Keegan O’Toole Secures Back-to-Back Individual National Championships

TULSA, Okla. –  Sophomore Keegan O’Toole became the third wrestler in the history of University of Missouri wrestling to win multiple national championships Saturday, March 18 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, as he knocked off No. 1 seed David Carr of Iowa State in a 8-2 decision to earn his second consecutive individual NCAA title at 165 pounds.

After taking a pair of defeats against Carr in dual competition and the Big 12 championship final, O’Toole exacted revenge against the Cyclone on the nation’s biggest stage, taking a decision as he led wire-to-wire. 
 

Getting it done when it mattered most! #MIZ?? #TigerStyle pic.twitter.com/d5S5eoKkAg

— Mizzou Wrestling (@MizzouWrestling) March 19, 2023

The Hartland, Wis. native scored a takedown in the first period to open the scoring, then notched another takedown on a scramble with just over a minute remaining in the match. He secured his victory with a two-point near fall with under 20 seconds to go, taking the top spot on the podium in the process.

O’Toole joins elite company alongside Ben Askren (2006 and 2007) and J’den Cox (2014, 2016 and 2017) as the only Tigers to win two-or-more NCAA titles.

Keegan O’Toole takes round-3 with David Carr and claims his 2nd straight National Championship!

?? ESPN#NCAAWrestling x @MizzouWrestling pic.twitter.com/lMko14I8LX

— NCAA Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling) March 18, 2023

Backed by O’Toole’s national championship, Mizzou finished in the top 10 of the NCAA for an eighth consecutive season, finishing fifth with 64.5 team points. O’Toole and four other Tigers earned All-American honors as the program fielded multiple All-Americans for the 11th year in a row.

For the other Mizzou All-Americans, Rocky Elam (197) and Zach Elam (285) each wrapped up their 2022-23 season with a pair of matches to determine placement, while 149-pounder Brock Mauller and 174-pounder Peyton Mocco each capped their season in the seventh place matches.

In the 197-pound consolation bracket, R. Elam secured two decisions en route to his third-place finish. In the consolation semifinal, the sophomore won in his rematch from the championship second round against Iowa’s Jacob Warner before knocking off No. 2 seed Bernie Truax of Cal Poly to take the bronze-medal match.

Z. Elam dropped both of his contests in the consolation bracket, taking sixth place at 285 pounds after losses to Tony Cassioppi, the four-time All-American from Iowa, in the consolation semifinal and Lucas Davison of Northwestern in the fifth-place match. 

Mauller and Mocco both competed in seventh place matches in their bracket, with Mauller earning the win in his placement match against No. 10 seed Michael Blockhus of Minnesota. The Columbia native landed two takedowns and scored the riding time point against the Golden Gopher. 

Mocco could not prevail in his last match of the tournament against No. 6 seed Ethan Smith of Ohio State, taking eighth.

In total, nine of the 10 Tigers contributed team points over the NCAA Championships weekend. O’Toole led the way with 22.5 points while R. Elam followed behind with 13.5. 

Notes

• O’Toole’s national title is the 10th individual national championship in Mizzou wrestling history.
• By winning the 165-pound title, O’Toole handed Carr his first loss of the 2022-23 season and snapped his 32-match winning streak dating back to the 2022 NCAA Championships.
• O’Toole’s win over No. 1 seed Carr marks the first time a Mizzou wrestler has knocked off a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Championships since J’den Cox knocked off top-seed Morgan McIntosh of Penn State in the 197-pound final in 2016.
• The Tigers finished among the top-10 teams at NCAA Championship weekend for an eighth consecutive season.
• Mizzou’s 64.5 team points ranks as the sixth-most the Tigers have recorded in an NCAA Championship weekend and it is the ninth time in program history they scored at least 60 team points.
• With a victory over No. 2 seed Bernie Truax of Cal Poly, R. Elam scored his highest-ranked victory of the season.
• Mauller’s victory over No. 10 Blockhus served as his second top-10 victory and eighth ranked victory of the season.
• R. Elam wrapped up his tournament with a third-place finish, signifying the best placement of his career.
• Z. Elam’s sixth-place finish marked his best finish at NCAAs.

MISSOURI FINAL RESULTS 
125 – Noah Surtin (#14 Seed), 1-2 – ELIMINATED
• First Round: #19 Braxton Brown (UMD) over #14 Noah Surtin by Dec. 8-6
• Consolation First Round: #14 Noah Surtin over #32 Tanner Jordan (SDST) by Fall (4:26)
• Consolation Second Round: #20 Jarrett Trombley (NCST) over #14 Noah Surtin by Dec. 2-1

133 – Connor Brown (#26 Seed), 0-2 – ELIMINATED
• First Round: #7 Michael Colaiocco (PENN) over #26 Connor Brown by Fall (0:38)
• Consolation First Round: #23 Brody Teske (IOWA) over #26 Connor Brown by Dec. 11-5

141 – Allan Hart (#8 Seed), 2-2 – ELIMINATED
• First Round: #8 Allan Hart over #25 Carmen Ferrante (PENN) by Dec. 7-4
• Second Round: #8 Allan Hart over #9 Mosha Schwartz (OU) by TB-2 (RT) 2-2
• Quarterfinal: #1 Real Woods (IOWA) over #8 Allan Hart by MD 9-0
• Consolation Fourth Round: #11 Clay Carlson (SDST) over #8 Allan Hart by Dec. 7-6

