MJ Gaitan finishes in third place at the Big 12 Wrestling Championships

Photo Courtesy of Jacqueline Cordova

Tulsa, Okla. – MJ Gaitan brought a shining spot for Iowa State on Sunday afternoon, finishing in third place at the Big 12 Wrestling Championships as the No. 7 seed after a gritty battle in the back of the bracket.

Gaitan started the day with a dramatic win by fall over No. 5 Cade DeVos (SDSU), bringing the Iowa State fan section to its feet. He trailed the match 9-0 but DeVos allowed Gaitan to lock in a headlock, leading him to win by fall in 6:32. Gaitan kept his momentum going, securing a third-place finish with a 6-4 win over No. 3 Gaven Sax (OU).

MJ Gaitan brings out that funky and wild style we love so much to turn the match in his favor and win by fall. He needed that. Iowa State needed that.

Gaitan will wrestle for third place. 😤 pic.twitter.com/hA5AYNXtYe

— Jacqueline (@JacquelineCord) March 9, 2025

Here is what Gaitan had to say after coming off the mat, “Starting off, I know I had a tough draw.” The California native began the tournament by facing two-time NCAA Champion Keegan O’Toole, a recognizable name as former Cyclone David Carr had a strong rivalry with him. “I’m the seventh seed, but I don’t ever let that number justify how I’m going to wrestle. I know I could beat all these guys. Yeah, O’Toole got me in the first round. That was a learning experience. Props to him, he’s really good. Wrestling back, I’ve always been on the backside, even my whole high school career. Wrestling back, it’s nothing new to me. Just reset, stay focused, and give glory to God.”

Iowa State currently sits in fourth place with 103.5 points. Now, all eyes are on Paniro Johnson. He’ll go up against No. 1 Colin Realbuto (UNI) in the 149-pound Big 12 final on Sunday night.

Final results for the Cyclones:

• 125: Kysen Terukina did not place.
• 133: Evan Frost finished in seventh place.
• 141: Jacob Frost finished in fourth place.
• 157: Cody Chittum finished in sixth place.
• 165: Aiden Riggins finished in fourth place.
• 184: Evan Bockman finished in sixth place (Medical forfeited his last two matches after getting injured in the semifinals.)
• 197: Nate Schon finished in sixth place.
• 285: Daniel Herrera finished in fifth place.

Team Standings:

1. Oklahoma State 149.5
2. Northern Iowa 137.5
3. South Dakota State 110.0
4. Iowa State 103.5
5. Oklahoma 72.5

MATCH-BY-MATCH RESULTS
125: No. 8 Kysen Terukina – DNP
First Round: L-D, 4-1 vs. Tristan Daugherty (NDSU)
Consis. Rd. 1: Bye
Consis. Rd. 2: L-D, 10-3 vs. No. 7 Trever Anderson (UNI)

133: No. 1 Evan Frost – 7^th Place
First Round: W-MD, 17-4 vs. Stockton O`Brien (WYO)
QF: L-MD, 20-6 vs. No. 8 Kade Moore (MIZ)
Consis. Rd. 2: W-MD, 14-3 vs. Julian Chlebove (ASU)
Consis. Rd. 3: L-D, 14-13 vs. No. 3 Julian Farber (UNI)
7^th-Place Match: W- MFF vs. No. 6 Cleveland Belton (OU)

 141: No. 3 Jacob Frost – 4^th Place
First Round: W-TF, 16-1 (5:21) vs. Daniel Miranda (ASU)
QF: W-D, 15-8 vs. No. 6 Josh Edmond (MIZ)
SF: L-MD vs. No. 2 Cael Happel (UNI)
Consis. Rd. 4: W-D, 12-5 vs. No. 8 Julian Tagg (SDSU)
3^rd-Place Match: L-D, 8-2 vs. No. 1 Andrew Alirez (UNCO)

