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Big 12 Tournament Bracket

March 4, 2012 by · Comments Off on Big 12 Tournament Bracket 

Big 12 Tournament Bracket, How did Oklahoma fare at the Big 12 wrestling tournament? It’s all in the interpretation. The Sooners finished third, with 60 1/2 points behind Oklahoma State (73) and first-time champion Missouri (77).

They claimed just one conference champion in 141-pounder Kendric Maple and two runners-up, in 125-pounder Jarrod Patterson and 157-pounder Matt Lester.

They were individual results first-year coach Mark Cody was not wild about.

“There was some good and some bad today If you don’t attack, you don’t win,” he said. “Kendric Maple goes out and he is so relentless in his attack that even when he doesn’t get it, you know he is going to go again.”

Still, perhaps most importantly, the Sooners appear to be in very good shape heading into their biggest meet of the year, the NCAA meet, set to run March 12-15 in St. Louis.

At every weight but 197 and heavyweight, the Sooners earned an automatic qualifier Saturday.

At 197, the Big 12 was originally allotted three national qualifiers. But that number was reduced to two when Oklahoma State’s Blake Rosholt was scratched from the Big 12 bracket. Still, OU’s Keldrick Hall placed third at the weight and the program is near certain he will receive an at-large berth in the NCAA draw.

At heavyweight, OU’s Kyle Colling placed third, with only the top two finishers being guaranteed a spot in St. Louis. Nonetheless, the Sooners are very confident Colling will be added to their NCAA roster, too.

If Hall and Colling are both added, OU will have a grappler in every NCAA bracket.

By topping OSU’s Josh Kindig 11-5, Maple moved to 28-1 on the season and claimed his first conference title.

“It’s a stepping stone into (the) NCAAs,” he said. “This is what we have been planning on all week Coach has been telling us the same thing and that is we are going to be champs. It’s all falling into place now.”

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