Wrestling to Open Postseason at Big 12 Championship

NORMAN – The Oklahoma wrestling team heads to Tulsa, Okla., for the 2024 Big 12 Championship on March 9-10. The Sooners (5-7, 2-6 Big 12) bring six wrestlers to Big 12s that are ranked in the NCAA Coaches Rankings. OU also has six wrestlers seeded in the Big 12 pre-seeds as the team prepares for the championship.

The Sooners are led by head coach Roger Kish who led North Dakota State to a fifth place finish at Big 12s last season. Kish has coached 21 wrestlers to NCAA Championships qualification over the last four seasons.

Tickets to the Big 12 Wrestling Championship can be purchased at TicketMaster.

Full brackets can be viewed, here.

Oklahoma First Round Matchups
125: Conrad Hendriksen vs. No. 6 Kysen Terukina (ISU)
133: Jace Koelzer vs. No. 2 Evan Frost (ISU)
141: Kaden Smith vs. No. 2 Tagen Jamison (OSU)
149: No. 2 Willie McDougald vs. James Emmer (UVU)
157: No. 8 Jared Hill received a bye
165: No. 6 Cael Carlson recevied a bye
174: No. 6 Tate Picklo vs. Noah Blake (AF)
184: Giuseppe Hoose vs. No. 2 Dustin Plott (OSU)
197: No. 2 Stephen Buchanan received a bye
285: No. 4 Josh Heindselman received a bye

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

The championship is split into four sessions over two days of competition.

Saturday, March 9

Session 1: Preliminary & Quarterfinal Matches — 10 a.m. (ESPN+)

Session 2: Semifinal & Consolation Quarterfinal Matches — 5 p.m. (ESPN+)

Sunday, March 10

Session 3: Consolation Semifinals and Placing Matches — Noon (ESPN+)

Session 4: Finals — 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

OU AT THE BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP

Oklahoma has collected 24 conference championships in its history, including three Big 12 titles in 1999, 2002 and 2021. The Sooners' two Big 12 titles are the third most in the conference behind Oklahoma State and Iowa State. Six Sooners have been named the Big 12's Most Outstanding Wrestler.

Dom Demas (2019; 141)
Cody Brewer (2016; 133 pounds)
Jarrod Patterson (2010; 125 pounds)
Sam Hazewinkel (2007; 125 pounds)
Teyon Ware (2003; 141 pounds)
Shane Valdez (1999; 125 pounds)

SOONER SUMMARY

The Sooners returned five NCAA qualifiers from last season in redshirt senior Josh Heindselman, senior Mosha Schwartz, and juniors Jared Hill, Gerrit Nijenhuis and Tate Picklo.

Heindselman leads a team loaded with years of elite experience. All but two of the projected starters are upperclassmen. Kish also added 13 newcomers to the roster, including one of the top seniors in the transfer portal in Stephen Buchanan. Buchanan, a two-time All-American and three-time national qualifier at Wyoming, is looking to become Oklahoma's first national champion since Cody Brewer in 2015.

NCAA DIVISION I QUALIFIER ALLOCATIONS

Big 12 Allocations By Weight

125: 6
133: 6
141: 5
149: 6
157: 6
165: 6
174: 6
184: 5
197: 6
285: 5
Total: 57

TOURNAMENT INFO

Live statistics are provided through TrackWrestling. Live video streams will be shown on ESPN+ for the first three sessions, with a different camera on each mat, and then the finals will be broadcast on ESPN2 on Sunday evening.

UP NEXT

The Sooners that qualify for the NCAA championships will travel to Kansas City, Mo., for the tournament, held at the T-Mobile Center on March 21-23.

For updates, follow @OU_Wrestling on Twitter, or like Oklahoma Wrestling on Facebook.