KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Redshirt junior Lelund Weatherspoon was on top of Oklahoma State’s Chandler Rogers at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., and looked at the clock. 

It counted down: Five, four, three, two, one and double zeros.

A sense of excitement and relief came upon Weatherspoon, as he knew he was the 2016 Big 12 champion for the 174-pound weight class. 

“The first thing was that I did it again,” Weatherspoon said. “But I’m just happy to have this opportunity to be a two-time Big 12 champion.”

That feeling you get when you claim your second #Big12WR title! pic.twitter.com/UpqzgHQ6Db

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) March 6, 2016

Weatherspoon was a Big 12 champion in 2014 in the 184-pound weight class. This time, he defended his crown at 174 pounds two seasons later. 

Coming into the season, Weatherspoon was the runner-up in the 2015 Big 12 Championships for the 174-pound class. He wanted to prove that he has the ability to hold that Big 12 title once again. 

Weatherspoon has had an up-and-down season with a rough beginning that led to a consistent effort at the beginning of January. In the first half of the season, he had losses against Virginia Tech and Iowa and did not make the podium at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. 

Weatherspoon turned it around in 2016 with a 4-2 record at the Midlands Championship followed by wins against Virginia Tech, Arizona State, Central Michigan, Northern Iowa and West Virginia. 

“That’s what it’s all about,” said ISU coach Kevin Jackson. “It’s about wrestling better at this time of year, then it is at the beginning of the year.”

Weatherspoon was listed once on the top-20 wrestlers for his weight class, according to Intermat, this season and became a wrestler who disappeared from the Big 12 talk. As for this disappearance, Weatherspoon has three words. 

“I don’t care,” hesaid. “All I know is that it counts at the Big 12 Championships, and that’s where I truly step up to my potential.”

@DaDirtySpoon is your 2016 Big 12 Champ! #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/d0CcT3FzWy

— Travis Paulson (@TP2USA) March 6, 2016

As a champion before this year, Weatherspoon knew what it took to reach the top of the podium. This was his first time wrestling Rogers in his career, but Weatherspoon did his scouting throughout the weekend. 

Rogers liked to use the upper-body move more frequently than what Weatherspoon is used to doing in a match. Weatherspoon proved that his upper-body move was stronger than Rogers as he had three takedowns with that particular move in the championship match. 

“I knew he liked upper body,” Weatherspoon said. “I was like I don’t really care, let’s throw.”

As Weatherspoon was walking down the tunnel into the backstage area, Jackson congratulated him on his two-time championship but had some feedback on his match.

Weatherspoon laughed because he just won the Big 12 Championship and Jackson was still coaching.

Weatherspoon said he goes by the saying that you celebrate for 24 hours and then move on to the next task. He’ll celebrate this win until Monday night, but starting Tuesday, it’s back to the weight room in working toward the NCAA Championships. 

He said he is honored to be a two-time Big 12 champion, but he also knows the importance of being an NCAA champion. It’s the goal and the dream for any wrestler, and Weatherspoon hopes this dream can come true this season at Madison Square Garden in New York City. 

“Just keep working hard and listening to my coaches,” Weatherspoon said. “Just perfect my weaknesses and just keep pushing hard until that final day at the NCAA Tournament.”