Sunday’s home meet was a chance at redemption for junior Mike Larson and the Missouri wrestling team.
Following his overtime loss in Saturday’s dual against No. 1 Oklahoma State, a match he was supposed to win, Larson ripped off his headgear and screamed in frustration.
Missouri went on to lose to the top-ranked team in the country 22-12, and the bad taste of missed opportunities continued to linger after the match.
“You have a chance to knock off a No. 1 team and we just didn’t make the most of those opportunities, so it’s frustrating,” coach Brian Smith said. “(Larson’s) got to get better. You can’t let a guy take shots in overtime. We have to start winning those battles.”
On Sunday, Larson once again tore off his headgear and filled the Hearnes Center with a howl. But this time he was joined by 1,803 fans and a bench full of Tiger wrestlers in celebration of a last-second pin that was instrumental in Missouri’s 25-12 victory over No. 10 Oklahoma.
He won the battle, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the 184-pounder.
“I haven’t been performing on the mat like I know I should and (assistant) coach (Matt) Pell knows I should,” Larson said. “After my loss yesterday I was really down and upset. I was just frustrated because my stuff wasn’t working. Coach Pell told me, ‘Remember this feeling. You don’t let this happen again.’ So today I just came out here and let it all loose.”
The pin also came at a crucial time for the Tigers, who were leading 13-12. Larson’s bonus point victory extended the lead to 19-12, energizing the bench along with the crowd and sending coach Smith flying into the air with excitement.
“That was an important pin, and I like pins,” Smith said. “It’s like a home run in baseball. That’s the most exciting thing in wrestling.”
That atmosphere is new to Larson, who transferred to Missouri before his sophomore season from California State-Bakersfield, where he never wrestled in front of a crowd.
“It was awesome to have the crowd behind me.” Larson said. “I came in from a small school in California where we never really had big crowds, nothing like this. I just really appreciate all of the people that come out and support us.”
That support helped Missouri avoid a season sweep at the hands of Oklahoma and improve to 3-2 in the Big 12 Conference, which was particularly important after a demoralizing loss to Oklahoma State.
“This just shows our resilience,” senior Dorian Henderson said after earning a bonus-point victory on Senior Day on Sunday. “Coach wanted us to come out harder and show that we’re better than we competed yesterday. That loss put more fire in us for today.”
Still, the Tigers haven’t received much national attention after some losses early in the season.
“We’re a good team,” redshirt freshman heavyweight Devin Mellon said. “We don’t get a lot of respect because we’ve lost to some teams that we shouldn’t have. We’re going to shock a lot of people towards the end of the season.”
The Tigers have certainly shown resilience before, and they hope to parlay that into a successful showing at the first National Duals next weekend in New Jersey.
“We needed to get this win,” Smith said. “We only have one senior in the lineup, so it builds a lot of confidence in this group. I really believe they know they’re a great team.”