Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Daton, Derek Fix look to the future after fourth place finish at NCAA Championships

The smiles followed, then came the exchanges of embracement between his coaches.

But just two matches later a lingering decision awaits.

TULSA — Derek Fix didn’t know his son reached a milestone achievement.

It became a realization when the public address announcer at the BOK Center announced it following Daton’s victory over Kyle Biscoglia of Northern Iowa in the 133-pound quarterfinals Friday evening. His 100th win.

Daton’s goal of attaining his first individual national championship and a fourth consecutive appearance in the finals fell short following an 11-3 defeat-by-major decision to Vito Arujau of Cornell. Two matches later, he fell 2-1 to Michael McGee of Arizona State to finish fourth in his weight class – his worst placing during his college career and the first time he has suffered multiple losses in nationals.

He holds one year of eligibility, but a return isn’t guaranteed.

See Daton on page 3

OSU finishes 18th, worst in history

then, the results were lower than the standard. Smith has 13 seasons of one to no losses in duals in his 32-year coaching career.

TULSA — De -

spite a “poor” finish in the NCAA Tournament, OSU coach John Smith gave credit where credit was due.

Smith said he knew the season would be a taxing one going into it. Wrestlers at new weights, firstyear starters; OSU saw quite a few changes going into the year. Two of the wrestlers at new weights wrestled their final match in an orange singlet. Smith said he’s not sure what the roster may look like next year, but he expects some notable names to return. Smith also addressed why he was unable to have a press conference after Friday night.

Is OSU lowering the bar in wrestling?

The team compiled a 14-3 dual-meet record, including top10 wins over Missouri and Michigan in the same weekend, as well as placing first in the Southern Scuffle. Even

Smith now holds back-to-back seasons of placing outside the top 10, the first time in the program’s history. Smith said, “it’s not fine,” but he admits he likely made mistakes, leading to the back-toback poor results.

“We kind of went into this season knowing it was going to be a battle,” Smith said.

“Between transfers and the portal and those type of things, we probably fell behind, maybe. You see that you gotta get in that game if you’re gonna stay in this game. So what that this is the first time in our history, who gives a damn, I don’t care. I don’t accept the results. But what I do need is to make sure that we don’t beat our program up.”

Smith said skill was an issue, not effort, and praises the work the Cowboys put in all season.

See History on page 4

Family Reunion: Garth Brooks to play an exclusive concert for OSU students

& Lifestyle Editor

Two concerts and thousands of lives changed.

Garth Brooks, Oklahoma State University alumnus and country music superstar, is partnering with his alma mater to make the dream of graduating college possible for thousands of OSU students.

Brooks will perform two concerts at The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts as fundraisers to support the creation and

launch of an initiative for a new scholarship program.

In an exclusive interview with The O’Colly, Brooks announced a show for only OSU students on April 14 and detailed his second show on April 15 for OSU alumni and donors. Each show will target a specific audience.

“You just never know what you’re going to do when it’s just you and the guitar,” Brooks told The O’Colly. “It’s going to be a fun, family reunion. I’ll be playing music, which is my favorite thing to do, but we will also be opening doors for thousands of students.”

Brooks said OSU President Kayse Shrum set a goal to reach a

million dollars to put toward the new scholarship program and the money will go to students pursuing a degree at OSU.

The funds from the donors show will provide the base of the scholarship program. Details of how students can apply for the program have yet to be shared.

In 2022, Brooks said he would love to play at Boone Pickens Stadium but the stadium is not equipped for his type of stadium shows. He said the two concerts at the McKnight Center are not a consolation for that. It’s something better.

See Brooks on page 6

Courtesy of OSU Communications

Garth Brooks will return to OSU and play two shows at the McKnight Center.

Molly Jolliff

On Saturday, OSU wrestling recorded its worst finish at the NCAA Wrestling Championships. John Smith stated accountability, but some fans are still frustrated with OSU’s downward trend.

Daniel Allen Staff Reporter

Rowdy Baribeau Staff Reporter

Luisa Clausen News

Dustin Plott earns All-American status in 2023

Rowdy Baribeau Staff Reporter

TULSA — Make it back-to-back

All-American honors for one of Oklahoma State’s best.

Dustin Plott walked away from the BOK Center with Daton Fix as the only two Cowboys to place in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. While it was a “poor” result as coach John Smith said, Smith circled back to give credit to Plott, who placed sixth after finishing

in the same place in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

“Three of his four losses, he turned over in this tournament,’” Smith said. “He had a pretty good tournament, two guys that beat him during the regular season, he beat.”

