Big 12 Weekly Recap (2/6/2024)

This week was a wild one in the Big 12 with both individual and team upsets. Oklahoma State has now beaten Iowa State and Missouri, firmly establishing themselves at the top of the Big 12. South Dakota State is the only other school undefeated in conference after two more dominating wins, setting up another huge Big 12 dual. California Baptist got only their second Big 12 conference win of all time and first over a ranked opponent with a win over Air Force. West Virginia and Northern Iowa had an under-the-radar dual filled with wild matches. With the dual season close to an end, it’s clear that many Big 12 teams are developing and nearly ready to peak for the postseason. 

Air Force (Overall: 3-6; Conference: 1-5): Dual Results

Air Force dropped a conference dual against California Baptist 21-15. The Falcons got wins from Giano Petrucelli, Noah Blake, Sam Wolf, and Wyatt Hendrickson. 

Hendrickson scored his 10th pin over a Division I opponent this season, all in just 13:38 of match time. Air Force dropped a number of close matches at 125, 133, and 141 which made the dual. 

Next Up: Air Force hosts Utah Valley on February 9th and American on February 11th. 

California Baptist (Overall: 4-8; Conference: 1-5): Dual Results

The Lancers scored their first conference win of the season and just second in program history. They won six matches, including bonus points from Chaz Hallmark and Eli Sheeran. They were in a hole after a Wyatt Hendrickson pin at heavyweight but reeled off four consecutive wins to cap off the dual. The decisions didn’t come easy, with Eli Griffin, Hunter Leake, and Darren Green winning all within a takedown. 

Next Up: California Baptist hosts Big 12 opponent Northern Iowa on February 9th. 

Iowa State (Overall: 11-2; Conference: 4-1): Dual Results

The Cyclones hosted the WVU Mountaineers and came away with a 29-11 dual win. They were missing typical starters at 141 and 184, with Sam Hrabovsky and Tate Naaktgeboren. Those two dropped major decisions, and Julien Broderson lost to Dennis Robin. Casey Swiderski scored a 7-4 sudden victory win, firmly establishing himself as the favorite at the weight. David Carr looked impressive as well, dismantling Peyton Hall 10-5. MJ Gaitan scored a huge fall over fellow redshirt freshman Brody Conley. The team also got bonus point wins from Evan Frost, Cody Chittum, and Yonger Bastida. 

Next Up: Iowa State duals Northern Iowa at home on February 11th. 

Missouri (Overall: 8-2; Conference: 4-1): Dual Results

A banged-up Missouri team hosted Big 12 rival Oklahoma State and lost a 24-10 dual in front of a record crowd of over 6200 fans. Noah Surtin, Brock Mauller, and Peyton Mocco took upset losses while the team took a forfeit at 133 and put Joel Mylin at 149 after Logan Gioffre was injured in warmups. O’Toole got another top-ten win, this time over Izzak Olejnik 5-1. The Tigers finished the day strong with wins from the Elam brothers, but it was overall a forgettable day for the Tigers who are going into a two-week break. 

Next Up: Missouri hits the road against NDSU on February 16 and SDSU on February 18th.  

North Dakota State (Overall: 3-9; Conference: 2-4): Dual Results (UVU) | Dual Results (WYO)

The Bison dropped two conference duals on the road, starting with a 24-14 loss to Utah Valley and following it up with a 30-13 loss to Wyoming. Gaven Sax and Maxwell Petersen both went 2-0 with Sax getting two tech falls. Petersen won a tight one over Utah Valley’s Isaiah Delgado but dominated a ranked Gabe Willochell with a 19-4 tech fall. The Bison also got wins from Landen Johnson, Brendan Howes, and Devon Dawson between the two duals. 

Next Up: NDSU hosts Missouri on February 16th. 

Northern Colorado (Overall: 8-5; Conference: 1-4): No Competition.

Next Up: The Bears have their last home dual against Utah Valley on February 10th. 

Northern Iowa (Overall: 5-5; Conference: 4-1): Dual Results

The Panthers had an under-the-radar wild, 26-12 dual win over West Virginia at home. They started with a back-and-forth match at 125 where Trever Anderson dropped a match to Jett Strickenberger 9-6. Cael Happel scored an impressive major over Jordan Titus, just his second loss on the year. Ryder Downey and Jared Simma scored late takedowns to win their matches, including Simma chasing down Brody Conley and scoring late for the upset. After starting their dual season 1-3 Northern Iowa is now 4-2 in their last six including a one-point loss to Nebraska. 