149: No. 2 Paniro Johnson 
First Round: W-D, 2-1 vs. Avery Allen (SDSU)
QF: W-D, 6-5 SV-1 vs. No. 7 Logan Gioffre (MIZ)
SF: W-D, 7-3 vs. Teague Travis (OKST)
Finals: vs. No. 1 Colin Realbuto (UNI)

157: No. 1 Cody Chittum – 6^th Place
First Round: vs. Bryce Shelton (AF)
QF: W-MD, 9-0 vs. Caleb Dowling (WVU)
SF: L-MD, 12-4 vs. No. 4 Cobe Siebrecht (SDSU)
Consis. Rd. 4: L-D, 7-6 vs. No. 3 Ryder Downey (UNI)
5^th-Place Match: L-D, 4-3 vs. No. 5 Jared Hill (WYO)

165: No. 8 Aiden Riggins – 4^th Place
First Round: Bye
QF: L-D, 2-0 vs. No. 1 Terrell Barraclough (UVU)
Consis. Rd. 2: W-D, 10-7 vs. Cooper Voorhees (WYO)
Consis. Rd. 3: W-MD, 11-3 vs. Clayton Ulrey (UNCO)
Consis. Rd. 4: W-MFF vs. No. 6 Nicco Ruiz (ASU)
3^rd-Place Match: L-D, 1-0 vs. No. 1 Terrell Barraclough (UVU)

174: No. 7 MJ Gaitan – 3^rd Place
First Round: Bye
QF: L-TF, 15-0 (1:44) vs. No. 2 Keegan O`Toole (MIZ)
Consis. Rd. 2: W-D, 4-2 vs. Carter Schmidt (CBU)
Consis. Rd. 3: W-D, 15-9 vs. Aydin Rix-McElhinney (UNCO)
Consis. Rd. 4: WBF (6:32) vs. No. 5 Cade DeVos (SDSU)
3^rd-Place Match: W-D, 6-4 vs. No. 3 Gaven Sax (OU)

184: No. 4 Evan Bockman – 6^th Place
First Round: W-TF, 19-4 (6:33) vs. Gage Musser (AF)
QF: W-D, 4-1 SV-1 vs. No. 5 Deanthony Parker Jr. (OU)
SF: L-Inj. Def. (3:35) vs. No. 1 Parker Keckeisen (UNI)
Consis. Rd. 4: L-MFF vs. No. 6 Eddie Neitenbach (WYO)
5^th-Place Match: MFF vs. No. 5 Deanthony Parker Jr. (OU)

197: No. 6 Nate Schon– 6^th Place
First Round: WBF (2:26) vs. Jacob Meissner (ASU)
QF: L-D, 14-8 vs. No. 3 Wyatt Voelker (UNI)
Consis. Rd. 3: L-D. 6-4 vs. Jesse Cassatt (MIZ)
7^th-Place Match: W-D, 9-4 vs. Kael Bennie (UVU)

285: No. 6 Daniel Herrera – 5^th Place
First Round: WBF (4:36) vs. Andrew Blackburn-Forst (NDSU)
QF: WBF (5:37) vs. No. 3 Lance Runyon (UNI)
SF: L-D, 4-1 vs. No. 2 Cohlton Schultz (ASU)
Consis. Rd. 4: L-D, 5-3 vs. No. 8 Sam Mitchell (WYO)
5^th-Place Match: W-D, 5-3 vs. No. 5 Juan Mora (OU)

Jacqueline Cordova

View articles by Jacqueline Cordova administrator

Jacqueline graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications. She has been fortunate enough to have interned for Cyclone Fanatic for 2 and a half years before being promoted to stay on. She currently wears a lot of hats at Cyclone Fanatic: Social Media Director, Iowa State Wrestling beat reporter, and staff photographer. Jacqueline loves reading and watching trash reality TV shows when she's not watching sports. One of her favorite accomplishments is having interned for the Minnesota Vikings and during Super Bowl LII.

Follow @jacquelinecord