"We won a lot of tight matches today," Head Coach Brian Smith said. "We outwrestled Oklahoma State in the third period and I was pleased with how our team came out and performed. It's not a win, so we can't be happy with that. But, our guys really showed a lot of improvement from last week's performance."
Opening the dual at 184 pounds, fourth-ranked Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) helped Missouri take a 3-0 lead while earning his 80th career victory. Outwrestling Jack Jensen, 8-2, Jordan scored on a double leg takedown 1:24 into the bout. Tacking on three additional points in the second period, a takedown at the third period buzzer, and after accumulating 1:16 of riding time, Jordan walked away the winner. The victory was Jordan's 18th of the season and ninth consecutive win.
Big 12 Wrestler of the Week, sophomore Maxwell Askren (Hartland, Wis.), earned his seventh career Big 12 victory after besting No. 20 Clayton Foster, 18-8. Askren moved to No. 4 in the nation after upsetting Northwestern's Mike Tammillow at the National Duals. Scoring first in today's bout, Askren ended the first period with a 5-3 lead. Foster chose down to start the second period and was quickly turned giving Askren three back points and an 8-4 advantage. Askren scored seven points in the third period and rode out Foster for the major decision.
After suffering four straight losses, Missouri found itself down to OSU, 13-7, heading into the 149 pound bout. Missouri's 15th-ranked Josh Wagner (Milton, Wis.) snapped a three-match losing streak with a 10-6 win by decision over Ryan Freeman. The win also set the Tigers on a three-bout win streak that would put Missouri ahead of the Cowboys by three points heading into the final, 174 pound match.
Junior Michael Chandler (High Ridge, Mo.) and Oklahoma State grappler Newly McSpadden met for the third time of their career. With Chandler holding a 2-0 advantage over McSpadden, he proved worthy of his higher ranking, shutting out the Cowboy, 4-0. The shutout was just the third of the season for Chandler, who scored a takedown and two escapes for the win. Chandler now stands at 18-2 on the season.
Possibly the most exciting match for the 1,470 fans in the stands came at 165 pounds. Pitting third-ranked sophomore Nicholas Marable (Collierville, Tenn.) against No. 5 Jake Dieffenbach, the competition between the top-five wrestlers proved intense. Forced into overtime after finishing regulation tied at one, the one minute sudden-victory win was awarded to Marable, who lifted Dieffenbach on the edge of the mat and took him down for the 3-1 lead.
"I knew I had to do something to win," Marable said. "We were on the edge of the mat and I just reacted. Jake's a good wrestler and that was a tough match."
Missouri's Brock Wittmeyer (Platte City, Mo.) did just enough to keep his loss to a mere decision at 174 pounds. Battling with second-ranked Brandon Mason, Wittmeyer suffered a 4-0 loss, but allowed Oklahoma State the minimum in team scoring, three points, to create a tie.
Missouri will host its third home dual of the season when they take on No. 19 Cornell, Sunday, Jan. 27, at 1 p.m. (CT) in the Hearnes Center.
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