eight semifinalists for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Pool Staff ReporterOSU comes out on top against the entire state.
OSU was the highestproducing collegiate institution in Oklahoma for the Fulbright scholars’ program for the 2021-2022 academic year, according to their webpage.
Rowdy Baribeau Staff Reporter
TULSA — Mis-
souri’s near-perfect first day at the Big 12 Tournament all but sealed the deal for the Tigers on day two.
OSU and Iowa State rounded out the second and third place team standings. Going into the tournament, it figured to be a twoteam race between Missouri and Iowa State with OSU on the outside looking in. The
Cowboys exceeded expectations in the team race, but fulfilled expectations at the 133 and 174 weight classes, and at new weights.
Here are three notes from the tournament.
OSU has three placers at new weights
Luke Surber and Travis Wittlake each earned thirdplace finishes at their new weights. Surber defeated Owen Pentz from North Dakota State with a 8-2 decision. Smith said Surber wrestled a solid final match.
“Surber, still is just kind of bright-eyed a little bit,” Smith said. “Although he separated some scores, I thought his very best match of the tournament was for third. I wanna see that, I want to see this demenaor and see like, ‘there is an end to this tournament, and I’m going to end it on a good note.’”
Wittlake rematched Missouri’s Colton Hawks and won by decision 8-3. Wittlake separated the score compared to his last match where he won 6-4 in early February. Wittlake debat-
ably faced a tougher opponent in the consolation semifinals, DeAnthony Parker from NDSU. Smith said it was one of the best matches he’s seen from Wittlake.
“I thought Travis had two of the best matches that he’s had all season,” Smith said. “Goes down pretty quickly (against Parker) and just gathers himself up and slowly takes bites out of him. Good effort, that’s what you want to see. He followed it up with a solid win for third.
See Big 12 on page 3
OSU had four student applicants in 2022, with two of them receiving grants. This number surpassed the University of Oklahoma and the University of Tulsa. The Cowboys also have
The U.S. Congress funds the Fulbright Program and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs manages it.
Cara Menasco Eubanks, the associate director of development at the OSU Foundation and former academic programs coordinator at the School of Global Studies, said the importance of the Fulbright Program should not be overlooked.
“At its core, Fulbright is a diplomacy tool, and a Fulbright award recipient essentially serves as an ambassador to their home institution,
home state, and, most importantly, country,” Eubanks said. “Often when students and faculty go overseas for a Fulbright, study abroad or vacation, they only consider how that experience will impact them. Often not considered is the impact that experience will have on the people they interact with while abroad. Every person’s interaction abroad can shape foreign audiences’ and governments’ perceptions of our country. The more positive interactions we have, the more international people and governments like us, leading to people working together to solve global problems.”
See Leads on page 5
BOSTON — A Bay
State man has been arrested by the feds after he allegedly tried to stab a United Airlines flight attendant in the neck and tried to open the plane’s emergency exit door while aboard a flight to Boston Logan International Airport.
Francisco Severo
Torres, 33, of Leominster, has been charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with one count of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon.
Torres was arrested Sunday evening at Boston Logan International Airport following the flight from Los Angeles.
About 45 minutes before the flight arrived in Boston, the United flight crew received an alarm in the cockpit that a starboard side door was disarmed.
A flight attendant found that the door’s locking handle had been moved out of the fully locked
position — about a quarter of the way toward the unlocked position — and that the emergency slide arming lever had been moved to the “disarmed” position. The flight attendant reported this to the captain and flight crew after securing the door and emergency slide.
Then, another flight attendant reported that he had seen Torres near the door, and believed Torres had tampered with the door. When a flight attendant confronted Torres about tampering with the door, he responded by asking if cameras showed him doing that.
According to court documents, the flight attendant then alerted the captain that they believed Torres posed a threat to the aircraft, and that the captain needed to land the aircraft as soon as possible.
Torres soon after got out of his seat and approached the starboard side door, where two flight attendants were standing in the aisle. One of the flight attendants saw Torres mouthing something that he could not hear.
