Sykora, Fogarty Advance to Finals at NDSU Big 12 Wrestling Championship

TULSA, Okla. – North Dakota State 133-pounder Cam Sykora and 165 Andrew Fogarty both advanced to the finals and three others are still alive in the consolation bracket after the first day of the Big 12 Conference Wrestling Championships on Saturday, March 7, in the BOK Center. The Bison are fifth in the team standings with 74.5 points. Oklahoma State is first with 111.5 points.

Action gets underway with Session III at 11 a.m. and Session IV with the finals at 6 p.m. on Sunday in the BOK Center.

Fogarty, a redshirt senior from Jordan, Minn., was workmanlike in putting together 10-0 major decision over Adam Kemp of Fresno State and flirting with a tech fall in the 15-2 major over Iowa State’s Chase Straw. He advances to the championship match at 165 pounds for the third straight season and will face Travis Wittlake of Oklahoma State. The pair haven’t wrestled this season.

Fogarty improves to 21-3 this season and pushed his career record to 96-34 overall. He passed former teammate Clay Ream and is tied for No. 18 on the NDSU career charts with Brad Rheingans and Wayne Mooney.

Sykora, a redshirt senior from Wheaton, Minn., went 2-0 to advance to the championship match for the first time in his career. He opened with his seventh tech fall of the season, 17-1 at 4:59 over Jared Van Vleet of Air Force to push his career total to 40.

In the semifinals, Sykora worked an early lead and fought off a rally to defeat Wyoming’s Montorie Bridges by the score of 7-6. It was his first career win over Bridges in five tries. He will face Northern Colorado’s Mosha Schwartz in the finals. Sykora won the only meeting 12-10 in sudden-victory on Feb. 1 in Greeley.

In the consolation bracket are 125 McGwire Midkiff, 141 Dylan Droegemueller and 157 Jared Franek. Midkiff and Franek each lost in the semifinals, while Droegemueller has won two straight after dropping his opening match.

Big 12 Championships
Mar 7-8 Sat-Sun – Tulsa, Okla.
Watch – Brackets/Results

TEAM SCORES: 1. Oklahoma State 111.5, 2. Iowa State 92, 3. Northern Iowa 90.5, 4. South Dakota State 83.5, 5. North Dakota State 74.5, 6. Oklahoma 65.5, 7 .Wyoming 65, 8. Northern Colorado 60, 9. Fresno State 47.5, 10. West Virginia 35, 11. Utah Valley 29, 12. Air Force 21.5,

125 #4 McGwire Midkiff, R-So., Carter Lake, Iowa (Thomas Jefferson HS)
Overall: 12-7 / Big 12 Championships: 1-1 (1-3)
W dec Jace Koelzer (Northern Colorado), 2-0
L major dec #4 Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State), MD 12-1
Christian Moody (Oklahoma)

133 #3 Cam Sykora, R-Sr., Wheaton, Minn. (Wheaton HS/South Dakota State)
Overall: 16-4 / Big 12 Championships: 2-0 (10-5)
W tech fall Jared Van Vleet (Air Force), TF 17-1 4:59
W dec #8 Montorie Bridges (Wyoming), 7-6
#18 Mosha Schwartz (Northern Colorado),

141 Dylan Droegemueller, R-Fr., Champlin, Minn. (Anoka HS)
Overall: 14-9 / Big 12 Championships: 2-1
L dec #8 Ian Parker (Iowa State), 7-2
W major dec #15 DJ (Durbin) Lloren (Fresno State), MD 13-3
W dec #33 Lenny Petersen (Air Force), 5-2
#10 Michael Blockhus (Northern Iowa)

149 #7 Jaden Van Maanen, R-So., La Crosse, Wis. (La Crosse Central HS)
Overall: 12-15 / Big 12 Championships: 1-1 (1-3)
L dec #10 Henry Pohlmeyer (South Dakota State), 4-1
W dec Jacob Butler (Oklahoma), 7-3
#33 Greg Gaxiola (Fresno State),

157 #2 Jared Franek, R-Fr., Harwood, N.D. (West Fargo HS)
Overall: 25-7 / Big 12 Championships: 1-1
W major dec Peyton Smith (South Dakota State), MD 9-0
L major dec #13 Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State), MD 14-5
#27 Jacob Wright (Fresno State)

165 #2 Andrew Fogarty, R-Sr., Jordan, Minn. (Scott West HS)
Overall: 21-3 / Big 12 Championships: 2-0 (8-5)
W major dec Adam Kemp (Fresno State), MD 10-0
W major dec #27 Chase Straw (Iowa State), MD 15-2
#7 Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State)

174 Luke Weber R-Jr., Forsyth, Mont. (Forsyth HS/Nebraska)
Overall: 15-12 / Big 12 Championships: 1-2 (2-5)
L dec #19 Joseph Smith (Oklahoma State), 4-3
W dec #33 Jackson Hemauer (Fresno State), 2-1
L dec #18 Hayden Hastings (Wyoming), 5-3

184 Noah Cressell, R-Fr., Wabash, Ind. (Wabash HS)
Overall: 10-12 / Big 12 Championships: 0-2
L dec Darrien Roberts (Oklahoma), 6-3
L dec Jacob Thompson (Air Force), 4-2

197 #8 Cordell Eaton, R-Sr., Long Grove, Iowa (North Scott HS)
Overall: 13-12 / Big 12 Championships: 2-2 (5-9)
W dec Isaiah Patton (Northern Iowa), 6-3
L dec #2 Noah Adams (West Virginia), 2-1
W major dec Casey Jumps (Air Force), MD 10-1
L dec #19 Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State), 10-7

285 #7 Brandon Metz, R-So., West Fargo, N.D. (West Fargo HS)
Overall: 21-10 / Big 12 Championships: 1-2 (1-4)
L dec #14 Gannon Gremmel (Iowa State), 3-0
W dec Auston Harris (Oklahoma State), 8-4
L dec #9 Josh Hokit (Fresno State), 4-3

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