There seems to be some striking similarities between last year’s Missouri wrestling team and this year’s. Both were able to take home conference championships and qualified all 10 wrestlers for the NCAA tournament. However, this year’s team would like to end the season on a very different note.
After finishing first in the Big 12 Tournament last year, the NCAA tournament did not go as planned for the Tigers. For the first time since 2001, Missouri failed to have an All-American and finished 23rd as a team. It was the first time the Tigers finished outside the top 20 since 2001.
Sophomore 149-pounder Drake Houdashelt was one of Missouri’s qualifiers for last year’s NCAA tournament and was eliminated from the tournament after losing both of his matches as a freshman.
“It was probably the worst feeling ever,” Houdashelt said. “I wrestled like crap and I’ve regretted it ever since.”
Houdashelt is one of eight Tigers returning after qualifying for the NCAA tournament last spring. Every wrestler and coach seemed to agree this year’s team has a different mindset compared to last year’s team, starting with the conference tournament.
“We were happy to win the Big 12s last year,” said senior 133-pounder Nathan McCormick. “We went out there and we know we could win, but we were celebrating. This year we won the MACs and we’re taking it in stride, but we knew we were good going in.”
One difference from last year to this is the return of senior heavyweight Dom Bradley, who missed last year after taking an Olympic redshirt. While he didn’t grapple for the Tigers at the NCAA tournament last year, he was in attendance.
“It wasn’t a pretty sight to see,” he said. “Things are going to change. It’s a whole different team, a whole different mindset. I feel like we’re confident right now, but we’re not cocky.”
Missouri will enter this year’s tournament with more wrestlers ranked higher in their respective weight class as compared to last year. Last year, junior 125-pounder Alan Waters was the only Tiger grappler seeded in the NCAA tournament. This year, the Tigers have five wrestlers seeded, including two No. 1 seeds in Bradley and Waters.
According to coach Brian Smith, however, the winner of the tournament has more to do with mindset than ranking.
“I don’t think a weight ever goes exactly how it’s seeded,” Smith said. “It’s the person that steps on the mat that just expects to win and have that attitude. It’s having no fear, just wrestling. You’ll see that.”
It’s been made very clear that this team’s goal is to finish as fourth or better as a team and end up on the podium at the NCAA tournament, as well as be the best team in Missouri history. To do that, this team will need to finish third or better. Smith and his team believe they have enough to get there.
“The team wants to be on the podium,” Smith said. “They’re ready for this. They’ve been out there; they’ve prepared their whole lives through now. They’re ready to go.”
The NCAA tournament in Des Moines, Iowa, starts Thursday morning and the tournament concludes March 23.
