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Opening the Big 12 Tournament, the Tigers were represented in all ten weight classes. Starting at 125, we will work through each wrestler and how they fared on opening day of the Championship. (BRACKETS)
Day One Rounds Wrestled
Saturday, March 4
- Session 1: Preliminary & Quarterfinal Matches
- Session 2: Semifinal & Consolation Quarterfinal Matches
125lbs: Noah Surtin - Seed: 3
- Round 1: Win by FALL over Carlos Negrete Jr. (NDSU)
- Quarterfinals: Win by MAJOR DEC (13-2) over (6) Tanner Jordan (SDSU)
- Semifinals: Win by DEC (5-3) over (7) Joey Prata (OU)
- Finals: (3) Noah Surtin (MIZ) vs. (4) Stevo Poulin (UNC)
Noah Surtin opened his day with an interesting win by fall before moving into the quarters to take on his next opponent. Beginning the quarters, Surtin kept the train rolling by controlling the match before advancing into the semifinal round. With second seed Jore Volk (WYO) being upset in the quarters, Surtin looked across the mat at Joey Prata of Oklahoma for his semifinals contest. Leading the all time series 2-0, Surtin buckled and got the job done setting him up for a day 2 finals bout!
133lbs: Connor Brown - Seed: 5
- Round 1: Win by DEC (9-2) over Davin Rhoads (WVU)
- Quarterfinals: Win by DEC (6-4, SV-1) over (4) Cody Phippen (AF)
- Semifinals: Loss by MAJOR DEC (11-3) to (1) Daton Fix (OKST)
- Consolation Semifinals: (5) Connor Brown (MIZ) vs. Wyatt Henson (OU)
Brown opened his day with a slow start into the first portion of his bout before taking over and dominating into the quarterfinals after a first round victory. Moving into his quarters match, he put Tiger fans on the edge off their seats as he found himself on the winning end of an overtime bout moving into the semifinals bout! Faced with a difficult task, Connor Brown had the challenge of taking down one of the top wrestlers in the nation. Holding his own, Brown found himself falling and moving to the consolation semifinals moving into day two.
141lbs: Allan Hart - Seed: 6
- Round 1: Win by TECH FALL (16-0) over Christian Nunez (Cal-Bap)
- Quarterfinals: WIn by DEC (10-4) over (3) Cael Happel (UNI)
- Semifinals: Win by FALL over (2) Mosha Schwartz (OU)
- Finals: (6) Allan Hart (MIZ) vs. (1) Andrew Alirez (UNC)
The postseason heater has begun for one Allan Hart in the early portions of the Championship. After walking through his opening bout, Hart moved into the quarters with a tough contest ahead of him. Taking on UNI, Hart continued to push the tempo of his bout and stay on the attack earning him a trip to the semifinals bout. Stepping into the semifinals bout, Hart was looking to redeem himself from previous in-season loss to Schwartz and he did just that locking up a win by fall boosting him into the finals!
149lbs: Brock Mauller - Seed: 1
- Round 1: Win by DEC (8-2) over Chase Zollman (WYO)
- Quarterfinals: Win by DEC (3-1) over (8) Sam Hillegas (WVU)
- Semifinals: Win by DEC (7-1) over (5) Victor Voinovich (OKST)
- Finals: (1) Brock Mauller (MIZ) vs (2) Paniro Johnson (ISU)
Mauller opened his Championship with a steady dominant performance before moving into the quarters to take on Hillegas (WVU). Another steady slow tempo bout, Mauller was never in doubt of losing control as he punched his ticket to the semifinals bout. Taking on Voinovich for the second time this season, Mauller continued to keep him foot on the gas pedal and pushed his way into the finals!
157lbs: Jarrett Jacques - Seed: 3
- Round 1: Win by DEC (4-1) over Jack Ganos (AF)
- Quarterfinals: Loss by DEC (3-2, TB-2) to (6) Jacob Wright (WYO)
- Consolation Round 2: Win by DEC (5-1) over (5) Derek Holschlag (UNI)
- Consolation Quarterfinal: Loss by DEC (5-3) to (7) Jason Kraisser (ISU)
- 7th Place Match: (3) Jarrett Jacques (MIZ) vs. Jared Hill (OU)
Slow and steady, Jacques opened up with a controlling victory as he knocked off the early day rust before moving into the quarters. Stepping up for his next bout, Jacques spent a majority of the match circling on his feet before moving into overtime minutes where he fell just shy of moving to the semifinals. Looking to get back on track, Jarrett stepped into the consolation rounds and took care of business knocking off the five seed before eventually falling and moving into the 7th place bout.