Carson Toulouse OSU 197-pound wrester Luke Surber finished third place at the Big 12 championship. Courtesy of OSU Two OSU students earned a grant for the prestigious Fulbright scholars’ program in the 2021-22 academic year.wider than his own.
Daniel Allen Staff Reporter
TULSA — Few college wrestlers have an opportunity to be a four-time conference champion.
On Sunday evening, Daton Fix attained his fourth straight individual Big 12 title with an 10-2 major decision victory over Zach Redding of Iowa State. In spite of the fact, he faced the
No. 2 seeded wrestler, — it was a pure replication of nearly every one of his matches this season. Complete and utter dominance on Fix’s part. Redding’s only points came via escapes, highlighting Fix’s continuity as a wrestler.
“We saw some real maturity,” said OSU coach John Smith. “Had some pressure on him, picked up two takedowns in the first period and then added two more throughout the match. I just saw a level of maturity and the level of want, (Daton) wanting a little more than just another Big 12 championship.”
After the bout, the OSU 133-pounder stood in front of a mural inside the BOK Center. His dad, Derek right next to him, held a grin potentially
“I’m just grateful,” Daton said. “I’m so grateful that God has given me the opportunity to represent Oklahoma State. It’s truly a dream come true.” All of it was done in front of his hometown.
Before OSU, Daton wrestled for Charles Page High School located in Sand Springs, a suburb of Tulsa aabout 10 minutes in driving distance from the downtown area. Patches of Charles Page Sandite athletic attire could be spotted, scattered among the crowd, attempting to show support for the homegrown wrestler.
Most would long for an opportunity to attain one, much less four confer-
ence titles. The sheer feel of competing in front of a mostly occupied 19,199seat stadium gives most and excess of adrenaline. But not for Daton.
To him, it was just another match.
“At the end of the day it’s a wrestling match,” Fix said “It could be anywhere. It doesn’t matter where I’m at in the world. It could be in front of thousands of fans or it could be in front of nobody. It’s just a wrestling match. It doesn’t matter who’s out there with me.
“I know the work I put in and now I just go out there and leave it all on the line. It’s just a wrestling match”. sports.ed@ocolly.com
Continued from page 1
On Saturday, and last Tuesday, Smith expressed his displeasure with the seeds. Considering Missouri scored 135 points on day one, and 13 on day two, seeding seemed to favor the Tigers. On Sunday night, he had a different mindset about the seeding. Smith
said that when OSU is winning dual meets, splitting them down the middle or winning six out of 10, it makes for a difficult road at conference.
“Tough matches, right off the bat; I thought we did (have them),” Smith said. “I thought we had a really tough first round for my team. Maybe some other teams had it, but I thought the tournament was as tough, for us, as I’ve seen.”
OSU qualifies nine
OSU qualified nine wrestlers with a notable omission and with somewhat of a surprise contender. Wyatt Sheets lost both of his matches Saturday, but rebounded with a major decision against Baylor Fernandes (Northern Colorado) and a technical fall
against Air Force’s Seamus Casey.
Reece Witcraft accomplished what he set out to do once he became the 125-pound starter for OSU: steal a spot in the national tournament. Witcraft will join all starters aside from Sheets again in Tulsa in two weeks. Some may deem it a surprise, but it wasn’t for Smith and Witcraft.
“Reece Witcraft, I can’t really say a surprise,” Smith said. “I’ll just say that, we knew as he managed his weight over the course of the last six weeks, we had a lot of hope that his body would be pretty strong at the end. It was real strong this week.” sports.ed@ocolly.com
his second straight Big 12 title with a 5-3 triumph over Missouri’s Peyton Mocco on Sunday night at the BOK Center in Tulsa. His 8 p.m. final put Plott close to his bedtime, he said, but the aggressiveness showed.
Adam Engel Editor-in-Chief
“I was like, ‘Man, I’m gonna need some caffeine wrestling at 9 or 10 o’clock at night,” Plott said.
