NCAA wrestling championships: Day 3 live coverage for Oklahoma State Cowboys, OU Sooners

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Oklahoma State wrestlers Daton Fix and Dustin Plott will wrestle for national titles Saturday at the NCAA Wrestling Championships at T-Mobile Center.

OSU's Izzak Olejnik and OU's Stephen Buchanan remain in contention to finish as high as third in Saturday's consolation action.

Here's what to know:

More:How Oklahoma State wrestling assistant coach Coleman Scott helped rejuvenate Cowboys

OSU’s Dustin Plott falls in final

OSU senior Dustin Plott got the match he wanted, but Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen was too much once again. Keckeisen defeated Plott for the third time this season with a 14-5 major decision in the 184-pound final.

Keckeisen also defeated Plott during the regular season and in the BIg 12 title bout.

 —Scott Wright, Staff Writer

OSU's Daton Fix a runner-up again

Blood time, coaches' challenges, official review. The 133-pound finals at the NCAA Championships had everything.

Everything but a Daton Fix title.

The Oklahoma State legend will go down as the school's only five-time All-American. And now, he's a four-time NCAA runner-up.

Cornell's sixth-seeded Vito Arujau, the defending champion who also beat Fix in last year's semifinals, got a takedown with just over a minute to go in the match that held up for a 5-3 win over the top-seeded Cowboy.

The first period included two stoppages for blood time, with each wrestler sustaining cuts. Fix had to have his forehead bandaged after a third-period scramble.

Fix had a 2-0 lead entering the third period, but gave up an escape and was penalized for stalling to tie the score before Arujau's decisive takedown.

OSU's Dustin Plott will be in action later Saturday night in the 184-pound final against Northern Iowa's Parker Keckeisen.

More:Oklahoma State wrestling: Daton Fix is runner-up for fourth time at NCAA Championships

Stephen Buchanan takes 3rd for Sooners

Senior Stephen Buchanan gave the Sooners their best national finisher since 2016, taking third place with a 9-4 decision over Jacob Cardenas of Cornell in Saturday’s third-place match.

Buchanan got a first-period takedown and a second-period reversal for a 5-1 lead before pulling away in the third. 

OU’s Cody Brewer was a national champion in 2015 and took third in 2016.

More:After year off, OU wrestler Stephen Buchanan fights back for third at NCAA Championships

OSU’s Izzak Olejnik finishes fifth

With a 3-0 decision over Stanford’s Hunter Garvin, Oklahoma State senior Izzak Olejnik earned a fifth-place finish at 165 pounds.

Olejnik fought out of a couple of leg holds in the first period, then executed a reversal early in the second for a 2-0 lead. He ran the riding time clock up to 1:21 as well. That forced Garvin to opt for the neutral start in the third period, needing a takedown for the tie, or potential win.

But Olejnik stayed on his feet to finish off the win.

For Olejnik, it was an improvement over his 2023 season, when he was a eighth-place finisher at Northern Illinois.

 —Scott Wright, Staff Writer

OU’s Stephen Buchanan to wrestle for 3rd

OU senior Stephen Buchanan used a late takedown to break a tie on his way to a 6-2 win over South Dakota State’s Tanner Sloan in the consolation semifinals at 197 pounds.

That moves Buchanan to the third-place match where he’ll face Jacob Cardenas of Cornell later in the Saturday morning session.

 —Scott Wright, Staff Writer

OSU’s Izzak Olejnik will wrestle for 5th

Riding time doomed OSU senior Izzak Olejnik in his consolation semifinal on Saturday morning.

Olejnik scored a late takedown to tie the score at 8 with Iowa’s Mike Caliendo, but Caliendo had just enough cushion on the riding time clock to survive with a 9-8 win. 

Olejnik will be back on the mat wrestling for fifth place later Saturday. 

 —Scott Wright, Staff Writer

More:NCAA wrestling championships: Day 2 results for Oklahoma State Cowboys, OU Sooners

NCAA Wrestling Championship brackets

How to watch NCAA Wrestling Championships

Session 5, 10 a.m. Saturday

TV: ESPNU

How to watch online: Watch ESPN (here's how to stream it live)

Session 6, 6 p.m. Saturday

TV: ESPN

How to watch online: Watch ESPN (here's how to stream it live)

More:Oklahoma State's Daton Fix, Dustin Plott will wrestle for titles at NCAA Championships

When is the NCAA Wrestling Championships?

2024 NCAA Wrestling Championship Schedule

Saturday, March 23

Session 5: Consolation semifinals and medal round, 10 a.m. (ESPNU and ESPN+)

Session 6: Championship matches, 6 p.m. (ESPN and ESPN+)

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.