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Oklahoma State redshirt sophomore Daton Fix is planning to take an Olympic redshirt and not compete in the upcoming NCAA season, Cowboys head coach John Smith said Thursday during the team’s media day in Stillwater.
Fix was 34-2 last season for the Cowboys and was the 133-pound Big 12 champion and NCAA runner-up. The Sand Springs, Oklahoma native will have to go through the Olympic Trials on April 4-5 at the Bryce Jordan Center on Penn State University’s campus in University Park, Penn., to qualify for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
In the offseason, Fix won the U.S. Open against 2017 World bronze medalist Thomas Gilman of Iowa and then bested Gilman again at Final X Lincoln to claim the 57 kilogram spot on the U.S. men’s national freestyle team. Fix won his senior-level tournament debut at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, where he outscored his opponents 25-1. He wrapped up his eventful summer by going 1-1 at the World Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
With #okstate wrestling season upon us here are some videos from Media Day as John Smith, Nick Piccininni and Dakota Geer prepare for a new campaign.
— Sam Lane (@SamLaneOK) October 17, 2019
For a while now people have speculated that Daton Fix may take an olympic redshirt. Smith confirmed today that that is the plan. pic.twitter.com/HBQplklxyI
There are five possible options the Cowboys will turn to for the 133 spot.
- R-Fr. Rhett Golowenski of Tuttle (125 pounder)
- Fr. Colt Newton of Choctaw
- R-Jr. Andrew Nieman of Stillwater
- R-Fr. Conner Wilson of Allen, Texas
- Fr. Reece Witcraft of Broken Arrow
Redshirt senior Kaid Brock had surgery in mid-August to repair a torn ACL and meniscus in his knee and will miss the start of the season. The Stillwater native could be option at 133 once the calendar flips to 2020 if he’s cleared to compete. Brock, who moved up from 133 to 141 this past season, was the Big 12 tournament runner-up and fell short of earning All-American status for the third time in his career at the NCAA championships.
Brock, who was a three-time high school state champion at Stillwater, also sustained a season-ending injury as a true freshman at the Southern Scuffle in January 2016.
The Cowboys will likely turn to redshirt sophomore Kaden Gfeller of Oklahoma City (Heritage Hall) to start at 141 and redshirt senior Boo Lewallen of Yukon at 149. Gfeller went 30-7 at 149 last season while filling in for Lewallen, who missed time due to shoulder injuries. Lewallen was 29-8 and earned All-American honors at 149 during the 2017-18 season.