Plott beat Mocco in last year’s final and avenged a February loss on Sunday night. Plott said he understood the situation and focused on scoring the next point. He scored a late takedown with less than 10 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
“I’ve been down before,” he said. “I’ve been down worse and it’s just wrestling.”
Plott’s victory was the second for OSU in Sunday’s finals. Daton Fix won his fourth straight Big 12 title at 133 pounds.
“I thought for the most part in his whole tournament, there was a level of demeanor that you’ve been trying to beat into him all season long,” OSU coach John Smith said of Plott. “I thought his final match wasn’t necessarily his best match but just kinda a guy that was going to get his hand raised somehow. That’s what you like to see.”
Missouri won the team title for its
second straight year while OSU finished runner-up. The Cowboys pushed through three dual losses to its podium finish at the Big 12 championships. Plott’s win helped push the Cowboys beyond its third-place spot before the finals.
“I said it all season, especially at the start that this is going to be a challenging year,” Smith said. “I’ll just say they took on the challenge. I think we have worked as hard as any team I’ve coached and they responded with not a lot of complaints and not a lot of ‘Why are we doing this?’ They just did it.” sports.ed@ocolly.com
Continued from page 1
Eubanks said OSU students and faculty stand out next to the other Fulbright applications because of its unique position as a land-grant university in America.
Randy Kluver is the associate provost of global
partnerships and dean of OSU Global. He said he is proud that OSU has had more success with Fulbright this year than any other university in the state. He continued to say that it speaks well of OSU’s global reputation and the achievements of students and faculty.
“OSU Global provides the campus organizational support for student and faculty Fulbright application process,” Kluver said. “We work with students and faculty to effectively compete in this very rigorous competition.”
Fulbright alumni have become notable figures
throughout history. Forty Fulbright alumni served as heads of state or government, 89 have received Pulitzer Prizes and 62 have been awarded the Nobel Prize.
“The Fulbright Award is the most recognizable distinction in international education and, as an award, is the best predictor of getting a Nobel Prize,” Kluver said. “When OSU students and faculty receive these awards, it recognizes their scholarly achievement and also raises the global profile of OSU.”
news.ed@ocolly.com
Cynda Clary, OSU’s associate dean of the Ferguson College of Agriculture won the Leave the Ladder Award at the fall 2022 University Awards Convocation.
The award is given to an individual who mentors and encourages others to gain their fullest potential. The nomination process is when a committee of campus leaders select a recipient to receive the award.
Karen Hickman, Ferguson College director of undergraduate research, honors programs and academic assessment, nominated Clary.
“She’s a highly positioned female leader who has left the ladder down and helped others climb up the ladder,” Hickman said.
Before Clary came to OSU in 2012, she worked for 19 years at New Mexico State University in admin-
istrative positions. She is committed to helping students, faculty and staff success in her role as associate dean of Ferguson College. Anyone Clary speaks to her can tell she is enthusiastic about agriculture.
Clary encouraged Hickman to participate in many leaderships training sessions including LEAD21. Hickman also described how Clary helped impact her professional career when she gave her many opportunities to learn new skills.
Clary mentored other faculty across Ferguson College campus and imprinted her encouragement on them. An associate dean for research in the College of Arts and Science, Kristen Baum, said Clary mentored her for the Women’s Leadership Academy in 2013.
“I learned an incredible amount from Cynda’s mentorship, and I try to emulate many of her approaches in my mentoring relationships,” Baum said. “I now have the opportunity to work with her as a colleague, and I continue to
value her insight, guidance and balanced perspective.” In Ferguson College, Clary said her mentoring relationships when students and faculty succeed gives her joy.
“When students come to college, they are developing their reputation and learning new things,” Clary said. “They have to find their path – and it is a privilege to be part of that journey with them.”
Gretchen Skaja, a Ferguson College agribusiness graduate student, said Clary saw potential in her before she found it in herself. During Skaja’s freshman year, Clary brought her to volunteer at Our Daily Bread and to lunch at Hideaway for the first time.
