South OKC News

Seven Sooners received their pre-seeds for the Big 12 Wrestling Championships, the conference announced Monday.

The event opens Saturday at 10 a.m. with the first session, followed by a Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning session before culminating with the Big 12 finals at 8 p.m. CT on Sunday. The first three sessions will be aired on ESPN+ and the championship round will be televised on ESPNU.

Mosha Schwartz is Oklahoma's highest-seeded wrestler, earning the No. 2 at 141-pounds in his third appearance at the conference championships.

Set for his fourth appearance in a conference championship, Joey Prata earned the seventh seed in the 125-pound weight class. Last season, Prata took down former All-American Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley) in his opening bout. At Virginia Tech, Prata eclipsed back-to-back third place finishes at the ACC Championships.

Mitch Moore returns to the Big 12 Championships where he is seeded sixth at 149 pounds. In the 2021 Championship, Moore finished as the runner-up, falling 7-6 to top-ranked Boo Lewallen. The redshirt senior has pieced together a 13-6 record this season.

Gerrit Nijenhuis was seeded fifth in the 165-pound division. Nijenhuis enters the conference championship after picking up a 13-5 record in his first season at OU. 

Making his Big 12 Championships debut, Tate Picklo received the fifth seed in the 174-pound weight class. In his first season as a starter, the Mustang, Okla., product has collected a 19-6 record, including three wins over top-25 opponents.

In the 184-pound division, Keegan Moore was selected as the sixth seed. With the seventh seed in the 2022 Big 12 Championships, Keegan earned fourth place and an NCAA berth.

Josh Heindselman will be the sixth-seeded heavyweight in his third consecutive trip to the conference championship. The redshirt junior has finished fourth and sixth in his previous two appearances at the Big 12 Championships, leading him to two NCAA berths.

Wyatt Henson will compete in the 133-pound division but is unseeded in the pre-seeds. Henson has compiled a 13-11 record in his first season at Oklahoma. Jared Hill will make his first appearance at the Big 12 Championships at 157 pounds. The sophomore garners a 14-8 record, including a run of six straight wins. Carson Berryhill did not receive a seed but will wrestle at 197 pounds for the Sooners. Becoming a starter midway through the season, the Tuttle, Okla., product has registered a 5-11 record.

The Sooners have won 24 conference titles in program history, including a thrilling comeback win in 2021.

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