Missouri wrestling team, ranked ninth in the country, fought hard after trailing early in the dual against undefeated No. 5 Iowa State, but it was not enough, leading the Tigers to a 17-16 loss, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022.
In the Tiger’s last dual of the regular season, they secured five wins but still failed to defeat the Cyclones. Iowa State’s securing of major decisions at 141 pounds and 157 pounds were enough to keep them in the lead through the end.
No. 17 redshirt freshman Noah Surtin, 125 pounds, secured a 7-1 victory over No. 15 Iowa State sophomore Kysen Terukina. With the match starting slow, with minimal movement from both wrestlers and many escapes, it seemed that Surtin would be scraping by with a victory. However, by the third period, Surtin had those in attendance at the Hearnes Center on their feet cheering as he secured takedown after takedown to ride out Terukina through the end of the match.
In a major decision, No. 1 freshman Keegan O’Toole, 165 pounds, finished his regular-season record undefeated, 17-0, after winning against No. 31 Iowa State redshirt junior Isaac Judge, 14-4. O’Toole got a takedown within thirty seconds of the match starting, and the Hearnes Center erupted. O’Toole then secured multiple takedowns in the following periods and received a stall call halfway through the match. The win was O’Toole’s 14th bonus-point victory of this season.
No. 19 redshirt sophomore Jeremiah Kent, 184 pounds, defeated No. 7 Iowa State redshirt senior Marcus Coleman, 10-7. Kent started the march with an explosive two-point takedown followed by a four-point near fall. Following his early lead, he kept Coleman at bay as they finished the second period 7-2. However, in the third period, Kent had to put in more effort as Coleman scored a two-point reversal and takedown. The win was Kent’s first ranked victory of the season.
Other notable wins included a victory from No. 11 redshirt sophomore Peyton Mocco, 174 pounds, over No. 18 Iowa State redshirt junior Joel Devine, 9-6. No. 15 redshirt sophomore Zach Elam, 285 pounds, defeated No. 23 Iowa State redshirt senior Sam Schuyler, 2-0, following a slow match with only two escapes.
The Tigers suffered five losses to the Cyclones, many of which ended with close scores.
Junior Connor Brown, 133 pounds, and No. 27 Iowa State redshirt sophomore Ramazan Attasauov went head to head until Attasauov was able to get a four-point near fall and pull ahead. Attasauov narrowly defeated Brown 8-6. No. 18 freshman Josh Edmond, 149 pounds, suffered an upset to No. 19 Iowa State redshirt senior Ian Parker, 9-7.
Missouri finished its season with an 11-4 record and an 8-2 Big 12 Conference record. The Tigers ended with several close duals, an injury from Mocco and struggles with stalemates all season. However, Missouri saw a lot of growth from their heavyweights, who started attacking and winning more towards the end of the season.
The Tigers will travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma for the Big 12 Wrestling Championships March 5-6. They will be wrestling to win the title and bring it back to Missouri after winning the championships in 2012, their last year in the conference, before heading to the Mid-American Conference. Edited by Riley Gearhart | rgearhart@themaneater.com