No. 3 Missouri wrestling stays undefeated against Big 12 contenders after its 25-16 win against No. 17 Northern Iowa. The dual is the team’s fourth win against a Big 12 Conference opponent in as many matches since rejoining the conference.
The dual is the first time the two programs faced off as conference foes since Northern Iowa joined the Big 12 before the 2017-2018 season. Viewers anticipated the four ranked matches of the night at 125 pounds, 165 pounds, 184 pounds and 285 pounds.
141-pound freshman Josh Edmond came onto the mat visibly upset — the Tigers trailed 13-0 before his matchup against Northern Iowa redshirt sophomore Colin Realbuto. Edmond started the match with a takedown, but lost points on his next takedown when the replay showed both wrestlers were off the mat. He came back to slam Realbuto into the mat to make up for those points. Realbuto continued to fake Edmond out, but took no accurate shots to take the lead. Edmond’s record advanced to 14-0 after his 7-4 win against Realbuto.
Another notable win from the dual was 165-pound freshman Keegan O’Toole’s win by pin against Northern Iowa redshirt sophomore Cayd Lara. O’Toole led 15-2 in the matchup prior to the pin. Lara held on throughout their matchup as O’Toole continued to score takedowns and work around him to get to his ankles. O’Toole kept scoring bonus points, as that was the only way the Tigers could start winning against the Panthers.
“It’s the goal of our team to score bonus points in matches and we want to put big points on board,” Missouri head coach Brian Smith said in a press release after their win against Air Force Nov. 19. “We’ll get bigger and bigger, and they’re going to continue to grow as we continue to score points like this.”
The Tigers still have work to do, as they received multiple stall calls throughout the dual, illegal moves during 174-pound redshirt sophomore Peyton Mocco’s match and the lightweights struggled to get wins during the dual. 125-pound redshirt freshman Noah Surtin, 133-pound freshman Trey Crawford and 141-pound redshirt junior Allan Hart started the Tigers off with three losses to put Missouri in an early hole.
The most notable loss was Crawford’s 10-0 loss to Northern Iowa redshirt sophomore Kyle Biscoglia. Typically Crawford uses his strength to help him in challenging matches as he digs in to try and get early leads. However, by the second period, Briscoglia kept his hold on Crawford and secured multiple takedowns. The two wrestlers received stall calls as their similar skill sets kept them from finding areas to attack.
While Hart lost 9-7 to Northern Iowa freshman Cael Happel, he showcased improvement over the past two weeks. Hart wrestled conservatively in his past two matches and avoided taking uncertain shots. However, throughout the match, he loosened up, got into a rhythm and attacked Happel any chance he could. Hart led 4-2 going into the second period, but quickly lost his lead as Happel earned two takedowns.
Missouri will travel to Niceville, Florida, for the Collegiate Wrestling Duals on Dec. 20-21. In pool play, the Tigers will wrestle Binghamton and No. 6 North Carolina State before they advance to a placement dual.
Edited by Mason Arneson | marneson@themaneater.com
