Tulsa Time Pt. 2 Big 12 Heavyweights Preview

If you have not seen the first part with the lightweights, I would highly recommend looking into that. Very in-depth preview with plenty of things to watch for.

WHAT: 2022 Big 12 Championships

WHERE: BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma

WHEN: Saturday at 11 AM: Prelims and Quarterfinals

Saturday at 5 PM: Semifinals and 2 Consolation Rounds

Sunday at 12 PM: Consolation Semifinals and Placing Matches

Sunday at 7 PM: Championship Matches

HOW TO WATCH: ESPN+ for first three sessions; ESPN2 for the finals

BRACKETS: Here

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If you are just seeing this preview first, 78 wrestlers in the Big 12 are in one of the major rankings and 35 of them are in the weight classes 125-157. That means that 43 of them are in weight classes 165-285. Big 12 is a stout conference with plenty of competition. So let us get into it and see where Iowa State stacks up with the competition.

165: Top 4 Qualify for the NCAA Tournament

Ranked Wrestlers (Big 12 Seed/ FloWrestling/InterMat/Coaches’ Panel)

- Keegan O’Toole, MIZ (1/3/2/2)

-Peyton Hall, WVU (2/7/14/8)

-Austin Yant, UNI (3/16/15/13)

-Travis Wittlake, OSU (4/11/16/10)

-Luke Weber, NDSU (5/17/17/17)

-Tanner Cook, SDSU (6/33/HM/29)

-Isaac Judge, ISU (7/31/HM/NR)

With only 4 allocations, this was a surprise as there are many ranked wrestlers in this group. Keegan O’Toole is the heavy favorite to win this but the running for 2-5 will be an exciting thing to watch. Isaac Judge will be in for a tough dog fight but if he can climb up and get close, they might be able to give him an invitation to go to the NCAA tournament. he will be going against Peyton Hall from West Virginia which only won against Isaac 4-3. If Isaac can get upset then that would be the best-case scenario.

174: Top 8 qualify for the NCAA Tournament

-Dustin Plott, OSU (1/12/10/9)

-Cade DeVos, SDSU (2/10/12/11)

-Anthony Mantanona, Oklahoma (3/17/19/23)

-Lance Runyon, UNI (4/19/20/20)

-Hayden Hastings, WYO (5/15/14/14)

-Peyton Mocco, MIZ (6/11/13/16)

-Joel Devine, ISU (7/25/21/21)

-Austin Brenner, NDSU (8/26/22/25)

This weight class is wide open to me. No one is a definite leader for winning it, but all these young men being ranked should be an exciting weight class to watch. lots of ranked individuals including Sam Wolf with Air Force (NR/32/NR/31) which did not get a seeding. Joel Devine ends up with the 7th seed. With 8 allocations in this weight class, Joel Devine should be able to make the NCAA tournament. All he has to do is get 8th or higher and he is in. Joel will most likely go against Cade DeVos from SDSU which will be a tough outing. It’s hard to tell who will be crowned champion but Dustin Plott from OSU looks to be a front runner.

184: Top 4 Qualify for the NCAA Tournament

-Parker Keckeisen, UNI (1/4/4/4)

-Marcus Coleman, ISU (2/7/7/7)

-Tate Samuelson, WYO (3/15/14/17)

-Dakota Geer, OSU (4/12/15/10)

-Cade King, WVU (5/32/HM/NR)

-Jeremiah Kent, MIZ(6/21/23/19)

-Keegan Moore, OKLA (7/33/HM/NR)

-Deanthony Parker, NDSU (8/NR/NR/NR)

This class is heavily favored for Parker Keckeisen to place 1st while Marcus Coleman is 2nd Barring no upsets. with 4 allocations I can see this weight class really turn it up a notch. Marcus Coleman has had a couple of rough matches the last couple of duels including the upset match with Jeremiah Kent from Missouri. I fully believe though that Marcus will be focused and aiming for that rematch with Parker. Parker has a motor on him that could wear out the energizer bunny. I really enjoyed watching him this year but I’m sure that Marcus will want him so expect fireworks on Sunday.

197: Top 7 qualify for the NCAA Tournament

-Stephen Buchanan, WYO (1/2/2/3)

-Tate Sloan, SDSU (2/6/16/6)

-Jake Woodly, OKLA (3/17/6/12)

-Younger Bastida, ISU (4/7/7/7)

-Rocky Elam, MIZ (5/8/8/6)

-Owen Pentz, NDSU (6/21/HM/22)

-Alan Clothier, NCU (7/24/HM/24)

-Evan Bockman, UVU (8/22/HM/25)

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WELCOME TO THE MAIN EVENT! If you want to see some high-octane matches then you have come to the right place. Even if A.J Ferrari is out this class is stacked with talent! I’m so ecstatic to see this weight class come out and put on a show and right in the middle of it is Younger Bastida.

Younger will most likely have to face Rocky Elam of Missouri and if any of you watched their last match, it was a nail-biter. An 8-6 Sudden Victory put Younger Bastida over Rocky Elam and I am sure Rocky is gunning towards that rematch. If he happens to win again then he will most likely face Tanner Sloan of South Dakota State University. Younger has one of the toughest but most rewarding paths if he can make it. If he can make it to the finals then that will be a show that you cannot afford to miss!

285: Top 6 Qualify for the NCAA Tournament

-Wyatt Hendrickson, AF (1/6/14/6)

-Zach Elam, MIZ (2/19/15/15)

-Sam Schuyler, ISU (3/21/20/22)

-AJ Nevills, SDSU (4/22/21/20)

-Michael Wolfgram, WVU (5/23/22/25)

-Brandon Metz, NDSU (6/24/23/23)

-Luke Surber, OSU (7/30/HM/31)

-Josh Heindselman, OU (8/32/HM/29)

Wyatt Hendrickson is the clear number one with Zach and Sam tagging behind. Wyatt is a big guy with lots of strength so I see it being hard for him to lose in this tournament. Sam has a chance to make it in the finals if he can beat Zach Elam from Missouri. That will not be an easy task because Zach is an extremely good wrestler and got the best of Sam with a 2-0 win. This will be a very competitive class with lots of action. Sam should be able to make the NCAA Tournament.

So there you have it! This Big 12 tournament is going to be exciting so you do have some time, grab a beer and come cheer on your fellow Cyclones as they try and grab the hardware this weekend.

GO CYCLONES!