TULSA, Okla. – North Dakota State University 157 pounder Clay Ream and 165 Andrew Fogarty both advanced to the finals following the first day of action in the Big 12 Wrestling Championships on Saturday, March 3, in the BOK Center. NDSU 133 Cam Sykora and 285 Dan Stibral remain alive in the consolation round, while 125 Paul Bianchi will wrestle for seventh place.
Oklahoma State leads the way with 106. Points with six Cowboys advancing to the finals. Northern Iowa is second with 78 points, South Dakota State is third at 71.5, Wyoming is fourth with 59 points and NDSU is fifth at 49.5 points.
The Big 12 Wrestling Championships continue at noon Sunday, March 4, at the BOK Center with Session III, the consolation semifinals, and third and fifth place matches. Session IV and the finals are scheduled for 6 p.m., and will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Net including Fox Sports North.
Ream (23-3) will face Wyoming’s Archie Colgan in the finals. He has won two previous meetings against Colgan including a 4-3 decision in Fargo on Jan. 26. Ream improved to 94-39 in his career to move into a tie at No. 20 all-time at NDSU with former Division II national champion Mark Reimnitz (94-20-1, 1971-74). Ream is 7-2 in three Big 12 tournaments.
Fogarty, a redshirt sophomore from Jordan, Minn. (Scott West HS), recorded a takedown with 18-seconds left in sudden victory-1 overtime to defeat top-seed Branson Ashworth of Wyoming. He lost 2-0 to Ashworth earlier in the season. Fogarty opened with a 16-0 tech fall at 7:00 over Northern Colorado’s Keilan Torres.
Fogarty (29-9) will face Oklahoma State’s Chandler Rogers. Rogers defeated Fogarty 9-3 in Fargo on Nov. 26. Fogarty evened his record at 3-3 in the Big 12 tournament.
Sykora came back several times Saturday. He recorded a takedown with 22-seconds left in the third period for a 7-5 win over Iowa State’s Markus Simmons. Following a 15-2 major decision loss to Oklahoma State’s Kaid Brock, Sykora recorded a fall at 2:23 over Fresno State’s Trevor Williams and his 11th tech fall of the season, 17-2 at 3:19 against Utah Valley’s Durbin Lloren.
Sykora (21-9) will face West Virginia’s Matt Schmitt in the consolation semifinals. Schmitt won 3-1 in overtime on Jan. 7 in Morgantown. Sykora improved to 6-2 in the Big 12 tournament.
Stibral fought back through the consolation bracket. He opened with a 2-1 decision over West Virginia’s Brandon Ngati, then lost a 12-4 major decision to Utah Valley’s Dustin Dennison. Stibral powered past Oklahoma’s Connor Webb and outlasted Wyoming’s Sam Eagan 2-1 in tie-breaker-1 overtime.
Stibral (21-13) will meet Iowa State’s Marcus Harrington for the second time this season. Harrington won 10-2 major decision on Feb. 2 in Fargo. Stibral stands 3-1 in his first Big 12 tournament.
Bianchi (23-13) will square off with Fresno State’s Sean Williams for the second time in the tournament. Williams won the opener 10-6. Bianchi bounced back with a 5-3 decision, but dropped a 10-1 major decision to SDSU’s Connor Brown.
