Another weekend, another four duals for your #5 Mizzou Tigers, this time out on the west coast. I will follow the same protocal as I did last week in reviewing the four duals, and will go weight class by weight class...for the 3 duals on Saturday. For the Oregon State dual from yesterday, I will take that on at the end since they started with 133 and it would be confusing mixed in with the others. So...get your read on...
125:
vs. Cal State-Fullerton - Troy Dolan started off the weekend for the Tigers in fine fashion as he gets more and more comfortable at the college level as he took a high-scoring win (won't be his last) 11-7. This would get the Tigers off to a nice 3-0 start and give Dolan a nice start to his weekend.
vs. Cal State - Bakersfield - Dolan's competition level would take a sizable step up against Bakersfield with #15 Brandon Zoeteway. Dolan would make it through the first period, but not much longer, as he was pinned early in the 2nd period (24 seconds into it to be exact). The pin would put the Tigers down 6-0 early.
vs. Cal Poly - And, Dolan would finish his Saturday in somewhat annoying fashion, taking the forfeit vicotry to give the Tigers an early 6-0 lead.
133:
vs. CSF - While MUTigers.com reported that the Tigers were taking the 10 starters as well as John Andrews (184), Brandon Wiest (149), Patrick Wright (157 and 165) and Luke Cherep at 133, I guess Schavrien did not make weight or was otherwise not able to go, as the sophomore Cherep would get the call all weekend. He would not have an easy draw to start, facing #17 TJ Dillashaw of Fullerton. He would tech'ed in this match (lose by tech fall) 19-0, giving Fullerton five points and a 5-3 lead at that juncture.
vs. CSB - With the Tigers already down 6-0, Mizzou looked for Cherep to stem the tide a bit. And while he improved on his first outing, it was not nearly enough and the sophomore fell in a major decision, losing 14-4. The four points for CSB gave them a pretty substantial 10-0 early lead.
vs. CP - Finally getting his feet under him, Cherep showed a great deal of improvement by his final match, and took a very close decision by the score of 5-4. With Dolan getting the early forfeit, this increased the lead for Mizzou out to 9-0 over Cal Poly and gave Cherep his first win of the weekend and season in a dual meet.
141:
vs. CSF - #17 Marcus Hoehn has been gathering confidence and momentum of late, and this weekend would only add to it. Starting off the weekend in fine fashion, Hoehn earned a tough 8-6 decision over his CSF opponent to put Mizzou back into the lead against the Titans by the score of 6-5. Mizzou would not relinquish this lead the rest of the dual.
vs. CSB - Another match, another win for Hoehn, though this time he was able to improve the size of his win and took it up to a 12-3 major decision to finally put the Tigers on the board against Bakersfield. Mizzou now trailed in the match 10-4 as Hoehn won his 12th match of the season against only 2 losses.
vs. CP - This was the match of the weekend for Hoehn, who would be facing his only ranked foe of the weekend in #20 Filip Novachkov. The match and decision was not real close in the end, as Hoehn earned another win with a 8-3 decision, giving the Tigers 3 more points and extending their lead on CP to 12-0.
149:
vs. CSF - Senior Andrew Sherry would get the nod all weekend at this weight after splitting some time with Brandon Weist who did also make the trip. With the match pretty close against CSF, Sherry stepped on the mat and did not give up a point on his way to an impressive 11-0 major decision. The four points would further extend the Tiger lead out to 10-5 and Mizzou would not look back.
vs. CSB - With Mizzou still behind in the team points, Sherry went right out and continued to do what he had done most of the season, which was to win some big matches. This time, a wild 10-7 win would give the Tiger a decision and the team three more points, bringing them to only being down 10-7.
vs. CP - Unfortunately, the perfect day would allude Sherry, as his bid for 3-0 was crushed by Eric Maldonado of CP. The Poly wrestler would take a 7-4 decision to give CP their first win of the afternoon, closing the score to 12-3 at that time. Still, a very solid afternoon from Sherry who is showing some solid senior leadership by earning his spot and taking advantage of his chances on the mat.
