Missouri wrestling wraps up its regular season this weekend with away duals against Appalachian State on Friday and No. 3 North Carolina State on Sunday. With a win Friday, the Tigers would creep a step closer to securing a spot in the NWCA National duals.
Appalachian State is ranked No. 24 by InterMat wrestling, and they are having one of their best years as a team, so Mizzou can’t take the Mountaineers lightly. Here are three things that Missouri needs to do to emerge victorious:
Figure out the heavyweight situation: Freshman James Romero wrestles in the starting heavyweight spot for Missouri, with a record of 2-10 for this season. He will be taking the mat against No. 6 Denzel Dejournette. It is safe to say that Romero’s losing record stems from inexperience on the college wrestling mat, but if Missouri wants to knock off Dejournette and secure a win in the heavyweight division against NC State, Romero needs to win big.
Post wins in ranked match-ups: Starting at 125 pounds, No. 9 Barlow McGhee will be wrestling No. 33 Vito Pasone. McGhee needs to attack more and grab a win not only for the team but for himself as well. At 174 pounds, No. 6 Blaise Butler is wrestling No. 18 Nick Kee. With Butler’s quick feet and heavy hands, the match should be a decisive victory for him. As far as the other nonranked matchups go, the wrestlers should use this meet as a way to stay the aggressor and score as many points as possible.
Don’t get tired: Appalachian State is one meet out of the two this weekend. Although the bigger meet is set for Sunday, Missouri does not get any easy breaks. With a weekend full of traveling and without a home advantage, it will not be hard for the team to become tired on and off the mat.
As the dual meet season slowly comes to an end, championship season is right around the corner, and quick turnarounds for matches are exactly what the Missouri wrestlers will see when they enter the MAC tournament and the NCAA tournament. They should use this weekend in preparation for the many matches to come in March.
_Edited by Alec Lewis | alewis@themaneater.com_