James Hackney
#6 Oklahoma State – 9th Place (78.5 Points)
For the first time in over twenty years the Cowboys competed at Cliff Keen Las Vegas, in one of the toughest tournaments of the year. A late Daton Fix scratch, injuries to starters, and some tough draws left OK State in 9th place. I thought, and still do, think that the team has the potential to finish in the top five by NCAA’s. There were some great performances while also some concerning ones, so we’ll dive into them here.
125: #21 Troy Spratley (DNP: 3-2)
- Round of 32: Troy Spratley Dec. Evan Tallmdge (Navy) (9-5)
- Round of 16: #16 Tanner Jordan (SDSU) Dec. Troy Spratley (9-8)
- Consolation of 16 #2: Troy Spratley Dec. Trever Anderson (UNI) (7-2)
- Consolation of 8 #1: Troy Spratley Dec. #27 Spencer Moore (UNC) (11-2)
- Bloodround: #9 Caleb Smith (NEB) Dec. Troy Spratley (5-4)
I had high expectations for Spratley coming in, partially from how he’s wrestled and partly for his path. It didn’t exactly pan out, as he came up just short of making the podium. After going down early to Jordan he nearly made the comeback, but gave up a late escape. He needed another comeback in his first wrestleback match, but got a ranked win after that. Then against top ten Caleb Smith he was actually leading late, but a takedown in the closing seconds saw him drop the match. Spratley is young, and still showed flashes that give him a high ceiling. He didn’t take any upset losses, showed some occasional issues from bottom, but overall got some great experience here.
133: #1 Daton Fix (Scratch) | Reece Witcraft (DNP: 2-2)
- Round of 32: Reece Witcraft Tech Dustin Norris (Purdue) (18-0)
- Round of 16: Reece Witcraft Dec. #10 Julian Chlebove (ASU) (7-3)
- Quarters: Tyler Knox (STAN) Dec. Reece Witcraft (2-1)
- Bloodround: #31 Ethan Oakley (APP) Maj. Reece Witcraft (16-5)
Unfortunately Fix ended up not wrestling due to injury precaution. No word on the severity or if he’ll miss more time, but Witcraft stepped up well in his absence….