157:
vs. CSF - RS frosh Patrick Wright continues to impress, both with his ability to wrestle at 157 and 165, but in being able to win at both. Wright would start the weekend off for the Tigers at 157, and got right back to his winning ways, taking another impressive win by the score of 10-1. The major decision would continue to stretch the Tiger lead, now sitting at 14-5.
vs. CSB - #4 ranked Mike Chandler would make his debut for the weekend here, and interestingly it would be the only match he would wrestle at 157. A pretty surprising loss here, as Chandler never seemed to get going and lost 14-5 in a major decision. The loss would give CSB some life and stretch their lead back out to 14-7 headed towards the upper weights.
vs. CP - With Chandler falling in the previous match, Wright would head back out to the mat and faced a very tough challenge in #13 Chase Pami. Experience would win out here, though Wright looked pretty decent in only losing the match 3-1. This would be the 2nd loss in a row to Poly, and would make the team score 12-6.
165:
vs. CSF - #8 Nick Marable was looking to start another long winning streak and getting back to his lofty perch among the best at 165. This weekend would do the trick for him, as he got off to a nice start here by winning a 6-1 decision. With his impressive ability not to be taken down, the win gave the Tigers a 17-5 lead over Fullerton.
vs. CSB - Keeping the momentum going, Marable came back in his second match and once again showed his ability to take his opponent down, winning an 8-4 decision over Joey Granata. This was an important win for the Tigers who had seen Chandler be upset in the previous match. The three points for the decision got Mizzou back within a one-match score at 14-10.
vs. CP - Finishing off the Saturday Sweep, Marable did it in style by getting a major decision with a 13-5 win. Marable showed good improvement through the three matches, scoring more each time than the last. The bonus point win would break the 2-match losing streak and increased their lead back to double digits at 16-6.
174:
vs. CSF - Senior Raymond Jordan entered the roadtrip with 99 total wins, just one away from an impressive and lofty plateau. He would earn it immediately and in impressive fashion, as Jordan continues to show he is a force at his new weight class. Pinning his opponent at the 1:56 mark in the 1st period, Jordan got his 100th win (first to that mark since Matt Pell in 2007) of his career and 3rd pin of the season. Jordan is just the 11th Mizzou wrestler all time to achieve this lofty perch. Mizzou now led 23-5 and just about had CSF officially closed out.
vs. CSB - Another match, another fall for Jordan, still in the 1st period. This time, he had to work an extra minute, but the whistle and slap of the mat came at 2:50 in the 1st, and put the Tigers in the lead for the first time all match against Bakersfield by the score of 16-14.
vs. CP - Three matches, three pins for Jordan, you cannot ask for much more than that out of his spot. All three pins came within the first period, as he split the difference a bit here and completed the match right at the 2:00 mark. The pin would give the Tigers a 22-6 lead and put them in command of the match as it wound to it's close. An awesome Saturday for Jordan.
184:
vs. CSF - Though senior John Andrews made the trip, RS frosh Dorian Henderson got the call all day on Saturday, and looked very solid in doing so. He would start his morning by clinching the dual win in his 4-2 decision over a ranked #16 Tim Hawkins. With the score sitting at 26-5, CSF could not score enough in the last two matches and therefore had lost. For Henderson, it was only the start of a solid day.
vs. CSB - The day would continue to get better, as he won a big match here after the pin by Jordan. In being able to further stretch the lead thanks to his 8-3 decision, Mizzou now was ahead by 5 points at 19-14. If Henderson can solidify this spot in the match schedule, the Tigers only become more and more tough to defeat.
vs. CP - 3 matches and 2 dual-clinching wins for Henderson on the afternoon, this time thanks to his 9-4 win over Ryan Smith. With three wins on the day, if Henderson can keep it going in the practice room to earn this starting spot completely, we could maybe see him cracking some polls sooner rather than later.
