No. 3 Missouri wrestling faced two Top 25 opponents on Saturday at the Hearnes Center. Earlier in the day, the Tigers took care of business defeating the No. 17 Northern Iowa Panthers 25-16, but their day continued against the No. 10 Virginia Tech Hokies. The matchup between the Tigers and Hokies was the highest ranked matchup at the Hearnes Center since 2019. Unfortunately for Missouri, head coach Brian Smith’s squad fell to the Hokies 18-16 in a tough but entertaining duel. The upset dropped the Tigers to 4-1 on the year.
The Tigers grabbed the momentum early. At 125 pounds, Missouri redshirt freshman Noah Surtin got the party started early, giving Missouri a 6-0 by pinning Hokies redshirt sophomore Sam Latona. Missouri lost three of its next four as freshman Trey Crawford, freshman Josh Edmond and junior Jarrett Jacques all fell in their respective matches, while Missouri redshirt junior Allan Hart defeated Virginia Tech redshirt junior Collin Gerardi 3-1 in overtime.
The most competitive matchup of the day came between Missouri redshirt sophomore Peyton Mocco and Virginia Tech redshirt junior Mekhi Lewis with the Tigers leading the Hokies 13-9. Lewis earned a 4-1 advantage, but Mocco came back to send the match into overtime. However, Mocco fell 9-6 in the overtime period. Smith said he liked Mocco’s effort despite the loss.
“He kept himself in it and gave himself an opportunity,” Smith said. “He found ways to compete.”
After Missouri redshirt sophomore Jeremiah Kent fell to Virginia Tech redshirt senior Hunter Bolen in a hard-fought battle, the Tigers needed wins in the final two matchups to defeat the Hokies. Missouri freshman Rocky Elam defeated Virginia Tech redshirt junior Dakota Howard by a 8-2 decision. His brother, redshirt sophomore Zach Elam, fell in overtime against redshirt senior Nathan Traxler to give the Hokies an upset victory.
“There were some good battles out there,” Smith said. “We’re not that far away from some of the kids that we lost to. It’s a good battle for us, but we need to get better.”
The Tigers have some time off before traveling to Niceville, Florida, to face the No. 6 North Carolina State Wolfpack and Binghamton Bearcats on Dec. 20-21. It’ll feature another tough duel for Missouri, but Smith said he is looking forward to it.
“It’ll give us another opportunity to get on the mat against a tough team,” Smith said.
Edited by Brandon Haynes | bhaynes@themaneater.com
