No. 17 Mizzou wrestling finished its two-match homestand with a 42-0 win against conference opponent Northern Colorado. This came on the heels of a 33-3 blowout loss against No. 5 Oklahoma State. The Tigers only made one combined takedown against the Cowboys, while every wrestler made a takedown against the Bears.
The inclement weather made it a sparse home match for Mizzou, but the faithful who made the trip to Hearnes Center witnessed head coach Brian Smith’s 350th career win.
All rankings are according to InterMat.
125
No. 24 R-FR Mack Mauger over SO Bryson Valdez via tech fall 19-4
Mauger was aggressive in his takedown pursuits after Smith was frustrated with the team’s takedown ability against Oklahoma State on Friday night. The redshirt freshman finished the bout with six takedowns.
Five of his takedowns came in the first period, four of which Valdez escaped from and the final takedown came just moments before the buzzer. Mauger clinched the tech by quickly escaping from down position in period two and overpowered Valdez for the takedown.
133
No. 26 SO Gage Walker over SR Kade Orr via major decision 11-1
The headlock was Walker’s go-to move against Orr, and it helped him claim 1:48 of riding time. His first takedown came off a good double-leg shot in the first period, but Orr escaped as the period closed with Walker up 3-1.
Orr received his second stalling penalty midway through the second period, awarding a point to Walker, but it was mainly hand-fighting to close the period. Walker finished business in the third period with an early single-leg takedown and a two-point near fall.
141
R-JR Zeke Seltzer over R-FR Ramon Salazar via decision 11-8
In Seltzer’s first match since Arizona State on Jan. 15, he showed good takedown power, but suffered some close calls against Salazar. Seltzer made a takedown in the first 20 seconds of period one, which Salazar escaped from and came back with a takedown of his own.
Salazar nearly caught Seltzer again on a single-leg takedown attempt, but Seltzer made a good scramble for the escape. He came back with a takedown to close the second period and got another takedown in the third period after a long single-leg hold.
149
No. 18 Joshua Edmond over R-SO KJ Evans via major decision 15-6
Edmond came out aggressively in the first period with a quick takedown that Evans ended up escaping from. Edmond’s strike-first mentality got the best of him as Evans made a takedown of his own in a scramble. After Edmond’s escape, he made a takedown simply by giving a two-hand push to Evans chest that forced him to the mat, where Edmond could get on top. He also got a four-point near fall out of the exchange.
The only point from period two was awarded to Evans, who escaped from bottom position, and a lot of hand-fighting ensued. It took Edmond nearly a minute to escape from bottom positioning in the third period, but once he did, he made a takedown to push his win to a major decision.
157
No. 15 R-SR Teague Travis over SO Daishun Powe via decision 9-2
There were multiple unsuccessful shot attempts and hand-fighting, leading to a scoreless first period. Travis escaped from bottom position in period two and proceeded to get Powe in a long single-leg hold, even dragging him back to the center of the mat as he was inching towards out of bounds.
He finally got Powe off balance on his one leg and made the takedown. Travis earned another takedown in the third period and was awarded a stalling point and a riding time point to close the match.
165
R-JR J Conway over FR Logan Gylnn via tech fall 19-4
Conway made three takedowns in the first period, the first two of which Gylnn escaped from and the final one went down to the buzzer. He added two more takedowns in the second period – the second came off a masterful stunt and a shoot to get on Glynne’s back.
Conway quickly escaped from bottom position in the third period and went into his tech clinching takedown.
174
No. 10 R-JR Cam Steed over R-JR Murphy Menke via decision 10-3
The first round ended scoreless after a lot of hand-fighting. Steed dominated riding time in the second period, slamming Menke to the mat on two separate occasions after he escaped. The score was tied at 1-1 going into the third because of a stalling point awarded to Steed.
Steed made the reversal off bottom position in the third period and was awarded another point for stalling. He finally got a takedown by faking a retreat to the edge of the mat and bursting to get around Menke. Two more stall points were awarded to Steed near the end of the bout.
184
No. 3 R-FR Aeoden Sinclair over SR Mahonri Rushton via tech fall 22-6
Sinclair made five first-period takedowns and earned a point for stalling to take a 16-4 lead. He swiftly made moves to get behind Rushton in the second period for two takedowns in 42 seconds to seal his tech win.
The redshirt freshman is now 17-1 on the season and looks like a true national contender.
197
No. 12 R-SR Evan Bates over SR Tyler Perry via tech fall 22-6
The 197lbs bout went similarly to the 184lbs bout as Bates made four first-period takedowns, showing good hand control on Perry’s legs. It took Bates 35 seconds to escape from bottom position in the second period, but once he did, he made a successful double leg takedown.
He tried to claim the tech in the second period by allowing Perry to escape and going into another shot, but it was unsuccessful. Perry escaped from bottom position in the third period, but Bates made a nice single-leg and double-leg takedown to seal the match.
285
No. 26 R-SO Jarrett Stoner over SR Enzo Cappabianca via tech fall 20-5
Possibly the most exciting bout of the day came in the final match between the heavyweights. It was a spectacle because all of the scoring was done in the third period. Neither side was taking many shots through the first two periods.
Stoner’s patience paid off in the third period as Cappabianca allowed him to escape so he could take a shot, but Stoner scrambled for a takedown. That led to more success as Stoner took three takedowns in near succession as Cappabianca was reckless and rattled. He made two more takedowns in the final minute as Cappabianca appeared to be out of stamina and let Stoner get behind him for the tech.
Mizzou will hit the road for its next Big 12 dual in Little Rock, Arkansas, against the Little Rock Trojans. The dual will start at 6 p.m. on Jan. 31 as the Tigers face their last unranked opponent of the regular season.
