2021 NCAA All-American Travis Wittlake (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com; Graphic/Anna-Lee Marie)Welcome to a new recurring feature from InterMat as we lead into the 2021-22 collegiate season. We are about 50 days away from the start of the new season, so what better way to ring in the new year than to use that time to count down the top-50 current collegiate wrestlers. Each day a new wrestler will be released.
These rankings have been compiled by members of the InterMat staff and used a combination of collegiate achievements, with 2021 accomplishments carrying more weight than past years, along with win-loss records and notable wins. While we are counting down the top-50 wrestlers based primarily on collegiate accomplishments, it is impossible to totally ignore achievements in the international settings, so they did factor in slightly, too.
Before getting to the next wrestler on the list, look at the wrestlers previously profiled:
#50 - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State)
#49 - Ben Darmstadt (Cornell)
#48 - Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State)
#47 - Kaleb Young (Iowa)
#46 - Rocky Elam (Missouri)
#45 - Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska)
#44 - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State)
#43 - Brock Mauller (Missouri)
#42 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State)
#41 - John Poznanski (Rutgers)
#40 - Brayton Lee (Minnesota)
Next is…
Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State)
Weight: 165 lbs
Year: Sophomore
Career Record: 50-5
Hometown: Coos Bay, Oregon
College Accomplishments: 2021 NCAA 4th Place, 2020 NWCA 1st Team All-American, 2020 Big 12 Champion
2021-22 Preseason Ranking: #6 at 165 lbs
Four Oregon state titles and a Cadet World bronze medal helped make Travis Wittlake one of the most sought-after recruits (#6) in the Class of 2018. With a handful of capable 165/174 lbers already waiting in the Cowboy wrestling room, Wittlake was allowed to redshirt during his first year in Stillwater.
Wittlake's redshirt season saw him compete at 174 lbs and rack up a record of 16-2. He won his first 14 matches, which included titles at the OCU Open, the Lindenwood Open, and the Bob Smith Open. His only two defeats came at his last event of the year, the Reno Tournament of Champions. There he fell to NCAA qualifier Seldon Wright (Old Dominion) and California CC state champion Abner Romero (Fresno City College). While Wittlake was generally dominant (11 bonus point wins), he did not face any past/2019 national qualifiers.
For Wittlake's first official year of competition with the Cowboys, he dropped down to 165 lbs. That didn't prove to be a problem as he got his hand raised in his first 13 matches in an OSU singlet. Wittlake's first dual victory came over Drexel's Ebed Jarrell, who was seeded 12th at the NCAA Championships the previous year.
The site of Wittlake's first loss came in the semifinals of the Southern Scuffle when he met fellow unbeaten freshman Shane Griffith (Stanford). After dropping a 4-1 decision, Wittlake bounced back to take third place. At the Scuffle, he logged wins over notable opponents like Thomas Bullard (NC State), Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh), and redshirting freshman Joe Lee (Penn State).
After the Scuffle, Wittlake went on another winning spree. He picked up a second win against Wentzel, along with one over Peyton Mocco (Missouri) during a ten-match streak. The final dual of the regular season, against bitter-rival Iowa, saw Wittlake dropped a razor-thin decision (3-2) to Alex Marinelli.
The Big 12 Championships proved to be no match for Wittlake as he won all three of his bouts and didn't have a margin of score closer than four points. Two of his opponents (Andrew Fogarty - North Dakota State and Tanner Cook - South Dakota State) would go on to qualify for nationals.
With only two losses on the year, opposed to 28 wins, Wittlake was awarded the number four seed at the 2020 NCAA Tournament. Of course, the tournament never happened due to Covid.
Some of the top contenders on Wittlake's half of the bracket included #1 Marinelli, #5 Isaiah White (Nebraska), #8 Evan Wick (Wisconsin), #9 Tanner Skidgel (Navy).
In 2021, Wittlake was about as active as anyone on the DI front. He was able to compete in 12 bouts prior to the postseason. By happenstance, Wittlake did not meet any top contenders during the regular season. He did dominate, as you would expect, and posted bonus point wins in 7 of those contests.
On the way to capturing his second consecutive Big 12 title, Wittlake was upended by Luke Weber (North Dakota State) in the semifinals of the conference meet, 5-3 in sudden victory. He would come back to take third and get an automatic berth in St. Louis.
The loss to Weber proved to be costly and controversial as Wittlake dropped all the way down to the 10th seed. That would pit Wittlake against #23 Joe Lee in the opening round of his first national tournament. The Nittany Lion freshman was no match for Wittlake in an 8-1 decision. In the Round of 16, Wittlake ran into Ohio State's Ethan Smith and dropped a 4-3 decision and was relegated to the consolation bracket.
In the consis, Wittlake had back-to-back one-sided wins over Jake Tucker (Michigan State) and Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois), which put him in the bloodround. Wrestling's most intense round proved to be anticlimactic as 2019 NCAA champion, Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech), could not compete against the Cowboy due to injury. Wittlake received an injury default to clinch All-American status for the first time.
After a win over Michigan freshman Cameron Amine, Wittlake got a measure of revenge on Smith, by downing him 7-4. That win propelled Wittlake into the NCAA third-place match opposite freshman Keegan O'Toole (Missouri). The Tiger, O'Toole, ended up the victor in a close 4-3 contest.
Through two years of competition, Wittlake has amassed a 90.9 winning percentage, which places him within the top-30 all-time at Oklahoma State.
Strengths: Wittlake has very heavy hands, which lead to snapdowns and either go-behind's or him dropping down to a leg. Like you may expect from a Cowboy, he has solid low-leg attacks. Wittlake can dictate the pace of matches with an underhook and uses throw-by's and shucks. He has strong head/hands defense and is typically difficult to score against. On the mat, Wittlake can grind his opponents down with double boots and can get turns from that situation, as well.
2021-22 Outlook: Wittlake happens to be in one of the toughest brackets in the nation. Aside from him, there are nine other All-Americans returning at the weight. Both 2021 national finalists, along with a Junior World Champion (O'Toole), and two other favorites (Marinelli, Evan Wick), are currently ranked above him. That isn't to say that Wittlake can't win this weight. He can. He'll have an incredibly difficult time doing so. The Big 12 alone should have O'Toole and two-time conference champion Demetrius Romero, along with Weber. Let's have some fun!!!
2021 NCAA All-American Travis Wittlake (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)
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