NCAA Wrestling: Undefeated freshman Daton Fix wins Southern Scuffle, Cowboys place 2nd

Charles Page High School alumnus Daton Fix improved his collegiate record to 22-0 Saturday evening in Chattanooga as one of four Oklahoma State University wrestlers to win the Sixteenth Annual Southern Scuffle.

The No. 3 ranked Cowboys finished in second place with 188.5 points, behind No. 1 Penn State (216.5) who had six champions, eight finalists, and three consolation champions. Oklahoma State put five in the finals.

Fix outscored his five opponents 92-21 at 133 pounds, giving up nothing but escape points. He scored a 19-3 technical fall against Rider freshman Chris Wright in 5:57 with five takedowns and eight nearfall points, then recorded his first collegiate pin against Air Force senior John Twomey. He scored four takedowns and four nearfall points before sticking his foe in 5:28.

In the quarterfinals Fix teched NC State freshman Jarrett Trombley, a four-time Michigan State Champion, 25-10 with twelve takedowns in 6:47. Fix took on Cal State Bakersfield senior Sean Nickell, who is ranked twentieth in the nation by InterMat Wrestling, in the semis. The Cowboy scored four takedowns, a reversal, and eight nearfall points for the 18-3 victory in only 3:58.

In the finals Fix met No. 9 ranked Iowa State freshman Austin Gomez, a three-time Illinois State Champion. Fix dealt Gomez (18-1) his first collegiate loss with a 6-3 decision, scoring takedowns in the first and third periods with a second-period escape.

Saturday was the Cowboys’ second-best performance in tournament history, trailing only a 198-point team title in 2017. They have come in runner-up four times. Nicki Piccininni, Kaden Gfeller, and Derek White also won titles for the Pokes.

Oklahoma State (5-0, 4-0) will return to action with a four-dual road stretch, beginning on the 12th at No. 27 Princeton (3-3). They will travel to No. 25 Rutgers (6-1) on the thirteenth, West Virginia (2-7, 2-1) on the eighteenth, and No. 24 Pittsburgh (4-0) on the nineteenth.

Possible ranked foes for Fix include 125 No. 12 Pat Glory (Princeton), 133 No. 2 Nick Suriano (Rutgers), 133 No. 18 Matt Schmitt (West Virginia), and 133 No. 4 Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh).

Southern Scuffle Champions
125: Nick Piccininni (OSU)
133: Daton Fix (OSU)
141: Nick Lee (PSU)
149: Kaden Gfeller (OSU)
157: Jason Nolf (PSU)
165: Vincenzo Joseph (PSU)
174: Mark Hall (PSU)
184: Shakur Rasheed (PSU)
197: Bo Nickal (PSU)
285: Derek White (OSU)

Team Scores
216.5 Penn State
188.5 Oklahoma State
104 Iowa State
82.5 Stanford
75.5 U.S. Naval Academy
71.5 Lock Haven
70 Duke
54.5 Ohio University
48.5 Virginia Tech
46.5 Cal State Bakersfield