Andrews crowned Big 12 Champ at heavyweight
TULSA, Okla., -- On Sunday night, Wyoming heavyweight Brian Andrews became just the third Cowboy to take home a Big 12 Championship, since UW joined the league in 2016, as he took down No. 2 seeded Gannon Gremmel of Iowa State, 3-2, to be crowned the league’s champion at heavyweight.
Overall, it is the 12th conference championship at heavyweight in program history for UW, while Andrews becomes the eighth Cowboy student-athlete to win a conference title at the weight.
“It feels great, I feel awesome,” said Andrews following the win.
After a scoreless first period, Andrews trailed 1-0 heading into the third and final period after Gremmel recorded an escape in the second. Andrews started on the bottom in the third and quickly got an escape to tie the bout up at 1-1. With 1:10 remaining in the match, Andrews got the takedown he was looking for and grabbed a 3-1 lead. Gremmel would eventually escape, but Andrews was able to maintain the lead the final 50 seconds in order to take home the title.
“Once I was able to go up on him, I knew I had it. I thought, ‘there’s no way I’m going to let him take me down’. I’m just looking forward to going out there and competing (at NCAAs). It will be a good experience and I’m going to go out there to compete and to have fun.”
Montorie Bridges was able to secure third place at 133 pounds with a pair of wins on the day. Bridges began with a solid 8-5 victory over Lawrence Saenz of Fresno State in the consolation semifinals and then closed his tournament with a late pin of fourth-seeded Anthony Madrigal of Oklahoma in the third-place match.
Bridges pinned Madrigal with just six seconds left in the bout and had a 3-1 lead with the riding time advantage at the time of the fall.
With his four wins this weekend, Bridges now has 98 for his career and has a chance at the NCAA Tournament later this month, of becoming just the 21st Cowboy in program history to post 100-career victories.
Dewey Krueger (157) also won his placing match Sunday. Krueger defeated sixth-seeded Alex Hornfeck of West Virginia, 7-5, to take seventh at the championships. Krueger got a pair of third period takedowns to help push him over-the-top in the match.
As a team, the Cowboys finished in seventh place with a total of 75.5 points. Andrews and Bridges are the two Pokes that automatic qualifications for the NCAA Championships March 19-21 in Minneapolis.
The rest of the Cowboys will have to wait to see if they receive an at-large bid when those are announced March 10.
Big 12 Championships Individual Results – Day Two
March 8, 2020 | BOK Center | Tulsa, Okla.
No. 2 Montorie Bridges – 133 pounds
Consolation Semis: No. 2 Bridges (WYO) dec. Lawrence Saenz (FSU) 8-5
3rd place match: No. 2 Bridges (WYO) Fall No. 4 Anthony Madrigal (OU) 6:54
No. 8 Dewey Krueger – 157 pounds
7th place match: No. 8 Krueger (WYO) dec. No. 6 Alex Hornfeck (WVU) 7-5
No. 5 Cole Moody – 165 pounds
Consolation Semis: No. 6 Chase Straw (ISU) dec. No. 5 Moody (WYO) 9-5
5th place match: No. 7 Adam Kemp (FSU) dec. No. 5 Moody (WYO) 9-7
No. 6 Hayden Hastings – 174 pounds
Consolation Semis: No. 5 Joe Smith (OSU) dec. No. 6 Hastings (WYO) 5-2
5th place match: No. 4 Kimball Bastian (UVU) dec. No. 6 Hastings (WYO) 5-4
No. 7 Tate Samuelson – 184 pounds
Consolation Semis: No. 4 Alan Clothier (UNC) dec. No. 7 Samuelson (WYO) 6-5
5th place match: No. 5 Marcus Coleman (ISU) Fall No. 7 Samuelson (WYO) 5:47
No. 4 Stephen Buchanan – 197 pounds
Consolation Semis: No. 7 Jacob Seely (UNC) dec. No. 4 Buchanan (WYO) 5-4
5th place match: No. 3 Jake Woodley (OU) dec. No. 4 Buchanan (WYO) 3-1
True 6th place match: No. 8 Cordell Eaton (NDSU) dec. No. 4 Buchanan (WYO) 9-5
No. 5 Brian Andrews – Heavyweight
Championship Match: No. 5 Andrews dec. No. 2 Gannon Gremmel (ISU) 3-2
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