Clary also showed Skaja that her second home could be Stillwater, not only a college. She believes Clary’s guidance allowed her to be successful in Stillwater.
“Dr. Clary wants everybody to succeed,” Skaja said. “When you meet with her and leave her office, you feel
ready to take on the next challenge. As a mentor, she helps you plan the next steps to achieve your goals and she will connect you with the resources you need to be successful.”
Clary’s mentorship helped students, including Skaja, benefit. She is also known for providing support and leadership to staff, faculty and students throughout Ferguson College and far beyond OSU.
Ferguson College staff and administration surprised Clary and arranged for her husband, children and granddaughter to attend the ceremony when she received the prestigious award.
Clary said the most memorable part of her receiving the award was the surprise of her family at the ceremony. She said her family sacrificed a lot for her career and seeing them when she received the award with their pride of her and her accomplishments was meaningful.
news.ed@ocolly.com
Continued from page 1
The Leominster man then allegedly attacked one of the flight attendants using a broken metal
spoon, hitting the flight attendant on the neck three times. Passengers tackled Torres, and he was restrained with the assistance of flight crew. Torres was taken into custody upon the flight’s arrival to Boston. In later interviews, passengers reported that Torres had asked a fellow passenger about the safety card — and where it showed the location of the door handle during the flight attendants’ safety briefing
Courtesy of Tribune
prior to takeoff. Also, Torres was seen pacing in the galley before attacking the flight attendant. Following an initial appearance on Monday before a U.S. District Court magistrate, Torres was detained pending a hearing set for Thursday.
news.ed@ocolly.com
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.
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steps east of Boone Pickens Stadium
Linda Black Horoscopes
Today’s Birthday (03/07/23). Reap an abundant harvest this year. Grow by prioritizing regular routines for self-care. Adapt your research around winter challenges, before a lucrative springtime. Change research directions this summer, before your collaboration earns a valuable autumn prize. Diligently conserve and plant for the future.
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 — Nurture yourself, physically, mentally and spiritually. With Saturn entering Pisces for several years, prioritize meditation, imagination and planning. Discover your own inner strength.
Taurus (April 20-May 20) — Today is a 7 — Deepen connections of the heart. Bonds between friends strengthen over time. Saturn, planet of discipline and responsibility, enters empathetic Pisces for the next three years.
Gemini (May 21-June 20) — Today is an 8 — Can you work from home? Your professional status grows with discipline and practice, with Saturn in Pisces for several years. Energize practical, meaningful projects.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Today is a 7 — Build solid foundations. Learn voraciously over this three-year Saturn phase. Disciplined study and research reveals valuable discoveries. Dedication and persistence lead your investigation to fruition.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is an 8 — Financial discipline pays off, especially over time. Cut waste and excess. Practice moderation and caution. Avoid risky business. Stick with faithful, honest work for growth.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is an 8 — Set ego aside for productivity and partnership, with Saturn in Pisces for several years. Don’t indulge cynicism or anxiety. Support each other and grow together.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — Today is a 7 — Feed your spirit to grow. Faithful routines build skills and capacities, with Saturn in Pisces. Strengthen foundations. Achieve accomplishments and maturity. Practice makes perfect.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today is an 8 — The next three-year phase, with Saturn in Pisces, reveals pretense, illusions and hidden truths. Gravitate toward love, honor and integrity. Deepen trustworthy connections.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is a 7 — Apply disciplined efforts to thrive over the next phase, with Saturn in Pisces. Practice domestic routines that reduce anxiety, stress and messiness. Nurture yourself and family.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is an 8 — Quiet productivity is your superpower, with Saturn in Pisces for the next few years. Discipline with creative projects builds satisfying accomplishments. Practice for growth.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is a 7 — Saturn’s next three-year phase in sensitive Pisces reveals financial worries. Faithfully contribute to savings. Reduce materialism and consumerism. Simplify for greater ease and peace.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Today is a 9 — Discover personal limitations and strengths, with Saturn in your sign for several years. Self-discipline builds confidence and skills. Develop and grow with steady practice.
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