Plott was pinned in the first period of the championship quarterfinal by Cornell’s Chris Foca. Plott turned around and won two straight matches against Demetrius Romero from Utah Valley in sudden victory and against Ohio State’s Ethan Smith.

Plott proceeded to lose the next

two bouts to Virginia Tech’s Mekhi Lewis and a rematch with Nelson Brands from Iowa in the fifth-place round. Smith said he was proud of how well Plott fought on during the tournament.

“Tough road to come back and finish sixth after getting pinned,” Smith said. “Tough match to become an All-American, tough match to get into the fifth and sixth place match. Pretty good tournament.”

For OSU as a whole, the tournament wasn’t so good. Going into the finals, with no more points to accumu-

late, OSU has 28.5 points and sits tied with Air Force for No. 18 in the standings. The end of the tournament for the Cowboys reflected poorly on a rather successful season in duals for OSU.

For Plott, he built on his successful campaign in 2022 with more victories in duals and pushed his record to 25-7. Last year, he finished 21-6. With Kaden Gfeller and Wyatt Sheets out of eligibility, holes are needing to be filled in terms of veteran leadership and experience. Next season, Plott will be one to fill that role. sports.ed@ocolly.com

Andy Crown

Dustin Plott, OSU’s 174-pounder, won his bloodround bout to become a repeat All-American.

Daton...

Continued from page 1

“I don’t know how I did it and still do,” Derek said. “But we don’t talk much wrestling outside of the wrestling room in all honesty. We don’t necessarily have the time to talk a lot of wrestling outside (of duals). We’re basically just a normal father and son outside of it.”

Derek’s coaching days began at Sapulpa High School. Then he received a call from Charles Page High School in Sand Springs to join the staff as an assistant. Daton was in the fifth grade at the time, working his way up as a wrestler during his first year compet-

ing in the sport. Derek’s father-in-law, Alan Karstetter, had been a longtime coach for the Sandites from 1978-2002. The school was aware of his ties to the sport.

“They gave me a call one day and asked me to come help build the program,” Derek said. “Asked me, ‘Hey, you wanna come help coach?’. It was a pretty easy decision taking all of the circumstances and factors into consideration back then.”

So, he accepted the offer. Four years later, his son graduated middle school and the wrestling brace was formed.

Following a perfect 168-0 record at Charles Page which featured four individual state titles, Daton enrolled at OSU to continue his wrestling career. As always, Derek followed. All it took was a short, concise conversation with OSU coach John Smith to convince

him.

Now serving as the Regional Training Center coach for Cowboy wrestling, Derek has seen the highs with his son. A 108-6 career record highlighted by four individual Big 12 titles and three appearances in the 133-pound finals. At the same time, though, he has also seen the lows. Like those that have transpired over the final two days of the NCAA wrestling championships where Daton finished 1-2 in his last three matches. After Daton’s two losses, there wasn’t much coaching from Derek. All that could be seen was an embracement between the two as both solemnly exited the mat toward the locker room. Could Daton’s consolation match with McGee been his last?

A number of logistics come into factor when decisions, such as the one

Daton is set to face, are made.

Derek traveled to state championships, college national championships and even Olympic wrestling duals with his son. He helps his son make those decisions in the same manner he helps him deal with a loss – seeing the bigger picture.

“When he loses, I mean, of course he’s not very happy and of course he’s disappointed,” Derek said. “But every time he looks at it afterwards as an opportunity. He looks at it like, ‘I have the opportunity to do something that I didn’t get done. So, I don’t have to do much coaching in that regard.

“Whatever he does after this year, it’s going to be in his best interest. I’m just here to help him make it and then support him after.”

sports.ed@ocolly.com

Andy Crown

Fix has three national runner-up finishes and a fourth-place finish in his time at OSU.

History...

Continued from page 1

Smith has made it clear all season that this team of Cowboys worked hard. At times on the mat, it was evident. Konner Doucet’s first pin in the postseason, Luke Surber’s defeat over the No. 1 197-pounder, and a dual-winning pin against the in-state rival Oklahoma Sooners, they were all high points for individuals as they showcased the improvement they made.

CheckouttheOriginalHideaway!

OSU severely underwhelmed in Tulsa as it is uncommon for OSU to not only have a single individual champion, but not even a finalist. Smith said the results are not up to par, but he didn’t berate the team he’d claimed worked hard all season, he doubled down on it.

“We had 10 guys in this tournament, that was an accomplishment we don’t talk about a whole lot,” Smith said. “Other than, ‘It was great to get 10 guys, the first time since, yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah.’ Some of those guys, it was a miracle, if you’d asked me at the beginning of the season.