197:
vs. CSF - There was not going to be much competition for the #4 ranked wrestler this weekend, but Max Askren still went out there and took care of his opponents in dominating style. He would start his afternoon with an easy 10-1 major decision, giving Mizzou another 4 points and stretching their win out to a 30-5 score.
vs. CSB - His one match against another ranked wrestler this weekend came against #11 sophomore Riley Orozco over Bakersfield. Showing the gap there may be between the #4 and #11 spots, Askren took apart Orozco on his way to an impressive 11-4 win, clinching the dual against a SALTY Bakersfield team which was receiving votes in the latest poll. Mizzou now was ahead 22-14 headed to the HWY match.
vs. CP - Askren decided to win all three matches in different ways this past weekend, and scored a tech fall for the Tigers in this spot, closing out a 19-2 win. The five points would put the Tigers over the 30 point mark for the team, as they were up 30-6 at this point.
HWY:
vs. CSF - Dom Bradley did not make the trip out west per the release, so it was going to be all #3 Mark Ellis all weekend. I don't think Ellis minded too much, as he started his weekend with a strong 9-0 major decision to close out the dual against Fullerton. The final win with bonus points gave the Tigers a pretty dominating 34-5 win.
vs. CSB - Probably the match of the weekend, as the #3 Ellis took on the #4 Mitch Monteiro. In reading about this match, it would appear Ellis was very strong in winning the match 2-1. This is a big win because it will give Ellis the nod of Monteiro later in the season when it comes time for the NCAA ranking. The final decision here gave Mizzou a pretty hard fought 25-14 win over Bakersfield.
vs. CP - Wanting to finish off the weekend in style, Ellis wasted very little time in closing out CP and the day for Mizzou, taking a pin late in the 1st period to give the Tigers 6 points and a final of 36-6 against Poly. This was the 9th pin on the season for Ellis, an impressive amount for the #3 wrestler in the country (and the Big XII amazingly enough).
Alright...3 matches, 3 wins for the Tigers on Saturday...how would they fare on Sunday after leaving CA and heading north to Corvalis, OR to take on the Beavers? This dual would start at 133, and I will mix in my thoughts for the weekend here.
133 - Todd Schavrien would not see action all weekend, so it was Luke Cherep starting things off for the Tigers. A 15-3 major decision against him would put Mizzou down 4-0 early and probably make our fans long for having Schavrien back in the starting lineup. Hopefully it was just a minor injury or reason which kept him out this past weekend.
141 - Marcus Hoehn had a perfect Saturday, and finished off his weekend in almost perfect fashion with a major decision win over Ryan Harold. The 12-3 win gave the Tigers back the four points lost in the first match and squared things on the afternoon. A great weekend for Hoehn who should have a ton of confidence right now and potentially a higher ranking come Tuesday.
149 - Tough draw here for Andrew Sherry, who had a pretty decent day on Saturday in going 2-1. However, facing #20 Heinrich Barnes of Oregon State (one of two ranked Beavers), the Tiger would get stuck early in the 1st (1:21) and give the Beavers a 10-4 lead. 2-2 on the weekend from Sherry is still solid at a weight where Ashtin Primus is no longer listed on the roster (though he was going to try at 141, he had wrestled at 149 last year in his RS year) and Max Shanaman has not yet made the jump like some of the other RS frosh on the sqaud.
157 - Speaking of RS frosh, Patrick Wright continues to impress, and drew the spot yesterday against his Beaver counterpart. A 7-2 decision would cut the Beaver lead in half and continue to show Mizzou fans that Wright has a great future at the 157 spot after the senior Chandler finishes his eligibility this season.
165 - An interesting call here by Coach Brian Smith, but one which appeared to work, as Michael Chandler would move up in weight and take the mat against a pretty solid Keegan Davis (solid in that I recognize his name at least). Chandler would defeat the bigger wrestler in a pretty wild and open 12-8 match. This was a nice way for Chandler to bounce back from the disappointing loss on Saturday to an unranked wrestler. to give him a 1-1 record on the weekend. Mizzou evened the match with Oregon State at 10-10 at this point.
