Keegan O’Toole Crowned Big 12 Wrestler of the Year
3/24/2022 12:00:00 PM | Wrestling
O’Toole won the NCAA Championship at 165 pounds
COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri wrestling freshman Keegan O'Toole was voted Big 12 Wrestler of the Year by conference coaches, the league office announced on Thursday. O'Toole is Missouri's first wrestler to win the conference honor*.
In Big 12 action, O'Toole finished the regular season a spotless 8-0. He picked up three more wins at the Big 12 Championships to win the 165-pound class and finish undefeated. Against conference opponents, O'Toole had a 73% bonus-percentage with eight bonus-point victories.
At the NCAA Championships, O'Toole became the only unbeaten wrestler in the conference and the only Big 12 wrestler to take home an individual national championship. The only freshman to compete in a finals, he ascended to the top of the podium following his win in a 6-5 match against Stanford's reigning champion Shane Griffith.
The five points O'Toole gave up against Griffith were the only points allowed throughout the entire tournament. He started the week with a 52-second pin, the third fastest of the tournament behind Mizzou teammates Zach Elam (32 seconds) and Jeremiah Kent (42 seconds). He followed up with three straight shutouts, beating Arizona State's Anthony Valencia 7-0, Ohio State's Carson Kharchla 2-0 and advancing to the finals with a 4-0 semifinal win over Michigan's Cam Amine.
Now a two-time All-American, O'Toole also won MAC Freshman of the Year in 2021 following his undefeated true freshman season and first individual conference title.
O'Toole also received the Hammer Award from Amateur Wrestling News for winning in the NCAA's most competitive weight class and was named USA Wrestling's Athlete of the Week on Tuesday. The Hartland, Wisconsin, native is also a finalist for the Dan Hodge Award following his national championship in the 165-pound class.
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*The award was established in 2016 after Missouri left the conference for the MAC.
