By DUSTIN ARMBRUSTER
Hays Post
In December 2015, the trajectory of Preston Weigel’s wrestling career at Oklahoma State seemed to be in question. In fact, Weigel questioned it himself for a brief time. Weigel though realized, “You can’t quit everything” and found himself on the other side of injuries his freshman year and staph infection his sophomore year one match away from becoming an All-American.
The three-time 5A state champion out of Hays High only lost four matches in the entirety of his high school years. During his junior and senior season, Weigel finished undefeated. A childhood dream was realized when Weigel signed his letter of intent with Oklahoma State to wrestling for a legendary Cowboy program.
Weigel battled through injuries is true freshman year of 2014-15 and wrestled just seven times. In that short span, he went 5-2 and won the Missouri Valley Open. The season, though, resulted in a redshirt tag that allowed the Russell native to still have four years of competition ahead of him.
For the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the 197-pound weight class was a spot in limbo the entire season. Eventually, Weigel earned his opportunity to crack the lineup and took advantage. Weigel locked up a OSU victory in the Bedlam Rivalry versus Oklahoma following his own victory and carried the momentum into the Big 12 tournament.
Preston Weigel
With a fifth-place seeding and 16-12 record, Weigel seemed like a long shot to be in the finals of the bracket let alone win the entire thing and qualify for nationals. Weigel won two matches the first day 9-0 and 6-2 qualifying for the finals. He then won the 197-pound championship with a 4-3 win, with the deciding point for Weigel coming on riding time at the end of the match.
The NCAA Division 1 Championships were held in none other than Madison Square Garden in New York City. Weigel fell in the first round 5-0 to the 3rd seed wrestler at 197 pounds. He had to win two more matches in the first day in order to qualify for day two. Weigel did so with a 18-1 technical fall victory and 4-0 shutout to cap the day. Day two saw Weigel keep his day alive with a 3-2 win but fall one match short of All-American status, losing by pin in his 5th match of the two days.
Through it all, Weigel said he is a better person and better wrestler because of all he has gone through. He has cut down on the time he spends hunting to focus even more on improving his wrestling skills. With three more years of eligibility remaining, Weigel sees himself not only pushing for an All-American finish at the national tournament but also a national title.
Photo Courtesy of OSU Communications