“Wasn’t a lack of effort, wasn’t a lack of wanting, it was just more of a lack of skill a little bit, I thought we were a little tight.”

Smith explains why he was unavailable to the

SINCE 1957,

media Friday

The way OSU ended on Friday night, it seemed Smith simply didn’t want to have a press conference. During his press conference on Saturday, Smith said why he was absent. It had nothing to do with himself. Smith had to go to the hospital after the final match during the fourth session because Travis Wittlake had an infection on his arm.

“Last night we had a kid that was in the hospital and we had to take care of him, so that’s why you didn’t get an interview,” Smith said. “Gotta be careful, it needed some care, but it happened pretty quick.”

Courtesy of Andy Hamilton/FloWrestling Smith said the Cowboys’ tournament performance wasn’t from lack of effort, but maybe more a lack of skill from wrestling too tight.

NIT ROUND 2

Photo

Photos by Mia Ledbetter

Brooks...

Continued from 1

“It’s an opportunity for me to get to play at Oklahoma State,” Brooks said. “Stillwater has always taken care of me. It doesn’t matter if there are five or 50,000 people on the ground, Stillwater makes you feel like one of them, but they never let you forget you are somebody special.”

The first concert will be open to OSU students at all campuses who can register for a general admission ticket with the donation of a nonperishable food or hygiene item. Stillwater donations will benefit Pete’s Pantry or the Red Pantry. Student IDs will be required for registration and one ticket is allowed per student.

The first 900 students to donate and register will receive tickets in advance of the concert.

Once the first 900 tickets are registered, a lottery system will determine the recipients of any remaining tickets for those who have donated an item and registered.

Shrum said a scholarship made it possible for her to get a degree and expand her view of the world. The OSU president attended college on a softball scholarship and said students should have an opportunity to broaden their horizons and get an education.

“It’s what got me away from my hometown, expanded my view of the world and got me an education,” Shrum said. “That is what scholarships are for.”

Shrum said having Brooks help with this initiative energizes her and enhances her commitment to keeping the cost of education down while working hard to raise more scholarship opportunities.

An email with donation dates and other details will be sent to all students on Friday.

“OSU was created to expand access to an education for classes and people who have never thought they could go to college,” Shrum said.

news.ed@ocolly.com

Via Dr. Shrum’s Instagram

OSU graduate Garth Brooks (right) will play a benefit concert on April 15 at the McKnight Center for the Performing Arts.

Brooks...

Continued from 1

“It’s an opportunity for me to get to play at Oklahoma State,” Brooks said. “Stillwater has always taken care of me. It doesn’t matter if there are five or 50,000 people on the ground, Stillwater makes you feel like one of them, but they never let you forget you are somebody special.”

The first concert will be open to OSU students at all campuses who can register for a general admission ticket with the donation of a nonperishable food or hygiene item. Stillwater donations will benefit Pete’s Pantry or the Red Pantry. Student IDs will be required for registration and one ticket is allowed per student.

The first 900 students to donate and register will receive tickets in advance of the concert.

Once the first 900 tickets are registered, a lottery system will determine the recipients of any remaining tickets for those who have donated an item and registered.

Shrum said a scholarship made it possible for her to get a degree and expand her view of the world. The OSU president attended college on a softball scholarship and said students should have an opportunity to broaden their horizons and get an education.

“It’s what got me away from my hometown, expanded my view of the world and got me an education,” Shrum said. “That is what scholarships are for.”

Shrum said having Brooks help with this initiative energizes her and enhances her commitment to keeping the cost of education down while working hard to raise more scholarship opportunities.

An email with donation dates and other details will be sent to all students on Friday.

“OSU was created to expand access to an education for classes and people who have never thought they could go to college,” Shrum said.

news.ed@ocolly.com

Via Dr. Shrum’s Instagram

OSU graduate Garth Brooks (right) will play a benefit concert on April 15 at the McKnight Center for the Performing Arts.

Courtesy of OSU

OSU opera to perform “Into the Woods”

ductor and music director, Megan Barth Argo and the assistant music directors, Steve Sanders and April Golliver-Mohiuddin, will be joined by OSU President Kayse Shrum, who is voicing the Giant.

On Thursday and Friday, OSU’s Opera Theatre will be performing a rendition of Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods” at the McKnight Center in Stillwater.

