This is an interesting time in the season for No. 19 Mizzou wrestling. The last three duals were all blowouts, two in favor of the Tigers and one as the victim against No. 5 Oklahoma State. There are three more duals left in the regular season, all against high-quality Big 12 opponents.
Mizzou is coming off a 33-9 win at Little Rock, where there were five individual wins by either tech fall or fall. Tiger Style now boasts a 10-7 dual record this season, 3-2 in conference play.
In the latest NCAA rankings, the Tigers were ranked as the sixth-best team in the Big 12 and had a wrestler ranked in every weight class. No. 3 redshirt freshman Aeoden Sinclair (184lbs) leads the way as Mizzou’s best pound-for-pound wrestler, but redshirt junior Cam Steed (174lbs) and redshirt senior Evan Bates (197lbs) are also in the top 10 for their respective divisions.
The next test comes on the road against No. 18 West Virginia on Friday at 6 p.m. The Mountaineers just jumped the Tigers in the rankings, so this will be a good chance to regain some respect before the conference tournament.
All rankings are according to the NCAA.
West Virginia Overview
Under head coach Tim Flynn, the Mountaineers hold a 51-54 record and are coming off one of the most successful seasons under his guidance. They’re coming off a 10-7 season where they went 4-6 in Big 12 duals. They took sixth place at the conference championships and 18th place at Nationals.
In the current campaign, West Virginia is on pace for an even better performance with a 9-3 record, 4-1 in conference duals. The Mountaineers are also 2-1 in their last three duals, but the combined point margin between them was only 8 points.
Against the teams that Mizzou has also wrestled against, West Virginia posted similar results. They lost 34-3 against Oklahoma State on Dec. 14 and beat Arizona State 20-19 on Jan. 9. The Tigers lost 33-3 to the Cowboys and won 22-17 against the Sun Devils.
Shifting to the Mountaineers’ roster, they only have six ranked wrestlers and two ranked in the top 10 of their divisions. Their main issue this season has been a weak strength of schedule and a lingering knee injury to No. 13 redshirt junior Brody Conley (174lbs). The only team ranked in the top 10 that West Virginia has played this season was Oklahoma State, and that’s compared to the Tigers’ five top 10 matchups so far this season.
The Mountaineers’ top wrestlers likely to compete against Mizzou are No. 4 redshirt sophomore Ty Watters (157lbs), No. 8 graduate student Jett Strickenberger (125lbs) and No. 14 redshirt freshman Rune Lawrence (197lbs). The rosters between both programs are fairly comparable, and it should make for a tightly contested match in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Key Matches
Starting with injury updates, the Tigers’ 165 lbs starter, graduate student Maxx Mayfield, will likely not wrestle against West Virginia, meaning redshirt junior J Conway will fill in again. Redshirt senior Evan Bates should be back in the lineup at 197lbs based on head coach Brian Smith saying he only didn’t wrestle against Little Rock for general recovery reasons. Outside of Conley being sidelined at 174lbs, the Mountaineers should have their usual starters.
With that said, let’s jump into some of the toss-up bouts that could decide this dual’s outcome.
133lbs: No. 24 SO Gage Walker vs No. 19 FR Gunner Andrick
In the lightweight match between promising underclassmen, Walker has a chance to pick up the best win of his collegiate career. He is 9-3 since taking over the starting role for the injured Kade Moore, compared to Andrick’s 14-6 record this season.
Walker’s only loss in his last three matches was a tech fall against No. 14 Jax Forrest (OKST), and Andrick has appeared to be vulnerable despite winning his last three matches. He took his previous three bouts by decision, two of which were against unranked opponents.
197lbs: No. 9 R-SR Evan Bates vs No. 14 R-FR Rune Lawrence
Even with the experience and ranking advantage, Bates will have his work cut out for him against Lawrence, who is wrestling his best at this point in the season. Bates is 17-5, and Lawrence is 14-7 this season. The former lost to No. 7 Cody Merrill (OKST) by a 4-0 decision in his most recent ranked matchup, while Lawrence upset No. 11 DJ Parker (OU) by fall on Jan. 18.
Bates has had time to recover for this important match that will hold weight for the conference tournament. He’s struggled against upper-echelon competition this season, and this is a prime opportunity to pick up a marquee win.
125lbs: No. 22 R-FR Mack Mauger vs No. 8 GR Jett Strickenberger
The final swing match features Mauger at a major experience and ranking disadvantage. Strickenberger boasts a 13-3 record and is perfect in his last three duals compared to Mauger’s 17-9 record. In his last three matches, Mauger only lost to No. 7 Troy Spratley (OKST) by major decision, but has struggled in general against top 10 opponents this season.
This has the potential to go either way because of the wrestler’s conflicting styles. Mauger is aggressive on offense and tries to get his opponents off their feet for takedowns, while Strickenberger keeps a low center of gravity that makes his defense formidable.
The Tigers are normally strongest from the 157lbs to 197lbs group, but with the way these lineups shake out, the lighter weights could be the reason they pick up the win.
Mizzou hasn’t lost to West Virginia in program history, and with this being one of the last three duals of the regular season, every bout will count.