174 -The weight class shifting continued, as Nick Marable followed the 8 pound jump by Chandler with a 9 pound jump of his own to 174. Marable was able to use his natural speed advantage in a scoring-fest of a 13-7 decision which gave the Tigers their first lead of the afternoon. Marable ended up perfect on the weekend at 4-0 and scored a lot of points which is a little out of the ordinary for him, but still a good sign. As for the Tigers, they took their first lead of the dual at 13-10 here thanks to the decision victory.
184 - Moving up and back to where he started his career, Raymond Jordan would take on the #8 wrestler at his old class in Kyle Bressler, and win in very impressive fashion. Scoring a 14-2 major victory with back points in both the first and the third, Jordan continued to show a new side we have not seen from him previously. The Tigers also were able to extend their lead out to 17-10 and now had a little cushion, showing the wrestle-up strategy had paid off. As for Jordan, the top of the 174 world has two big 10 wrestlers (one of which he could face at the Midlands and both he COULD face at the National Duals) but he is making a lot of noise currently in the division.
197 - The wrestle-up would end here (and the Tigers went 3-0 for it) and Max Askren would put the team back on the normal schedule (meaning Dorian Henderson would finish the weekend an impressive 3-0) and earn a workmanlike 7-3 decision over the Oregon State foe. The win further distanced the Tigers from the Beavers, and with only two matches to go gave them a 20-10 lead. Another perfect weekend for Max who will have every chance in the world to move up further since he is #4 currently in this class nationall, but just #3 via the conference. Wins over Varner of ISU and Brester of NU (both of whom he has defeated before) could give him a chance to get back the #1 spot he has held before.
HWY - Mark Ellis would get to finish off his perfect weekend with a strong 8-3 win over his opponent, clinching the 11th straight dual win for the Tigers in this season by making the score 23-10 with just 125 left to wrestle. Ellis (who is listed by some on-line sites as a senior, but is actually only a junior) seems to have really benefitted from his off-season at the Olympic Training Center and his increased weight up to 260. Ellis will likely be favored in just about every match for the rest of the season except against ISU and Okie State where he will look to finally get the best of Zabriskie and Rosholt.
125 - In what must have been a very strange role, where Troy Dolan is used to starting things off for the Tigers, he was left to bring them home. And he did just that, in what must have been the best match of the day. Dolan was down 9-8 with just seconds to go before Dolan (who had the riding time point wrapped up, so in essence was tied) rolled his opponent for two back points at the buzzer, giving him a fine 11-9 win, and the final three points of the dual to the winning Tigers (26-10). Dolan got off to a rough start to his season, but a 3-1 weekend has to give him some confidence heading into the VERY strong Midlands Tournament in a couple of weeks in Chicago.
So what does it all mean? - It means Mizzou went out and took care of business again this weekend, taking 32 of 40 matches on the weekend with 15 coming by way of bonus points. One thing which stuck out to me was that of the 8 Mizzou losses on the weekend, six of our eight losses also came via bonus points. When duals start getting closer, this is something we will not be able to afford as easily as we did here. However, 6 of our 10 wrestlers had perfect 4-0 weekends (including everyone from 165 on up) and you just have to be impressed with the production from Patrick Wright as well, even though he will not likely wrestle much come conference and tournament time. The Tigers are now 11-0, and while not really likely to move up the national ranks at all, they took care of business and got some great experience for people like Wright and Bradley.
The Tigers will travel next to Chicago for the SUPER competitive Midlands Tournament (hosted by Northwestern) on Dec. 29-30th. This is an individual tournament, which is the same format as the NCAA's. Right now, of teams receiving votes in the 12/9 Intermal poll, 15 will be sending wrestlers, so the action will be VERY good. The next dual meet action for the Tigers will take place at the National Duals in January against an opponent to be determined, and the next HOME action for Mizzou will be on Jan 18th (a Sunday) against Missouri Valley and UT-C.