Students from OSU’s Michael and Anne Greenwood School of Music and the Department of Theatre will be performing the orchestral and theatre components of the musical. The stage director, B. Peter Westerhoff, the con

“Into the Woods” is a Tony Award-winning broadway musical that has been adapted into a 2014 film. The story interprets several iconic fairytale stories including Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and many more.

OSU Opera alumni Dylan Aaron will be returning to guest star as an artist in the production. The cast includes Adeline Skillman (Stillwater), Ainsley

Carmichael (Carrollton, Texas), Alicen Criner (Houston), Analisa Gallegos (Corpus Christi, Texas), Anaya Harris (Everman, Texas), Bailey Bovenschen (Stillwater), Brennan Lacy (Stillwater), Casey Shapiro (Norman, Oklahoma), Cassie Andel (Ardmore, Oklahoma), Charlotte Sams (Tulsa), Christian Diaz (Frisco, Texas), Dylan Hilbert (Roanoke, Texas), Elizabeth Brockman (McKinney, Texas), Evan Reitan (Stillwater), Grae Taylor (Pond Creek, Oklahoma), Hayley Hitt (Muskogee, Oklahoma), Jade Robinson (Depew, Oklahoma), Jill Brown (Trophy Club, Texas), Jordan Roberts (Brownwood,

Texas), Lilliana Cudley (Fremont, Nebraska), Mike Bullington (Keller, Texas), Skyla Robison (Dewey, Oklahoma), Wesley Rice (Ardmore, Oklahoma)

The musical will begin at 7:30 p.m. on both nights and will feature a 15-minute intermission. Tickets can be ordered on the McKnight website and will be $7 for students.

To donate to the opera team or support future productions, contact the OSU Foundation, or April GolliverMohiudden at 405-564-4961.

The O’Colly Media Group is now hiring Advertising Designers for our ad and marketing departments. Duties include working on layouts, designing ads and assisting marketing department with media campaigns. Hours are flexible, we will work around your class schedule. For more information contact Lori@ ocolly.com or call 405-744-7355.

The OSU Opera Theatre’s cast of “Into the Woods.”

Michael Clark

Staff Reporter

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Patti Varol and Joyce Lewis

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Daily Horoscope

Nancy Black

Tribune

Linda

Content Agency

Black Horoscopes

Today’s Birthday (03/21/23). You’re a rising star this year. Faithful routines keep mind, body and spirit strong. Grow and develop like a weed this spring. Adapt around summer financial challenges, before falling in love again this autumn. Diversify for new winter income and resources. Step into new leadership.

To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.

Aries (March 21-April 19) — Today is an 8 — You and your partner are on the same wavelength. Discuss ideas, dreams and potential. Get creative with your collaboration. Support each other to advance.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) — Today is a 9 — Energize your physical moves. The New Moon tonight initiates two weeks of growing health and strength. Put your heart into your actions. Practice for ease.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) — Today is an 8 — Enjoy yourself. Stir up some romance.

The New Moon begins a two-week family, fun and passion phase. Get creative. It’s all for love.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Today is a 7 — Realize a domestic dream over a twoweek New Moon phase. Get creative. Improve the beauty and functionality of your home. Nurture your family.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is a 9 — Profit through communications for two weeks. Possibilities spark in conversation over this New Moon phase. Creative projects flower. Express, share and connect. Write your story.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is a 9 — Begin a lucrative New Moon phase. Discover fresh markets and rising prosperity. Strengthen financial foundations for growth. Rake in and preserve a healthy harvest.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — Today is a 9 — Pursue personal dreams. Expand talents, capacities and skills over two weeks, with the New Moon in your sign. Grow and develop. Shine your light.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today is a 7 — Dreams seem within reach. Insights, breakthroughs and revelations shine in the dark of tonight’s New Moon. Enjoy a twoweek creative, imaginative and organizational phase.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is an 8 — Connect for shared support, fun and appreciation. This New Moon phase benefits team efforts. Grow through friendships, social networks and community participation.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is a 9 — This New Moon illuminates professional opportunities. Develop interesting projects over the next two weeks. Pursue exciting possibilities. Your career, status and influence rise.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is an 8 — Educational opportunities arise after tonight’s New Moon. The next two-week phase favors study, investigation and exploration. Consider new perspectives. Make connections, contributions and bold discoveries.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Today is a 9 — Find creative ways to grow your family’s nest egg. A lucrative two-week phase dawns with tonight’s New Moon. Launch valuable initiatives with your partner.

1 Defeated player’s concession

6 Phone download

9 Cobra’s warning

13 “Yes to Fresh” candy

16 Snack (on)

Tom Pepper & C.C. Burnikel

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit, 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit sudoku.org.uk