It was the eighth Big 12 title for Oklahoma State in the last 10 years, and the 41st conference championship in school history.
Oklahoma finished a distant second with 52.5 points, while Nebraska (52), Iowa State (47.5), and Missouri (42) rounded out the conference finish.
Eight of the 10 champions were second-time winners, while two wrestlers, Nate Gallick of Iowa State (141) and Zack Esposito of Oklahoma State (149), picked up their third straight Big 12 titles.
Gallick improved his record to a perfect 30-0 on the season with a hard-fought 5-3 victory in the second tie-break period over two-time NCAA champion Teyon Ware of Oklahoma.
"He's probably the hardest guy in the country for me to wrestle," said Gallick. "He's fast, he's strong, he's quick, and he's a real good athlete. He has everything I have to offer … maybe more. So he really challenges me a lot."
Esposito, the defending 149-pound NCAA champion, had bit of a scare in the finals against Matt Storniolo. Storniolo led the match 6-4 after the opening period, but Esposito battled back with two takedowns in the second period and two near-fall points in the third period to win 11-8. It marked the second straight year he defeated his Bedlam rival for the conference crown.
Esposito, who lost just once all of last season, has lost four times this season (counting the NWCA All-Star Classic). He will likely enter the NCAA Championships as the No. 2 seed behind true freshman phenom Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota.
So what's the difference between this season and last?
"Everybody's gunning for the guy on top," said Esposito. "I found that out the hard way. I didn't change up my training. I just kept training hard and listening to my coaches. Guys come at you with different techniques."
Two-time All-American Sam Hazewinkel of Oklahoma got a little sweet revenge as he won his second conference title with a tight 2-1 victory over Coleman Scott of Oklahoma State, the same wrestler who upset him at last year's Big 12 Championships.
"It was just a battle," said Hazewinkel. "He won it last year, I won it this time."
With the win, Hazewinkel ran his season record to a 25-1. His lone loss came on Feb. 22 at the hands of Nick Simmons of Michigan State. Both Scott and Simmons are tall, lanky wrestlers, which Hazewinkel says seem to give him the most trouble.
"They're tough," said Hazewinkel. "They're starting to figure me out. I just have to keep going over tape, figuring out what I'm doing wrong, and I'm doing right against tall guys. I have two weeks to figure it out."
Ben Askren of Missouri put on the most dominating finals performance with a 17-6 major decision over Jacob Klein of Nebraska. Askren recorded eight takedowns in the match to cruise the easy victory and his second Big 12 title. The Tiger continues to dominate every wrestler who steps foot on the mat with him. He currently owns the nation's longest consecutive wins streak, having won 40 straight matches.
So can anyone beat Askren?
"Cael Sanderson, Mo Lawal maybe," said Askren. "Collegiately, I don't really think so. I just went out there, had some fun, and put it to him. I'm feeling good right now."
Gallick was named Most Outstanding Wrestler.
Championship Finals:
125 -- No. 1 Sam Hazewinkel (OU) dec. No. 2 Coleman Scott (OSU), 2-1
133 -- No. 1 Nathan Morgan (OSU) dec. No. 2 Tyler McCormick (MU), 5-1
141 -- No. 1 Nate Gallick (ISU) dec. No. 2 Teyon Ware (OU), 5-3 TB2
149 -- No. 1 Zack Esposito (OSU) dec. No. 2 Matt Storniolo (OU), 12-8
157 -- No. 1 Trent Paulson (ISU) dec. No. 2 Kevin Ward (OSU), 2-0
165 -- No. 1 Johny Hendricks (OSU) dec. No. 2 Matt Pell (MU), 2-1 TB1
174 -- No. 1 Ben Askren (MU) maj. dec. No. 2 Jacob Klein (NU), 17-6
184 -- No. 1 Kurt Backes (ISU) dec. No. 3 Raymond Jordan (MU), 4-2
197 -- No. 1 B.J. Padden (NU) dec. No. 2 Jake Rosholt (OSU), 3-0
Hwt -- No. 1 Steve Mocco (OSU) dec. No. 2 Jake Hager (OU), 4-1
Third Place:
125 -- No. 3 Paul Donahoe (NU) dec. No. 4 Austin DeVoe (MU), 10-7
133 -- No. 4 Patrick Aleksanyan (NU) dec. No. 3 Jesse Sundell (ISU), 10-9
141 -- No. 3 Dominick Moyer (NU) dec. No. 5 Ethan Kyle (OSU), 7-4
149 -- No. 5 Robert Sanders (NU) dec. No. 3 Jason Knipp (ISU), 6-3
157 -- No. 4 Will Rowe (OU) dec. No. 5 Michael Chandler (MU), 8-6
165 -- No. 3 Travis Paulson (ISU) dec. No. 4 Marc Harwood (NU), 4-1
174 -- No. 5 Wes Roberts (OU) dec. No. 3 Brandon Mason (OSU), 5-4
184 -- No. 5 Rusty Blackmon (OSU) dec. No. 2 Vince Jones (NU), 6-2
197 -- No. 3 Joel Flaggert (OU) dec. No. 4 Jeff Foust (MU), 6-1
Hwt -- No. 3 Jon May (NU) dec. No. 4 Richard Schopf (ISU), 5-2
Fourth Place Challenge:
157 -- No. 3 Chris Oliver (NU) pinned. No. 5 Michael Chandler (MU), 2:15
Big 12 Championships Session I Recap
Complete Big 12 Championships Results
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