Tournament season began for No. 15-ranked Tiger Style at the Hearnes Center. Mizzou welcomed Little Rock, Purdue, Oklahoma and South Dakota State for the Tiger Style Invite. The win streak was kept alive as the host team won the invite for the fourth straight year, this time with a final score of 146.5 points.o
All rankings are according to InterMat.
125
The Tigers had two wrestlers competing in the 125lbs division, No. 31 redshirt freshman Mack Mauger and true freshman Hank Benter. Mauger was wrestling
attached while Benter was unattached in his first collegiate wrestling experience.
Steady play from Mauger carried him into the championship bout against No. 29 Brady Roark (SDSU). Mauger held a 5-1 lead going into the third period of his finals match, but Roark went on a takedown spree to claim a 7-5 win by decision. The Tigers starter at 125lbs ended the day 3-1 and claimed the runners up title.
“Had some good battles, lost some tough ones, the loss at 125 is going to sting for everybody,” Head coach Brian Smith said. “He really controlled, but let go at the end.”
Benter made a slight comeback in his first bout, but ultimately lost by a 10-6 decision. Benter’s day ended with a thrilling 13-10 decision loss in overtime to Jeremiah Reno (LR), pushing his personal tournament record to 0-2.
133
No. 25 redshirt junior Kade Moore and true freshman Boogie Harris were on deck at 133lbs. Moore was the attached wrestler, looking to capitalize on his fall and tech fall wins at the Missouri Duals, while Harris was wrestling unattached.
The Tigers met each other in the consolation bracket after they both lost their first matches of the day. Moore was upset by Purdue’s Isaiah Schaefer in a 12-3 major decision loss. Harris lost to Blake Boarman (PUR), but competed hard in a close 4-1 decision. When they faced each other, Moore took a 2-0 decision win.
Moore finished the day taking third place in the division after taking down Boarman by fall. It was one of the biggest positives of the day to see Moore bounceback after getting knocked out of the main bracket early.
141
There were only seven wrestlers in the pool at 141lbs – Little Rock didn’t have any wrestlers in the class – and Mizzou fielded three of the competitors. Three redshirt juniors wrestled: Zeke Seltzer attached, Easton Hilton and Owen Uhls unattached.
Seltzer took his first round matchup by a 13-6 decision, but it was two overtime contests to finish the day. In the semifinals, Seltzer faced Tyler Wells (OU), and he eventually took the 6-5 decision win to advance to the final. Greysen Clark (PUR) was his final opponent and it took extra time for either wrestler to get a takedown. It was Seltzer’s raw power that got him the 4-1 decision win, his first title at 141lbs.
“Really proud of Zeke Seltzer (for) finding ways to win,” Smith said. “Just wrestling really well right now.”
The unattached wrestlers had polar opposite days. Hilton finished the day fourth after beating the lone ranked wrestler in the pool, No. 23 Alex Braun (OU), by a 13-0 major decision. Uhls day ended after two matches, with a loss by a decision and a loss by fall.
149
The Tigers sent out two competitors at 149lbs. No. 6 redshirt senior Josh Edmond was wrestling attached while fellow redshirt senior Nate Pulliam wrestled unattached.
Mizzou’s top ranked pound for pound wrestler won the Tiger Style Invite last season at 141lbs, and he did the same this season at 149lbs. It wasn’t until the final where Edmond was really tested. He faced Cole Solomey (PUR) and each side was going for a takedown late, but both were stonewalled, giving Edmond the 2-1 decision win.
Pulliam received a first-round bye and saw Hunter Hollingsworth (OU) in the second round. The bout was cut short as Hollingsworth was disqualified for an illegal hold, giving Pulliam the win, but he also had to medically retire from the rest of the day due to an injury.
157
No. 22 redshirt junior J Conway and true freshman David Gleason represented Mizzou at 157lbs. Conway came in as the attached wrestler with a 3-0 duals record and Gleason, a Kansas City native, got some experience against multiple ranked opponents.
Conway didn’t wrestle until the second round where he faced Landyn Sommer (OU). He controlled the tempo of the match en route to a 6-1 decision win. Next match proved to be more difficult for Conway, going up against No. 14 Cael Swensen (SDSU). The bout went into overtime where Swensen won with a takedown to take the match by a 4-1 decision. Conway medically forfeited the remainder of his matches.
In the first round, Gleason faced No. 28 Stoney Buell (PUR). He managed two takedowns on a very aggressive Buell, but ultimately fell by a 15-10 decision. Gleason proceeded to the consolation bracket where he defeated Sommer with an 8-5 decision before losing by fall to Isaac Ruble (PUR).
165
The 165lbs division featured the Tigers heavily with four competitors. No. 13 graduate Max Mayfield was the attached wrestler, while true freshmen Dominic Bambinelli and Danny Heiser, along with redshirt senior Joel Mylin, wrestled unattached.
Mayfield had a dominant day en route to his first title repping black and gold. He took his first two matches by 8-2 decisions. Mayfield faced Marcus Espinoza-Owens (SDSU) in the final and increased his offense to match the explosiveness his opponent presented. The final tally was a 10-7 win by decision.
The “others” for Mizzou all produced good outings as well, all three walked away with wins. Bambinelli went 2-2, finishing sixth, Mylin went 3-2, finishing fifth and Heiser went 3-1, finishing third.
174
Mizzou sent out three wrestlers in the eight-man pool at 174lbs. No. 8 redshirt junior Cam Steed made his first appearance of the season, wrestling attached. Redshirt junior Jake Stoffel and true freshman Peyton Westpfahl also made their season debuts, wrestling unattached.
It looked like Steed had some rust he needed to knock off after not competing at the Missouri Duals. He went 2-2 on the day, finishing fourth overall. Steed came out strong, beating Ryan Dolezal by tech fall 21-6. He was shocked by Carter Schubert (OU) in round two, losing by a 6-5 decision.
Stoffel and Westpfahl met in the fifth place bout – the true freshman took the match in overtime on a 4-1 decision.
184
Two redshirt freshmen competed at 184lbs for the Tigers. No. 8 Aeoden Sinclair was the attached wrestler, while Logan Cole was unattached.
Sinclair went undefeated in his three matches, claiming his first collegiate title after Brian Soldano (OU) medically forfeited ahead of the final. He totaled two falls and one tech fall in the tournament, starring yet again.
Cole went 2-2 and finished fourth in the division. His best performance of the day was his first bout in the consolation bracket against Anders Thompson (OU) by a 13-3 major decision.
197
No. 12 redshirt senior Evan Bates was the only Mizzou wrestler in the 197lbs division. He took three wins by tech fall at the Missouri Duals, but the competition in this tournament was considerably better.
Bates took third at 197lbs, losing his initial match of the day before bouncing back. His lone loss came against Anthony Harris (OU) in the first round, who he actually got revenge on in the third place bout.
285
Much like the 197lbs pool, the Tigers only had one competitor in the heavyweight class. The spotlight was on No. 24 redshirt sophomore Jarrett Stoner.
Stoner finished the day 2-1, only losing in the final against No. 26 Juan Mora (OU). He began the day with a 19-3 tech fall win, but was clearly overwhelmed in the title match, suffereing an 11-5 defeat by decision.
The level of competition doesn’t get any easier for the Tigers as their next test will be in Tulsa, OK, taking on multiple ranked foes at the National Duals Invitational on Nov. 15.
