"The team is really starting to show consistent improvement," Missouri Head Coach Brian Smith said. "The team is still working hard and drilling in the room and it's good to see them out in competition taking what they've learned at practice and applying it at the dual."
Senior All-American Tyler McCormick (Leawood, Kan.) pulled off an upset at 133 pounds, shutting out No. 13 Brian Shelton, 6-0. Snapping a five-dual losing streak, McCormick and Shelton were scoreless through the first period, with McCormick choosing down to start the second. A one second option escape gave the Tiger grappler a one-point advantage, which he added to in the third with an escape, two points for Sooner stalling and a takedown with 17 seconds on the clock. With the win, McCormick helped Missouri cut OU's lead to within one, 4-3.
After a Tiger loss at 141 pounds, No. 15 Josh Wagner (Milton, Wis.) pulled off the second Missouri upset of the dual, knocking off No. 13 Will Rowe, 10-6, at 149 pounds. With the win, Wagner improves to 2-1 in the competitive conference and 17-8 on his senior season. Wagner scored four points in both the first and third periods and tacked on 1:03 of riding time and a second period escape for the eventual win. Following Wagner's win at 149 pounds, Oklahoma was deducted one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct on the Sooner coaching bench.
Improving to a perfect 3-0 in Big 12 competition, No. 14 junior Michael Chandler (High Ridge, Mo.) collected 12 of Missouri's 14 back points on the night and earned an 18-1 win by technical fall over No. 20 Chad Terry at 157 pounds. The technical fall victory was Chandler's second of the season, the first coming Nov. 30 against Devan Velasquez of Cal State Fullerton at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Chandler is now 8-3 against ranked opponents.
Carrying on Missouri's three-bout win streak, second-ranked sophomore Nicholas Marable (Collierville, Tenn.) outscored No. 20 Max Dean, 5-2, at 165 pounds. Marable's 10th, top-20 ranked opponent of the campaign, the Tiger refused to be taken down by Dean, extending his streak to eight complete weeks without being taken down. On the flip side, Marable took Dean down twice and collected his fifth point with a third period escape.
Junior Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) and sophomores Maxwell Askren (Hartland, Wis.) and Mark Ellis (Peculiar, Mo.) came through for the fifth time of the season with back-to-back-to-back victories at 184, 197 and heavyweight. The trio is now 55-10 against their opponents this season.
In addition to the Tiger's accomplishments on the mat, the Missouri student-athlete and Greek communities combined to raise over $900 for the Central Missouri Food Bank. A canned food drive was also held at the start of the dual, although totals are not yet available.
Missouri will return to the mat Sunday, Feb. 10 in a 2 p.m. contest with Oregon State. The first 400 fans to attend the afternoon event will receive free Ben Askren bobble-head dolls. Fans are encouraged to come early and show their support of Missouri's six-member senior class. Justin Cole, Vince Demarest, McCormick, Wagner, James Williamson and Brock Wittmeyer will all be recognized prior to the start of the dual.
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