One of five Tigers to win their first Missouri Open title, junior Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) ran his season-opening streak to 10 wins in a row. Dominating the 174-pound bracket, Askren utilized a series of single-leg takedowns to build a 20-6 lead over Matt Winterhalter of Illinois before pinning his opponent in the third period. Continuing his impressive performance, Askren turned the tables on a takedown attempt by opponent Eric Ring of Edinboro, making his third pin of the day 3:25 into the match. Ranked No. 1 in the nation, Askren finished the day with a technical fall over No. 19 Donny Reynolds of Illinois, 25-10.
A last-second takedown in the semifinal round earned Austin DeVoe (Columbus, Kan.) a spot in the championship bout, and the senior seized the opportunity. Wrestling at 125 pounds, DeVoe utilized two early takedowns to gain a lead over opponent Ricky Deubel of Edinboro, then held on to beat Deubel, 7-4, and win Missouri's first Open title of the day.
After two Tigers grappled to the top of the 141-pound bracket, senior Chris McCormick (Leawood, Kan.) and sophomore Josh Wagner (Milton, Wis.) wrestled to a 0-0 stalemate in the first period. McCormick ended the second period with a takedown and two-point near fall to eventually win the title.
Competing in the most exciting championship match of the day, redshirt-freshman Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) earned a 3-1 overtime victory over No. 19 Alex Clemens of Edinboro to capture the title at 184 pounds. Rounding out the list of Tigers who recorded Missouri Open championships, No. 5 Matt Pell (Luxemburg, Wis.) pinned his first two opponents of the day, then finished the tournament by beating Jarrod King by injury default.
Three Tigers finished second on the day. Returning Open champion Tyler McCormick, a sophomore from Leawood, Kan., lost to Shawn Bunch of Edinboro in the final, 9-4, dropping a tough match to the No. 1 wrestler in the nation at 133 pounds. Wagner and Michael Chandler (High Ridge, Mo.), who was forced to forfeit the title bout due to injury, also placed second on the day.
Competing unattached in the freshman/sophomore division, freshman John Olanowski
(Virginia Beach, Va.) beat five opponents on the day to earn the title at 125 pounds. Dane Espinosa (Neosho, Mo.) took second place at 149 pounds, losing a tightly fought championship match to Chad Terry of Oklahoma by a 1-0 score.
Wrestling in the final match of the all-day tournament, freshman heavyweight Mark Ellis (Peculiar, Mo.) earned the freshman/sophomore title with an escape and a takedown in the final period to beat Illinois' John Wise 4-3.
In two weeks the Tigers travel to Las Vegas to compete in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, a prestigious two-day tournament held Dec. 2-3. For complete results of the Missouri Open please visit www.mutigers.com.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now