Mizzou Wrestling Extends Win Streak to Three Against West Virginia

No. 19 Tiger Style picked up its third straight dual win with a 26-13 victory against No. 16 West Virginia, advancing to 11-7 and 4-2 in Big 12 play. That’s a very solid win after trailing through much of the lighter weight classes. Head coach Brian Smith has created a juggernaut of a stretch in his lineup from 174 lbs to 197 lbs, and that was evident against the Mountaineers.

All rankings are according to the NCAA.

125

No. 22 R-FR Mack Mauger defeated by No. 8 GR Jett Strickenberger via decision 4-1

The trend of tightly contested lightweight matches began straight away as Mauger and Strickenberger looked even until the latter made a successful crackdown move for the winning takedown. Mauger tried to put pressure on Strickenberger to strike back, but his defense was on point.

This was still one of the redshirt freshman’s better performances of the season. Despite not getting Strickenberger down to the mat, he showed a deep arsenal of shots.

133

No. 24 SO Gage Walker defeated by No. 19 Gunner Andrick via decision 4-2

Andrick was like a shark circling his prey for much of the bout, simply waiting for his time to strike. Neither wrestler took many meaningful attacks in the first two periods, and as Andrick increased his aggressiveness, he easily got the winning takedown with an underhook on Walker.

Mizzou’s sophomore starter showed some fight by controlling riding time in the second period, but none of his attack attempts landed. This match and Mauger’s were both ones that I identified as toss-ups, and they really could’ve gone either way with more successful shots.

141

R-JR Easton Hilton defeated by R-SR Jordan Titus via decision 4-2

This division continues to be open for the Tigers. Redshirt junior Zeke Seltzer, redshirt junior Owen uhls and Hilton have all seen starting time this season.

The match was scoreless through the first period, and Hilton took bottom position to begin the second. He escaped and went into an underhook that Titus turned into his own offense for the deciding takedown. Hilton put some nice attacks together in the final period, but once Titus got a hold of a leg, he ran out the clock.

149

FR Seth Mendoza over R-FR TJ Langley via tech fall 18-3

Mendoza deceptively took the tech victory after only carrying a 3-0 lead after one period. He made three takedowns in the second period, including one in the final 15 seconds. It was as if Mendoza was in a flow state from there. He made a reversal after starting on bottom in the third and then got to a double leg for the clinching takedown.

The freshman has the chance to make a Sinclair-esque redshirt freshman year breakout with the way he performs when given the opportunity. Mendoza has great balance and instincts that make him a big point getter.

157

No. 28 R-SR Teague Travis defeated by No. 4 R-SO Ty Watters via major decision 8-0

It was an offensive struggle for Travis as Watters smoothly guided the shutout. There was plenty of hand-fighting when the two were up off the mat, but Watters was successful whenever he went into attacks.

Travis has had some trouble making takedowns and earning points in general against ranked opponents. He’s got all the technique in the world, but injuries appear to have taken away some athleticism from his Oklahoma State days.

165

R-JR J Conway over R-FR Shawn Taylor via injury default

Mizzou was down 12-5 going into the top half of the lineup. It walked out, only trailing 11-13 after Taylor went into concussion protocol in the first period and had to take the injury default.

The stoppage came after Conway made a big takedown where Taylor’s head got slammed down on the mat.

174

No. 9 R-JR Cam Steed over No. 13 R-JR Brody Conley via fall

If a fan left to get concessions following Conway’s match, they might not have made it back in time to see Steed’s finish. It only took 24 seconds for the redshirt junior to get the pin on a tough wrestler in Conley. Steed caught the underhook and overpowered Conley onto his back without remorse.

Steed is having a season reminscent to his last, where he started slow and heated up as the postseason came around.

184

No. 3 R-FR Aeoden Sinclair over No. 20 R-JR Ian Bush via decision 2-1

In the closest match of the night, it was Sinclair’s control that gave him the win. He didn’t allow Bush an escape point in the second period after starting down, only gifting him a point for stalling. On the other hand, Sinclair earned his escape point in the third and had riding time to avoid overtime.

The redshirt freshman was aggressive per usual, but Bush’s defense was some of the best we’ve seen on him this season.

197

No. 9 R-SR Evan Bates over No. 14 R-FR Rune Lawrence via decision 7-4

Bates’ dominant first period allowed him to cruise to victory against a tough opponent in the later rounds. He made two takedowns, one coming at the beginning and one at the end of the first period.

Two points for Bates’ stalling were awarded to Lawrence, and his other two points came off escapes. The defense from Mizzou’s wrestler in this one was phenomenal, and his performance clinched the dual.

285

No. 29 R-SO Jarrett Stoner over FR Brock Kehler via decision 10-4

Much like in Bates’ match, Stoner had a big first period that he used to wrestle more defensively in the second and third rounds. He had two takedowns in the first period and one in the third, his final point coming from an escape off bottom position in the second period.

Kehler wrestled intensely after getting down early, but Stoner turned many of Kehler’s attack attempts into his own offense.

Mizzou will return to Hearnes Center for senior night as it takes on No. 18 Oklahoma on Feb. 12 at 6:30 p.m. for the final home dual of the season.