In an early season dual for Missouri wrestling, the Tigers headed to the desert to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils in a top-10 matchup. After an evening of back-and-forth wrestling, the Tigers were narrowly defeated 19-17.
The dual opened with 125 pound Tiger redshirt sophomore Noah Surtin facing off against Sun Devils’ Richard Figeuroa. Figeuroa leaped to an early lead for the Sun Devils and held for the first two periods. Surtin did his best to mount a comeback in the third period, but was unable to — leading Arizona State to win by decision 6-4, giving them an early 3-0 lead.
In the dual at 133 pounds, Tiger redshirt senior Connor Brown took on Michael McGee next. The match was a defensive struggle, as it remained scoreless after one period. McGee was able to take command for the Sun Devils, winning the match by decision to increase their lead 6-0.
In the third match of the dual, 141 pound redshirt senior Allan Hart gave the Tigers a chance to get their first win of the dual, but it slipped away in the final seconds. The match was another defensive one. It was scoreless after a period and 1-0 Hart after two. Hart looked to have won the match, as he had secured one minute of riding time. The match was tied 1-1, but that score did not hold, as Sun Devils’ Jesse Vasquez secured a takedown in the final seconds to win the match 3-2. This decision gave Arizona State a 9-0 lead.
In the fourth match of the day, redshirt junior Brock Mauller took the mat for Missouri at 149 pounds. Arizona State’s Kyle Parco led 2-1 after the first period, but Mauller tied it up in the second period. Parco was able to secure an escape and won the match 3-2. The decision win gave Arizona State its fourth consecutive win to go up 12-0 in the dual.
The Tigers got on the board with senior Jarrett Jacques, who weighed in at 157 pounds. Jacques dominated the match, as he was able to secure a win by technical fall 25-9. The technical fall made it 12-5 Arizona State headed into intermission.
Coming out of the break, Missouri picked up another dominant win with 165 pound sophomore Keegan O’Toole. O’Toole picked up a 17-1 technical fall over Tony Negron, bringing Missouri right back into the dual 12-10.
The Tigers continued their winning ways as 174 pound redshirt junior Peyton Mocco picked up a major decision 14-4. This win gave the Tigers four points in the team score and put them ahead for the first time in the dual 14-12.
At 184 pounds, redshirt sophomore Sean Harman took the mat for the Tigers, looking to increase their lead. Harman trailed for most of the match and needed a take down in the final seconds to win. He was unable to secure it and Arizona State won by decision 3-2 to retake its team lead 15-14.
In the penultimate match, 197 pound Tiger sophomore Rocky Elam was able to pick up a decision win, giving the Tigers a 17-15 lead to set up a winner-take-all match.
Redshirt junior Zach Elam took the mat for the Tigers, but was unable to secure a victory, and the Tigers were defeated in both the match and the dual 19-17.
Edited by Matt Guzman | mguzman@themaneater.com
Copy edited by Julia Williams
