Tiger Style Takes Team Victory at the Soldier Salute

After a long three-week break from competition, Mizzou wrestling returned to the mat in Iowa City, Iowa, for the Soldier Salute. Of the 17 teams represented at the tournament, the Tigers claimed first place as a team with 166.5 points.

The Tigers had three individual titles, three runners-up titles, one third-place finisher and one fifth-place finisher.

All rankings are according to InterMat.

125

Three wrestlers competed at 125lbs for the Tigers: true freshman Hank Benter, redshirt senior Luqman Masud and redshirt freshman No. 28 Mack Mauger wrestling attached. Mauger won the tournament with a 4-0 record, claiming two upset victories in the process. Benter finished with a 1-2 record, and Masud went 0-2 after medically retiring in his first match.

Mauger received a first-round bye as the No. 3 seed in the bracket. He controlled his first bout against Ostin Blanchard (NDSU) to an 8-0 major decision win before defeating Bowen Downey by a 5-2 decision in the quarterfinals. Mauger defeated both the No. 2 and No. 1 seeds, respectively, on his way to the title, including a huge upset against No. 13 Kysen Terukina in the finals.

Benter won his first bout against Kody Tanimoto (NDSU) by a 7-0 decision, but lost in his final two bouts. Masud suffered an injury during his first match of the day, leaving him out of the remainder of the tournament.

133

Mizzou’s normal starter at 133lbs, Kade Moore, was out with an undisclosed injury. Sophomore Gage Walker wrestled attached and finished in second place with a 3-1 record in his first start of the season.

Walker took a decision victory to start the tournament and then claimed a big upset win over No. 22 Luke Willochell (WYM) by a 9-4 decision in the quarterfinals. He couldn’t get on the offensive in the championship bout, but posted a solid performance in a 4-2 decision loss to No. 17 Ethan Oakley.

141

It was a rough tournament for the Tigers’ four wrestlers at 141lbs. Redshirt junior No. 23 Zeke Seltzer wrestled attached while redshirt juniors Easton Hilton, Owen Uhls and redshirt freshman Jace Roller were unattached. Seltzer was the highest finisher at eighth with a 2-3 record. Hilton went 0-2, Uhls went 3-2 and Roller went 2-2.

Seltzer won his first bout by a 2-0 decision before suffering a demoralizing 5-4 decision loss to unattached wrestler Isaaiah Powe. He held a 4-2 lead until Powe earned a takedown with 17 seconds left in the third period. His first consolation matchup ended in a 4-1 decision win against Uhls before losing his final two bouts against lower seeds in the tournament.

The unattached wrestlers all lost their first-round matchups and entered the consolation bracket, except for Uhls. Hilton and Uhls met in the second round of consolations, where Uhls took a 5-2 decision victory. Despite being down in his second-round consolation bout, Roller took an impressive victory by fall after starting down 7-2.

149

Redshirt senior No. 15 Joshua Edmond wrestled attached, and true freshman Seth Mendoza wrestled unattached at 149lbs. The pairing proved to be the stars of the tournament for Mizzou as Edmond took first with a 5-0 record and Mendoza took second with a 3-1 record, only losing in the final to boost team points.

Edmond was nearly upset in his first-round matchup against Rhett Koenig (MINN), but had a takedown with 53 seconds remaining in the third period to take an 8-7 decision win. He took decision victories in his following two matches en route to the semifinals. His match against Patrick Jordon (VMI) proved to be his best performance as he took a 13-5 major decision win with three takedowns in the first period.

Mendoza dominated his first two matches, claiming tech fall victories in both. He claimed another tech fall in the semifinals against No. 30 Gabe Willochell (WYM) before forfeiting the championship match to Edmond.

157

Three wrestlers took to the mat for Mizzou at 157lbs: redshirt junior No. 21 J Conway attached, true freshman David Gleason and redshirt senior Teague Travis, making his first official appearance with the Tigers. This was another successful division as Travis claimed second with a 4-1 record, Conway finished in third with a 4-1 record and Gleason took seventh with a 4-2 record.

Conway started the day off hot with a tech fall victory and followed that up with a 12-7 decision win in the quarterfinals. He was constantly subdued by No. 12 Jordan Williams (IOWA) in an 8-2 decision loss in the semifinals before winning the consolation bracket.

The other two met in the quarterfinals after Gleason won his first two matches by a tech fall and an 8-1 decision, and Travis won his first two matches by tech falls. Travis won the teammate brawl in an 11-2 major decision, but suffered similar struggles to Conway against Williams in the final. Gleason took the worst placement among the three but had the flashiest outing with two victories by fall.

165

The 165lbs pool also featured three Mizzou wrestlers. Graduate No. 24 Max Mayfield wrestled attached, while redshirt senior Joel Mylin and true freshman Dominic Bambinelli wrestled unattached. Mayfield took second with a 3-1 record and only lost in the final by default. Bambinelli finished fifth with a 5-2 record and Mylin finished the tournament 1-2.

Mayfield handled business en route to the semifinals with two tech fall victories against top-15 seeds. He made it to the finals after a narrow 5-4 decision victory, with credit due to a fierce second period. An undisclosed injury kept Mayfield out of the finals.

It was two different tales in the consolation bracket for Mylin and Bambinelli. Mylin’s day ended after getting pinned in the fourth round of consolations, but the true freshman made it far after losing to No. 17 Bryce Hepner by a 9-0 major decision in the first round. Bambinelli won 4-of-5 matches in the consolation bracket, including two victories by fall and one by tech fall.

174

The Tigers didn’t have an attached wrestler at 174lbs with No. 11 Cam Steed still out due to injury, but true freshman Peyton Westpfahl and redshirt freshman Kolten Oborny competed unattached. Neither wrestler placed, and both finished with 1-2 records.

The highlight of Westpfahl’s tournament was a tech fall victory in the second round of consolations, but he didn’t win any other matches. Oborny pinned Ryan Dolezal (SDSU) in his first bout, but he also didn’t win any other matches after the fact.

184

Redshirt freshmen No. 2 Aeoden Sinclair and Logan Cole took to the mat at 184lbs and both finished in the top five. Sinclair cruised to a championship with a 4-0 record, and Cole took fifth place with a 4-2 record.

Mizzou’s best pound-for-pound wrestler continues to prove himself. Sinclair won all four of his bouts by tech falls, including one against No. 23 Jake Dailey (UNC) in the finals.

Cole looked like he was on his way to meeting Sinclair in the final with two victories by fall to start the tournament, but he was stonewalled against Dailey in the semifinals and lost by an 8-3 decision.

197

Per usual, redshirt senior No. 16 Evan Bates was Mizzou’s only wrestler at 197lbs. He claimed second place after going 3-1.

Bates won by fall against Toby Schoffstall (VMI) in the first round and decisively made it to the championship. His opponent was No. 5 Joey Novak (WYM), who proved to be too overwhelming for Bates as he was pinned in the third period with 21 seconds remaining.

285

The Tigers sent out redshirt sophomore No. 26 Jarrett Stoner, and true freshman Sampson Stillwell made his season debut. Stoner finished seventh with a 3-2 record as Stillwell exited the tournament on day one with a 0-2 record.

Stoner saw a tough first matchup against No. 16 Spencer Lanosga (NAVY) and lost by an 11-3 major decision. He bounced back with two straight major decision wins in the consolation bracket and took down Bennett Tabor (MINN) by a 4-1 overtime decision for seventh place.

Mizzou will look to carry this momentum and continue to get healthy as Big 12 play heats up with a trip to Tempe, Arizona, on Jan. 15 to face Arizona State.