Next Up: The Panthers travel to California Baptist on February 9th then Iowa State on February 11th. 

Oklahoma State (Overall: 12-0; Conference: 6-0): Dual Results (ASU) | Dual Results (MIZ)

Oklahoma State continues to roll and has their most wins in an undefeated season since 2019. They started with a 28-9 win over Arizona State that saw Troy Spratley score an impressive 13-5 major over Richie Figueroa. They weren’t able to beat ASU’s All-Americans at 149, 157, and 285 but were close in all matches and dominant in the rest. 

The Cowboys followed that up with a dominating win over Missouri, with a forfeit and six match wins. Troy Spratley continued his strong weekend with an overtime win over Noah Surtin. Daton Fix bumped up to take on a dangerous Josh Edmond and beat him 2-1 with a stalling point. Teague Travis and Brayden Thompson were big winners as well, beating returning All-Americans Brock Mauller and Peyton Mocco. While OK State had questions at the start of the year they are now rounding into a strong trophy contender team. 

Next Up: Oklahoma State wrestles SDSU at home on February 10th. 

Oklahoma (Overall: 5-5; Conference: 2-4): No Competition.

Next Up: The Sooners host SDSU on February 9th. 

South Dakota State (Overall: 11-2; Conference: 5-0): Dual Results (WYO) | Dual Results (UVU)

The Jackrabbits took out two more conference opponents over Wyoming and Utah Valley and are quietly undefeated in the Big 12. They started with upset wins against Wyoming to win the dual 33-3. Tanner Jordan took out Jore Volk 2-1 and Alek Martin majored Gabe Willochell. Tanner Sloan scored his 100th win with a pin in the first period and has won his last 34 dual matches. History repeated itself against Utah Valley as SDSU once again won 33-3. Caleb Gross dropped a 2-0 decision to Haiden Drury, while Tanner Sloan beat Evan Bockman 5-0 in the only ranked match of the night. 

Next Up: South Dakota State wrestles at OU on February 9th and Oklahoma State on February 10th. 

Utah Valley (Overall: 2-4; Conference: 1-4): Dual Results (NDSU) | Dual Results (SDSU)

Utah Valley took on the Dakota schools at home and came away with a 1-1 record. They beat NDSU 24-14 for their first Big 12 conference win this season, winning six matches overall. Haiden Drury took out a ranked Gavin Drexler in a wild 8-7 match and Kase Mauger, Jacob Armstrong, and Evan Bockman scored bonus point wins. The dual against SDSU was a tough one as they dropped it 33-3 and Haiden Drury got the only team win. 

Next Up: Utah Valley duals Air Force on February 9th and Northern Colorado on February 10th. 

West Virginia (Overall: 9-5; Conference: 2-5): Dual Results (ISU) | Dual Results (UNI)

West Virginia had two top 20 duals on the road over the weekend but dropped both matchups. They won three matches against Iowa State but lost the dual 29-11. Jett Strickenberger continues to have wild matches, this one a 10-7 loss to Kysen Terukina. Jordan Titus and Dennis Robin both scored major decisions over nonstarters, although Robin’s win was over blue-chip true freshman Tate Naaktgeboren. Austin Cooley also got a solid win, beating Julien Broderson 10-4. 

The Mountaineers had more success against Northern Iowa but still dropped their last Big 12 dual 26-12. Jett Strickenberger got a ranked win over Trever Anderson, while Ty Watters and Peyton Hall scored unranked bonus point wins. Titus lost only his second match of the year to Cael Happel, and Brody Conley lost on a last-second takedown. While they’re on a two-dual loss streak, West Virginia can still reach 10 dual wins this season for the second time in as many years. 

Next Up: West Virginia wrestles Glenville State on February 18th at home to finish their dual season. 

Wyoming (Overall: 7-6; Conference: 5-4): Dual Results (SDSU) | Dual Results (NDSU)

Wyoming is another Big 12 team reaching their stride with a 4-1 record in their last five duals. Their one loss in that time came to SDSU this weekend with a 33-3 dual loss. Cole Brooks beat Caleb Gross, but upsets against Jore Volk and Gabe Willochell were tough to keep up with. The Cowboys recovered against NDSU however, with a dominant 30-13 win. They won seven matches, including five bonus point wins. Cole Brooks scored an impressive 17-2 tech over Gavin Drexler and Ethan Ducca majored a tough Adam Cherne. With seven wins Wyoming has their most dual wins since eight in 2020, a far cry from their 1-10 record last season. 

Next Up: Wyoming wrestles Oregon State at home for their last dual on February 10th.