Mizzou wrestling ready for Big 12
By John Sahly The Maneater
Columbia, MO (U-WIRE) — Ben Askren is only a sophomore, but wrestling coach Brian Smith already has grand designs on his future at Missouri.
“He could be one of the greatest athletes in any sport to come through here, “Smith said. “Wherever we go, he draws a crowd … it’s like when Mike Tyson was knocking everyone out; he’s that good.”
Askren was named an All-American in 2004 and has been perfect — 25-0 at 174 pounds thus far this season. He’ll put that winning streak on the line against No. 5 Nebraska on Saturday inside the new wrestling facility at the Hearnes Center.
Despite his perfect record, Askren downplayed his season.
“It means nothing to me, “Askren said. “I could be 100-4 in my career, but if I have four losses in the NCAA Championships, then I didn’t accomplish what I wanted to.”
This meet has all the makings of a classic because nearly 75 percent of the wrestlers enter the meet nationally ranked and it has been described as a toss-up on as many as seven matches.
Smith said the Cornhuskers are one of the nation’s most patient teams and he has been preaching patience at practice this week.
“They don’t make a lot of mistakes, “Smith said. “We have to not try and go in there and think we’re going to run through people, because every match is going to be tough.”
One of the more level-headed wrestlers, according to Smith, is graduate student Brad Cieleski, wrestling at 157 pounds. Participating in his final year of eligibility, Cieleski transferred from Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania and said he’s prepared for Big 12 competition.
“I just need to wrestle smart, not make any mistakes and go at it like any other match, “Cieleski said.
Cieleski isn’t the first person in his family to transfer into the Big 12. His older brother Doug transferred from Slippery Rock to Oklahoma for his last year of eligibility.
“He told me to have confidence in myself and that this is where I should be, “Cieleski said.
Other MU wrestlers looking to contribute will be 165-pound senior Tyron Woodley, 184-pound sophomore Matt Pell and 133-pound redshirt freshman Tyler McCormick.
The Tigers haven’t been on the mats since finishing third at the Virginia Duals two weeks ago, but Smith said he didn’t think this would hurt his team’s performance. Instead, he said he was looking forward to his team stepping up for a great match.
“You can sense the excitement in the room, “Smith said. “This is the part of the season that matters the most.”
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