149 – Brock Mauller (#6 Seed), 4-2 – 7th Place, All-American
• First Round: #6 Brock Mauller over #27 Jarod Verkleeren (UVA) by Dec. 11-5
• Second Round: #6 Brock Mauller over #22 Chance Lamer (MICH) by Dec. 4-1
• Quarterfinal: #3 Kyle Parco (ASU) over #6 Brock Mauller by Dec. 4-3
• Consolation Fourth Round: #6 Brock Mauller over #16 Jackson Arrington (NCST) by Dec. 4-3
• Consolation Fifth Round: #4 Caleb Henson (VT) over #6 Brock Mauller by Dec. 6-4
• Seventh Place Match: #6 Brock Mauller over #10 Michael Blockhus (MINN) Dec. 6-2

157 – Jarrett Jacques (#17 Seed), 2-2 – ELIMINATED
• First Round: #17 Jarrett Jacques over #16 Anthony Artalona (PENN) by Dec. 5-4
• Second Round: #1 Austin O’Connor (UNC) over #17 Jarrett Jacques by Dec. 4-1
• Consolation Second Round: #17 Jarrett Jacques over #18 Derek Gilcher (IND) by Dec. 3-1
• Consolation Third Round: #8 Ed Scott (NCST) over #17 Jarrett Jacques by Dec. 6-1

165 – Keegan O’Toole (#2 Seed), 5-0 – 1st Place, All-American
• First Round: #2 Keegan O’Toole over #31 Wyatt Sheets (OKST) by MD 13-5
• Second Round: #2 Keegan O’Toole over #15 Justin McCoy (UVA) by Dec. 5-2
• Quarterfinal: #2 Keegan O’Toole over #10 Carson Kharchla (OHST) by TF 19-4
• Semifinal: #2 Keegan O’Toole over #11 Cameron Amine (MICH) by Dec. 6-0
• Final: #2 Keegan O’Toole over #1 David Carr (ISU) by Dec. 8-2

174 – Peyton Mocco (#7 Seed), 3-3 – 8th Place, All-American
• First Round: #7 Peyton Mocco over #26 Sal Perrine (OHIO) by SV-1 3-1
• Second Round: #7 Peyton Mocco over #23 Mickey O’Malley by Dec. 8-2
• Quarterfinal: #2 Mikey Labriola (NEB) over #7 Peyton Mocco by Dec. 4-3
• Consolation Fourth Round: #7 Peyton Mocco over #13 Cade DeVos (SDST) by Dec. 4-2
• Consolation Fifth Round: #11 Nelson Brands (IOWA) over #7 Peyton Mocco by Dec. 6-1
• Seventh Place Match: #6 Ethan Smith (OHST) over #7 Peyton Mocco by MD 12-2

184 – Colton Hawks (#22 Seed), 2-2 – ELIMINATED
• First Round: #22 Colton Hawks over #11 Gavin Kane (UNC) by Dec. 6-2
• Second Round: #6 Kaleb Romero (OSU) over #22 Colton Hawks by Dec. 5-3
• Consolation Second Round: #22 Colton Hawks over #21 Giuseppe Hoose (BUFF) by Dec. 6-2
• Consolation Third Round: #14 Will Feldkamp (CLAR) over #22 Colton Hawks by Dec. 5-2

197 – Rocky Elam (#3 Seed), 5-1 – 3rd Place, All-American
• First Round: #3 Rocky Elam over #30 Andrew Davison (NU) by Dec. 4-1
• Second Round: #3 Rocky Elam over #14 Jacob Warner (IOWA) by Dec. 6-2
• Quarterfinal: #3 Rocky Elam over #11 Jaxon Smith (UMD) by Dec. 6-3
• Semifinal: #7 Tanner Sloan (SDST) over #3 Rocky Elam by Dec. 7-2
• Consolation Semifinal: #3 Rocky Elam over #14 Jacob Warner (IOWA) by Dec. 3-1
• Third Place Match: #3 Rocky Elam over #2 Bernie Truax (POLY) by Dec. 5-2

285 – Zach Elam (#10 Seed), 4-3 – 6th Place, All-American
• First Round: #10 Zach Elam over #23 Jacob Bullock (IND) by Dec. 4-1
• Second Round: #10 Zach Elam over #7 Owen Trephan (NCST) by Dec. 4-0
• Quarterfinal: #2 Wyatt Hendrickson (AFA) over #10 Zach Elam by MD 17-8
• Consolation Fourth Round: #10 Zach Elam over #12 Colton McKiernan (SIUE) Dec. 11-5
• Consolation Fifth Round: #10 Zach Elam over #11 Trent Hillger (WISC) by Dec. 2-0
• Consolation Semifinal: #4 Tony Cassioppi (IOWA) over #10 Zach Elam by Dec. 4-0
• Fifth Place Match: #9 Lucas Davison (NU) over #10 Zach Elam by Dec. 4-3

TEAM RESULTS

1. Penn State – 137.5 Points
2. Iowa – 82.5 Points
3. Cornell – 76.5 Points
4. Ohio State – 70.5 Points
5. Missouri – 64.5 Points
6. Michigan – 58.5 Points
7. Arizona State – 55.0
8. Nebraska – 54.0 Points
9. Virginia Tech – 49.0 Points
10. NC State – 48.0

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