The Oklahoma State wrestling team crowned three individual Big 12 champions on its way to capturing its 43rd conference title Saturday in Norman.
The No. 4 Cowboys finished with 70.5 team points to upset second-ranked Iowa State, which finished the tournament with 69 points.
Jordan Oliver, Jamal Parks and Clayton Foster each fueled coach John Smith's 11th conference title with their first individual titles.
At 133 pounds, Oliver, who shared the outstanding wrestler award with OU's 125-pound Big 12 champion Jarrod Patterson, won a critical final match 6-2 over Iowa State's Nick Fanthorpe.
"It's an awesome feeling coming out as a redshirt freshman," Oliver said. "Being able to watch it last year and not compete in it, I was just anxious to get out on the mat and finally be able to compete. I wanted to take advantage of my first year competing in the Big 12 and leave my mark."
Other crucial wins came at the 141 and 184 pound finals matches, where Parks and Foster competed against familiar faces.
Parks said he was looking for revenge after losing to OU's Zack Bailey in the Bedlam dual in February and that's exactly what he got when he scored a takedown with 15 seconds left in the match to defeat the third-ranked Sooner by a 3-2 decision.
"Even though it wasn't my best tournament, I'm glad that I showed perseverance and pushed through every match," Parks said. "(Bailey) and his coaches were getting a real good strategy keeping me away, but I'm not going to let that stop me. I'm going to always look for some different ways to win."
After winning the title, Smith said he was pleased to be back on top of the Big 12 after a three year absence, including last year's tournament, where the Cowboys didn't crown a champion.
"It's definitely good to be on top in the Big 12," Smith said. "I was real encouraged by our effort today. I think that we definitely had some ups and downs throughout the tournament. In the end, it took a couple of sophomores and a junior that won in the finals to put us over the top."
The Cowboys secured nine automatic bids for the NCAA tournament on March 18-20 in Omaha, Neb. With a little more than a week left to prepare, Smith said it's time for the wrestlers to be able to compete at the best of their abilities.





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