125 Paul Bianchi, RFr., Two Rivers, Wis. (Two Rivers HS)
Overall: 23-13 / Big 12 Championships: 1-2
L dec Sean Williams (Fresno State), 10-6
W dec Drake Foster (Wyoming), 5-3
L major dec Connor Brown (South Dakota State), MD 10-1
133 Cam Sykora, RSo., Wheaton, Minn. (SDSU / Wheaton HS)
Overall: 21-9 / Big 12 Championships: 6-2
W dec Markus Simmons (Iowa State), 7-5
L major dec Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State), 15-2
W fall Trevor Williams (Fresno State), 2:23
W tech fall Durbin Lloren (Utah Valley), TF 17-2 3:19
141 McGwire Midkiff, Fr., Carter Lake, Iowa (Thomas Jefferson HS)
Overall: 11-16 / Big 12 Championships: 0-2
L major dec #7 Christian Monserrat (West Virginia), 9-0
L fall Matt Findlay (Utah Valley), 2:37
149 Kyle Gliva, RSr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn. (Simley HS)
Overall: 22-12 / Big 12 Championships: 3-4
W dec Matthew Ontiveros (Utah Valley), 4-2
L dec Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma State), 10-7
L tiebreaker-1 Dane Robbins (Air Force), TB-1 4-3
157 Clay Ream, RSr., Wentzville, Mo. (Holt HS)
Overall: 23-3 / Big 12 Championships: 7-2
W major dec Zach Moore (West Virginia), MD 10-2
W major dec Chase Straw (Iowa Staet), MD 12-4
165 Andrew Fogarty, RSo., Jordan, Minn. (Scott West HS)
Overall: 29-9 / Big 12 Championships: 3-3
W tech fall Keilan Torres (Northern Colorado), TF 16-0 7:00
W sudden victory-1 Branson Ashworth (Wyoming), SV-1 3-1
174 Dylan Urbach, RJr., Lisbon, N.D. (Minnesota / Lisbon HS)
Overall: 5-9 / Big 12 Championships: 4-4
W dec Parker VonEgidy (West Virginia), 5-4
L tech fall Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa), TF 22-7 7:00
W dec Seth Bogulski (Northern Colorado), 3-2
L dec Kimball Bastian (Utah Valley), 7-1
184 Charley Popp, RJr., Crystal Lake, Ill. (Prairie Ridge HS)
Overall: 5-10 / Big 12 Championships: 0-2
L dec Dane Pestano (Iowa State), 8-5
L fall Zen Ikehara (Air Force), 3:49
197 Cordell Eaton RSo., Long Grove, Iowa (North Scott HS)
Overall: 16-15 / Big 12 Championships: 4-5
L dec Jacob Seely (Northern Colorado), 6-5
W sudden victory-1 Anthony McLaughlin (Air Force), SV-1 3-1
L dec Josh Hokit (Fresno State), 4-3
285 Dan Stibral, RSo., Tabor, S.D. (Bon Homme-Scotland HS)
Overall: 21-13 / Big 12 Championships: 3-1
W dec Brandon Ngati (West Virginia), 2-1
L major dec Dustin Dennison (Utah Valley), MD 12-4
W dec Connor Webb (Oklahoma), 8-2
W tiebreaker-1 Sam Eagan (Wyoming), TB-1 2-1
Finals Matchups
125 lbs. – Nick Piccininni (OSU) vs. Zeke Moisey (WVU)
133 lbs. – Seth Gross (SDSU) vs. Kaid Brock (OSU)
141 lbs. – Dean Heil (OSU) vs. Bryce Meredith (WYO)
149 lbs. – Max Thomsen (UNI) vs. Boo Lewallen (OSU)
157 lbs. – Clay Ream (NDSU) vs. Archie Colgan (WYO)
165 lbs. – Andrew Fogarty (NDSU) vs. Chandler Rogers (OSU)
174 lbs. – Taylor Lujan (UNI) vs. David Kocer (SDSU)
184 lbs. – Dylan Gabel (UNCO) vs. Drew Foster (UNI)
197 lbs. – Jake Smith (WVU) vs. Nate Rotert (SDSU)
HWT – Derek White (OSU) vs. AJ Nevills (FS)
Team Standings
1. Oklahoma State- 106. 5 points
2. UNI- 78 points
3. South Dakota State- 71.5 points
4. Wyoming- 59 points
5. North Dakota State- 49.5 points
6. West Virginia- 46.5 points
7. Oklahoma- 45.5 points
8. Utah Valley- 35.5 points
9. Iowa State- 34 points
10. Northern Colorado- 27 points
11. Fresno State- 24.5 points
12. Air Force- 20.5 points
