Tiger Wrestlers Fall to Iowa State 18-15
Columbia, Mo. – In a hard fought dual that came down to the final match of the afternoon, No. 12 Missouri fell to No. 2 Iowa State, 18-15, in the Hearnes Center. The loss drops the Tigers to 13-6 overall and 0-4 in Big 12 action. Iowa State improves to 16-1, 2-1. The Tigers and Cyclones split the dual with five match wins a piece, but ISU managed three major decisions to pull ahead for the victory. Missouri senior 2003 NCAA All-American Tyron Woodley (Ferguson, Mo.) pulled off the day’s biggest upset, outscoring No. 5 Travis Paulson, 6-2, at 165 pounds.
Junior Jeff Foust (Blue Springs, Mo.) snapped a three-dual losing streak with his 6-5 decision over No. 19 Trevor Smith at 197 pounds. Currently ranked No. 20 in the nation, Foust scored first with a takedown in the first period and followed with two reversals in the final five minutes of action. The victory was Foust’s first over a Big 12 opponent this season.
Missouri’s next win came at 133 pounds when redshirt freshman Tyler McCormick (Leawood, Kan.) topped Jesse Sundell, 7-4. Scoring all of his points in the first five minutes, McCormick shutout Sundell in the first period and held him to an escape in the second. Racking up 2:14 of riding time, McCormick won his eighth decision of the season and third victory over a Big 12 wrestler.
Eighteenth ranked Cody Greene (St. Charles, Mo.) came on strong against Cyclone grappler Jason Knipp. Greene scored three takedowns and an escape and tacked on 4:17 of riding time for his final 8-4 win. Greene improves to 24-7 on the season.
The Tiger’s co-captains brought in MU’s final points of the day with eighth-ranked Woodley upsetting No. 5 Travis Paulson, 6-2, at 165 pounds and second-ranked sophomore Ben Askren holding off #12 Nick Passolano, 8-2, at 174 pounds. Both victories brought thunderous applause from the 1,063 fans in attendance.
The final match of the night came down to No. 10 Matt Pell (Luxemburg, Wis.) and No. 2 Kurt Backes at 184 pounds. Having previously defeated Backes last season, the bout was intense, but Pell was unable to come through eventually losing 11-2.
“It wasn’t a win, and we wanted a win, “Head Coach Brian Smith said. “The good thing is that I saw definite signs of improvement in several of the matches. We seem to be getting stronger. We took on the No. 2 school in the nation and gave them a run. Now it’s time to get ready for our final dual of the season.”
Missouri will host its final dual of the season this Wednesday, Feb. 13, at 6 p.m., against Tennessee Chattanooga in the Hearnes Center. A rematch from earlier in the season, Cost-Cutters, Missouri wrestling and the MU Greek community have teamed up to help Habitat for Humanity. If 2,000 fans make their way to the wrestling dual, Cost-Cutters will donate $2,000 to the MU Greek Community for a Habitat house.
With men’s basketball beginning at 7 p.m. in Mizzou Arena, parking will be limited. Parking suggestions include the six parking garages: Maryland Ave. Garage (located on the corner of Hospital Dr. and Maryland Ave.), Conley Ave. Garage (6th and Conley Ave.), University Ave. Garage (University Ave. and College Ave.), Turner Ave. Garage (Turner Ave. and Maryland Ave.), Hitt Street Garage (9th and Elm St.) and Virginia Ave. Garage (Virginia Ave and Hospital Dr.). General public street parking will also be available in and around campus and the west side Faurot Field lot will be open.
Wt: Wrestler over Wrestler: Result MU ISU
125 #11 Grant Nakamura (ISU) maj. dec.Tim Kephart (MU): 12-2 3 7
133 Tyler McCormick (MU) decision Jesse Sundell (ISU): 7-4 6 7
141 #1 Nate Gallick (ISU) maj. dec. Josh Wagner (MU):15-5 6 11
149 #18 Cody Greene (MU) decision Jason Knipp (ISU): 8-4 9 11
157 #5 Trent Paulson (ISU) decision #15 Brad Cieleski (MU): 8-2 9 14
165 #8 Tyron Woodley (MU) decision #5 Travis Paulson (ISU): 6-2 12 14
174 #2 Ben Askren (MU) decision #13 Nick Passolano (ISU): 8-2 15 14
184 #2 Kurt Backes (ISU) maj. dec. #10 Matt Pell (MU): 11-2 15 18
197 #20 Jeff Foust (MU) decision #19 Trevor Smith (ISU): 6-5 3 0
HWT #10 Scott Coleman (ISU)decision Chase Wetenkamp (MU): 3-0 3 3
Missouri Updated Records: Season (Career)
125: Tim Kephart: 19-13 (19-13)
133: Tyler McCormick: 20-12 (20-12)
141: Josh Wagner: 17-9 (17-9)
149: Cody Greene: 24-7 (65-24)
157: Brad Cieleski: 21-7 (21-7)
165: Tyron Woodley: 31-3 (104-35)
174: Ben Askren: 28-1 (60-6)
184: Matt Pell: 29-6 (60-18)
197: Jeff Foust: 23-7 (68-28)
HWT: Chase Wetenkamp: 22-15 (22-15
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