No. 3 Missouri wrestling stayed undefeated Sunday at the Hearnes Center after a 32-12 win against unranked Northern Illinois.
The Tigers are 17-0 with four dual meets left in the season.
The team is wrestling with confidence right now and if there’s one wrestler who best embodies that confidence, it’s sophomore Lavion Mayes.
“It’s going to take an act of God to beat me,” said Mayes. “There are not many guys willing to put in that effort.”
Mayes took the mat against Huskies senior Tyler Argue for the third time in two years. The match was uneventful through two periods, with the only points coming off an escape by Argue with 20 seconds left in the second.
“I didn’t get to my attacks as often as I’d like to,” Mayes said. “He slowed me down enough to where he was in it score-wise. Going forward, that’s something I’m looking to work on.”
Mayes flipped the switch in the third period, recording two takedowns and two near falls on his way to a 6-1 win by decision.
Missouri coach Brian Smith said the theme of the day was wrestling hard in the third period, and he was pleased with Mayes’ and other wrestlers late duel energy.
Freshman Chase Brennan saw the mat for just the second time this season in a matchup against Northern Illinois senior Derek Elmore.
Brennan, who grew up in Monett, Missouri, set his high school’s record for career victories at 174.
He hasn’t found that kind of success at the collegiate level thus far.
Elmore made short work of Brennan, pinning him for the victory early in the first period.
The duel only lasted 53 seconds.
“We thought we had him ready for it, but he wasn’t ready. He’s getting experience in practice with (senior Alan Waters) and that’s good but he’s got to wrestle better under the lights.”
Sophomore J’den Cox has been feeling ill this past week, but that didn’t stop him from going mano a mano with NIU redshirt freshman Alec Brown.
Cox established his dominance early, nearly lifting the 197-pound Brown off his feet in the process of recording an early takedown.
His forceful pin at 2:16 ignited the Hearnes Center crowd and gave Cox his 43rd consecutive win. The reigning national champion is 23-0 on the season.
The Antlers, known more for their support of Missouri’s basketball team, were out en force Sunday afternoon. They brought their usual rabble-rousing attitude with them.
“There were some NIU guys who were looking back at us and laughing,” first-year member Paul Morin said. “I was waiting for them to come in the stands and wrestle us.”
Up next for the Tigers is a Jan. 31 grudge match against Northern Iowa.
“They beat the crap out of us in the dual meet last year in a sold out gym – it was crazy, we weren’t ready for it,” Smith said. “We’ll be ready this year.”
