Missouri wrestling, ranked third in the country, took home first place Nov. 12 in the Tiger Style Invite. Five teams traveled to Staley High School in Kansas City, including Cal Poly, Drexel Illinois, Little Rock and Maryland.
Missouri scored 187.5 points, five wrestlers taking home first place in their respective weight classes.
After taking last season off, redshirt junior Brock Mauller, weighing in at 149 pounds swept through his class, taking first over Cal Poly sixth-year Dom Demas. Mauller quickly found the openings of his opponents and attacked when he could, finishing the tournament with a 3-0 record.
Senior Jarrett Jacques, weighing in at 157 pounds, placed first over Maryland’s redshirt junior Michael North. Jacques won his second and third matches by technical fall after leading his opponents by 15 points each.
Reigning national champion sophomore Keegan O’Toole won the 165-pound bracket with a pin against Illinois redshirt junior Danny Braunagel. O’Toole’s previous wins of the day were by technical fall and fall.
Sophomore Colton Hawks took first place after competing against his teammate redshirt sophomore Sean Harman in the 184-pound match. Hawks defeated Harman in a 5-4 decision in the head-to-head matchup.
Redshirt junior Zach Elam, returning to his hometown high school for the invite, took home first at 285 pounds against Cal Poly redshirt freshman Trevor Tinker.
The invite showcased many of Missouri’s true freshmen on the team for the first time this year — five of them placing in the invite.
Freshman Zachry Seltzer, weighing in at 133 pounds, made his debut, placing third in his class following a win over Cal Poly graduate Ethan Rotondo in sudden victory. Despite not making third, he showed his ability to overtake opponents quickly.
Other notable placings were freshmen Clayton Whiting, who placed third at 184 pounds, Tommy Hagan at sixth at 197 pounds and James Conway, placing seventh at 165 pounds. At 285 pounds, redshirt freshman Steven Kolcheff placed fourth.
With none of the other teams being part of the Big 12 Wrestling Conference, the Tigers showed that regardless of the competition, they could strike quickly and defeat opponents — something that team looks to continue doing as the season progresses.
Edited by Matt Guzman | mguzman@themaneater.comCopy edited by Jacob Richey