships scheduled for March 16-18 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. Rodriguez and Ream are making their third straight appearance at the NCAA tournament.
The NCAA Division I Wrestling Selection Show is coming up next Wednesday, March 8 at 5 p.m. Central Time on NCAA.com.
Rodriguez, a redshirt senior from Guadalupe, Calif. (Righetti H.S.), dropped a 7-5 sudden victory-2 overtime decision to No. 10-ranked Nick Piccininni. Piccininni recorded a takedown with 36-seconds left in the overtime period. Rodriguez is now 23-2 overall.
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No. 4-ranked Rodriguez trailed 2-1 after the first period, but tied the score at 2-2 with an escape with 1:39 left in the second.
Piccininni led 3-2 with an escape early in the third, but Rodriguez notched a takedown with 33-seconds left for a brief 4-3 lead. Piccininni’s escape with 27-seconds left tied things at 4-4. The wrestlers went scoreless in the first overtime period and gained an escape in the 30-second tie-breaker periods for the 5-5 tie.
Oklahoma State’s No. 6-ranked Joe Smith came out strong against Ream, a redshirt junior from Wentzville, Mo. (Holt H.S.). Smith built a 6-0 lead and over two minutes of riding time with a takedown and 4-point near fall. Smith gained an escape early in the second and picked up a point on 2-minutes, 4-seconds of riding time. Ream is now 24-4 overall.
Sykora, a redshirt freshman from Wheaton, Minn. (Wheaton H.S.), came out aggressive on Sunday morning. He came out and posted a 16-6 major decision over Dylan Hyder of Air Force. In a rematch with his first round opponent, Sykora flipped Northern Colorado’s Rico Montoya for the pin at 1:11 – his second of the season. Sykora improved to 17-3 overall and 3-1 at the tournament.
Tynan, a senior from Kennewick, Wash. (Hanford H.S.), advanced with a 6-1 win over Wyoming’s Brandon Tribble. However, Oklahoma’s No. 18-ranked Ross Larson recorded the pin at 1:48 in the third place match. Tynan is now 18-6 and went 2-2 at the tournament.
Big 12 Championships Results
#4 125 Josh Rodriguez, RSr., Guadalupe, Calif. (Righetti HS)
Overall: 23-2 / Big 12 Championships: 2-1 (5-2)
W fall Mitch Brown (Utah Valley), 5:25
W fall Christian Moody (Oklahoma), 2:18
L sudden victory-1 #10 Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State), 7-5
133 Cam Sykora, RFr., Wheaton, Minn. (SDSU / Wheaton HS) – Third Place
Overall: 17-3 / Big 12 Championships: 3-1
W tech fall Rico Montoya (Northern Colorado), TF 15-0, 4:43
L major dec #2 Seth Gross (South Dakota State, MD 14-1
W major dec Dylan Hyder (Air Force), MD 16-6
W fall Rico Montoya (Northern Colorado), 1:11
141 Taylor Nein, Fr., Bismarck, N.D. (Bismarck HS)
Overall: 9-16 / Big 12 Championships: 1-2
W dec John Twomey (Air Force), 2-1
L fall #1 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State, 3:45
L fall Henry Pohlmeyer (South Dakota State), 4:42
149 Mitch Friedman, RJr., Oconto Falls, Wis. (Oconto Falls HS)
Overall: 14-12 / Big 12 Championships: 1-2
W major dec Ben Polkowske (Northern Colorado), MD 14-2
L fall #2 Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State), 3:42
L dec Gabe Moreno (Iowa State), 6-5
#8 157 Clay Ream, RJr., Wentzville, Mo. (Holt HS)
Overall: 24-4 / Big 12 Championships: 2-1 (5-2)
W dec Logan Peterson (South Dakota State), 5-2
W major dec Colston Diblasi (Iowa State), MD 17-6
L major dec #6 Joe Smith (Oklahoma State), MD 8-0
165 Andrew Fogarty, RFr., Jordan, Minn. (Scott West HS) – Sixth Place
Overall: 22-11 / Big 12 Championships: 1-3
W dec #12 Branson Ashworth (Wyoming), 5-3
L dec #10 Dylan Cottrell (West Virginia), 11-4
L dec Keilan Torres (Northern Colorado), 9-8
L dec #12 Branson Ashworth (Wyoming), 3-2
174 Dylan Urbach, RSo., Lisbon, N.D. (Minnesota / Lisbon HS)
Overall: 12-12 / Big 12 Championships: 2-2
W major dec Dalton Robertson (Northern Colorado), MD 12-1
L tech fall #17 David Kocer (South Dakota State), TF 16-0, 3:34
W major dec Ty Millward (West Virginia), MD 11-2
L dec Kimball Bastain (Utah Valley), 5-2
184 Tyler McNutt, RSo., Saint Joseph, Mo. (Benton HS) – Sixth Place
Overall: 14-14 / Big 12 Championships: 1-3
L dec Carson Powell (Iowa State), 6-0
W tech fall Andrew Dixon (Oklahoma), TF 16-1, 4:57
L dec Martin Mueller (South Dakota State), 5-4
L dec Carson Powell (Iowa State), 9-3
197 Cordell Eaton, RFr., Long Grove, Iowa (North Scott HS) – Sixth Place
Overall: 17-15 / Big 12 Championships: 3-3
W dec Jamarcus Grant (Northern Colorado), 8-2
L dec #8 Nate Rotert (South Dakota State), 9-4
W dec Luke Paine (Wyoming), 3-2
W major dec Tanner Orndorff (Utah Valley), MD 11-3
L dec Brad Johnson (Oklahoma), 8-3
L dec Marcus Harrington (Iowa State), 14-11
285 Ben Tynan, Sr., Kennewick, Wash. (Highline College / Hanford HS) – Fourth Place
Overall: 18-6 / Big 12 Championships: 2-2 (4-4)
W dec Quean Smith (Iowa State), 7-2
L major dec #6 Austin Schafer (Oklahoma State), MD 11-0
W dec Brandon Tribble (Wyoming), 6-1
L fall #18 Ross Larson (Oklahoma), 1:48
Visit The Guillotine College Tournament Time Page for brackets, results, and live video links.
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