165lbs: Keegan O’Toole - Seed: 2
- Round 1: Win by FALL over Frank Almager (Cal-Bap)
- Quarterfinals: Win by MAJOR DEC (12-2) over (7) Tanner Cook (SDSU)
- Semifinals: Win by DEC (8-3) over (3) Michael Caliendo (NDSU)
- Finals: (2) Keegan O’Toole vs. (1) David Carr (ISU)
Mizzou’s Keegan O’Toole made easy work of his first match of the day collecting eight total take downs but it didn’t come without a couple scares. Moving into his quarter bout, O’Toole continued his war path to redemption picking up another victory sending him into to semifinals bout. O’Toole maintained his run into a finals contest against David Carr of Iowa State.
174lbs: Peyton Mocco - Seed: 1
- Round 1: Win by MAJOR DEC (14-4) over Julien Broderson (ISU)
- Quarterfinals: Win by FALL over (8) Scott Joll (WVU)
- Semifinals: Win by DEC (6-5) over (5) Tate Picklo (OU)
- Finals: (1) Peyton Mocco (MIZ) vs. (2) Dustin Plott (OKST)
Another opening round victory by Peyton Mocco for the Tigers as they cruised into the 184 weight class to open the Championship. Mocco then moved into the quarterfinals bout looking for a trip to the semis and that is exactly what he got after sealing the bout with a momentum building pin! Taking on Tate Picklo of Oklahoma, Mocco made it a close contest coming down to the final period of the match but held on to move into the finals match!
184lbs: Colton Hawks - Seed: 4
- Round 1: Win by FALL over Peter Acciardi (Cal-Bap)
- Quarterfinals: Win by DEC (3-1) over (5) Deanthony Parker, Jr. (NDSU)
- Semifinals: Loss by DEC (7-5) to (1) Parker Keckheisen (UNI)
- Consolation Semifinals: (4) Colton Hawks (MIZ) vs. Noah Blake (AF)
Colton Hawks continues to show why he is in the starting role once again after opening the Big 12s with a first period fall followed by a quarterfinals decision before heading into the semifinals bout to take on a top ranked Parker Keckheisen. With a big challenge at hand, Hawk gave Keckheisen all he could handle eventually falling short by just two points.
197lbs: Rocky Elam - Seed: 2
- Round 1: Open/Bye
- Quarterfinals: Win by FALL over Xavier Vasquez (UNC)
- Semifinals: Win by DEC (6-0) over (3) Yonger Bastida (ISU)
- Finals: (2) Rocky Elam (MIZ) vs. (1) Tanner Sloan (SDSU)
With an opening round bye, Elam saw his first action in the quarterfinals bout where he dominated the bout taking in his first victory of the Championship before moving into the semifinals contest. Taking on Yonger Bastida for the sixth time in his career, Rocky took the lead and never looked back. Picking up victory number two on the day, Elam moved into the finals bout after falling short last season.
285lbs: Zach Elam - Seed: 3
- Round 1: Open/Bye
- Quarterfinals: Win by DEC (10-3) over (6) Josh Heindselman (OU)
- Semifinals: Loss by DEC (3-2) to (2) Sam Schuyler (ISU)
- Consolation Semifinals: (3) Zach Elam (MIZ) vs. (8) Konner Doucet (OKST)
Rounding out the first round, Zach Elam, like his brother Rocky, was one of two wrestlers for the Tiger to sit until the quarterfinals round. Walking into his first bout of the early session, Zach took control of the match and never looked back taking a victory and advancement into the semifinals bout. Taking on the second seed out of Iowa State, Zach fell one point shy of a trip to the finals, sending him to the consolation side of the bracket.
The Mizzou Wrestling squad began the opening round of the Big 12 Championship with a solid 8-0 record advancing all wrestlers into the quarterfinal bouts. Tagging along those eight victories, they were responsible for five bonus wins. Starting into the quarters, Mizzou was the higher seeded wrestler in eight of the ten contests. They finished the early session advancing 9 of their 10 wrestlers into the afternoon bouts.
Starting into Session #2, We opened with nine guys looking to put themselves into the finals. With Jarrett Jacques being the one Tiger failing to reach the semifinals contest, the remainder of the Mizzou squad sat in as cheerleaders until the late night semis round commenced. The Tigers opened the semifinals round with nine competitors and left with six looking for a gold medal finish. All other wrestlers remain in the tournament looking for a podium finish.
Rounding out the day the team scores currently set as follows:
- Missouri: 135.0
- Iowa St.: 112.0
- OK State: 102.5
- Oklahoma: 78.0
- S. Dakota State: 69.5
- N. Dakota State: 67.5
- Air Force: 57.5
- N. Iowa: 57.0
- N. Colorado: 42.0
- W. Virginia: 31.5
- Wyoming: 30.0
- Utah Valley: 26.0
- Cal Baptist: 1.0
Sunday, March 5 (ESPN+)
- Session 3: Consolation Semifinals and Seventh Place Matches — 12:00 p.m. CT
- Session 4: Finals — 7:00 p.m. CT
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