Mizzou Wrestling Drops Heartbreaker Against Cyclones, 17-16

Mizzou split matches with #5 Iowa State, 5-5, but just missed out on enough bonus points to lose the dual. Iowa State had two major decisions compared to Mizzou’s lone major, and that was enough to clinch the dual for the Cyclones. Allan Hart was again not there as the starter, but he should, as mentioned previously, be back for the conference tournament. Mizzou finishes their first year back in the Big 12 at 11-4, going 8-2 against conference opponents.

Noah Surtin came out and got back in the win column with a huge six-point move in the last 20 seconds. In a tight 1-1 match, Surtin locked up a cradle and certainly appeared to have the cradle locked up for the pin, but the ref did not call it as time ran out. Connor Brown appears to be the starter at 133lbs now, and was in another crazy back and forth match against a ranked opponent. Brown never gave up a takedown, but two reversals and some back points were enough to give Iowa State the win. Ethan Turner wrestled in place of Hart again and wrestled aggressively against a top five opponent, but he was unable to avoid bonus points and was majored.

Josh Edmond had a chance to get a breakout conference win over a former All-American but came up just short. Edmond had some big moves, but couldn’t break through the lanky sixth-year senior’s defense late. Jarrett Jacques had the returning national champ and was able to keep it close early, but gave up a six point move with short time left to give up bonus points. Keegan O’Toole came out looking for bonus early, but his opponent had a gameplan to not give up points. While O’Toole broke it open in the third, he was unable to turn his opponent to get the finish.

At this point the score was 14-7 in favor of Iowa State, but Mizzou was favored in three of the next four matches. Peyton Mocco wrestled well, winning multiple scrambles and scoring takedowns to beat another ranked opponent this season. Jeremiah Kent scored the biggest win of his season as he beat his top ten opponent with a big move in the first period and was able to hold on for the decision win.

After a huge upset for Mizzou by Kent, Mizzou was only down 14-13 and favored in the last two matches. Rocky Elam was favored in this match and led 5-2 in the third period, but gave up two stall points and a takedown with short time to send the match into overtime. From there, Rocky’s opponent just had more energy and was able to get the match-winning takedown. This put Iowa State in the lead 17-13 and meant that Mizzou needed at least a major at heavyweight to tie or win. Zach Elam came out and was looking for a pin but had to settle for a 2-0 decision.

Mizzou didn’t wrestle poorly necessarily, but there were close opportunities for Mizzou to get the win. Surtin’s missed pin, Brown giving up nearfall in a scramble, Edmond not able to score a tying takedown, and Rocky’s big upset loss are all things the Tigers can look back on and find ways to flip the result next time. The losses at 141lbs and 149lbs were two freshmen against two sixth-year seniors. Missing Allan Hart doesn’t make this dual any easier, and Mizzou being so close in these types of matchups is a positive sign. Big 12’s are coming up in Tulsa on March 5th-6th, and this young team will have a lot to take from the past few weeks against top competition.

Iowa State 17 over Mizzou 16

• 125: Noah Surtin (MIZZ) over Kysen Terukina (ISU) (Dec 7-1)
• 133: Ramazan Attasauov (ISU) over Connor Brown (MIZZ) (Dec 9-7)
• 141: Ian Parker (ISU) over Ethan Turner (MIZZ) (MD 10-2)
• 149: Jarrett Degen (ISU) over Josh Edmond (MIZZ) (Dec 9-7)
• 157: David Carr (ISU) over Jarrett Jacques (MIZZ) (MD 14-2)
• 165: Keegan O`Toole (MIZZ) over Isaac Judge (ISU) (MD 14-4)
• 174: Peyton Mocco (MIZZ) over Joel Devine (ISU) (Dec 9-6)
• 184: Jeremiah Kent (MIZZ) over Marcus Coleman (ISU) (Dec 10-7)
• 197: Yonger Bastida (ISU) over Rocky Elam (MIZZ) (Dec 8-6)
• 285: Zach Elam (MIZZ) over Sam Schuyler (ISU) (Dec 2-0)