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COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri wrestling team will take on the best in the nation at the NCAA Championships, March 16-18. The tournament will take place in Tulsa, Okla. inside the BOK Center. All the action can be streamed on the ESPN+ platform with multiple streams for each mat in various sessions.
— PREVIOUSLY ON TIGER STYLE — For a 12th consecutive season, Mizzou wrestling took home conference hardware, claiming first place at the 2023 Big 12 Championships in Tulsa, Okla., March 5. The victory marks the second Big 12 title in a row since rejoining the league last season, and the 148 team points scored by the Tigers set a program record for a Big 12 championship weekend.
Bolstered by all 10 starters finishing on the podium, the Tigers led at the conclusion of all four sessions of action. Mizzou finished the weekend with one individual conference champion, 197-pounder Rocky Elam, along with five conference finalists. Additionally, nine Tigers automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships as a byproduct of their placement.
The first session was especially successful for Mizzou, as all eight Tigers competing in opening-round matches advanced and nine MU grapplers secured a spot in the championship semifinal. In the second session, Elam, alongside Noah Surtin (125), Allan Hart (141), Brock Mauller (149), Keegan O’Toole (165) and Peyton Mocco (174) all booked their spot in the conference final.
Wrestling in the consolation bracket for the third session, Jarrett Jacques earned a placement on the podium with a seventh-place finish at 157 pounds. Connor Brown recorded his second-career NCAA qualification with a sixth-place finish. Colton Hawks claimed his first NCAA berth as a result of his fourth-place finish. Zach Elam rebounded from his close semifinal loss to take both of his matches in the consolation tournament and finish third in the 285-pound bracket, matching the best finish of his career at the conference tournament.
In the championship session, R. Elam’s TB-1 2-1 victory over top-seeded Tanner Sloan of South Dakota State clinched the team title for Mizzou.
— HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEAM — The Tigers will send their entire starting lineup back to Tulsa for the NCAA Championships after all 10 wrestlers who competed at Big 12s earned a berth in their weight class. Mizzou is one of just four schools to send its entire lineup to NCAAs, alongside Iowa, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma State.
Furthermore, it marks the third time in the past 10 seasons that Mizzou has sent all 10 wrestlers. With 90 qualifiers over that time, the Tigers are only behind Iowa (96) and Oklahoma State (93).
— PARTY LIKE A ROCKSTAR — Sophomore Rocky Elam continued to prove himself as one of the top wrestlers at 197 pounds by registering an undefeated weekend to win his first individual Big 12 title.
As the bracket’s No. 2 seed, Elam knocked off Xavier Vasquez of Northern Colorado by fall to collect his first pin of the year and solidify his third-straight trip in the NCAA Championships. In his semifinal match against No. 3 seed Yonger Bastida of Iowa State, he pitched a shutout versus the rival for the second time in under a month, taking a 6-0 decision. Elam faced off against top-seeded Tanner Sloan of South Dakota State in the championship match, where he won 2-1 in TB-1.
With his championship victory, Elam became the 14th multi-time conference champion after winning the 197-pound MAC title in 2021.
— JACQUES JOINS THE 100-WIN CLUB — During the Big 12 championship weekend, redshirt senior Jarrett Jacques became the 29th member of Mizzou wrestling’s 100-Win Club. He is the first Missouri wrestler to join the illustrious group since 2018, when Daniel Lewis entered the ranks of Tiger greats.
Entering the weekend with 97 career wins, Jacques recorded the three wins he needed to join the club. After knocking off Air Force’s Jack Ganos and Derek Holschlag of Northern Iowa, Jacques earned his 100th win with a 3-2 decision triumph over Vinny Zerban of Northern Colorado in the seventh-place match on Sunday.
— CB MAKES THE CUT — For the first time since 2017-18 and the first time in a Mizzou singlet, redshirt senior Connor Brown qualified for the NCAA Championships, placing sixth in the 133-pound bracket at the Big 12 Championships to automatically qualify.
As the No. 5 seed in the division, Brown began his road to nationals by earning a first-round decision over West Virginia’s Davin Rhoads, 9-2. In the quarterfinal round, Brown’s match against No. 4 seed Cody Phippen of Air Force went into sudden victory with the score knotted at four. Brown scored a takedown in the extra period to secure his victory and clinch his placement in the national championship bracket. The win also counted as his first victory over a ranked opponent this season, as Phippen entered the tournament No. 19 in the class.
— HART OF A (RED) WARRIOR — Despite starting off Big 12s as the No. 6 seed at 141 pounds, redshirt senior Allan Hart battled his way through some of the top grapplers in the class to earn a runner-up finish in the conference championship.
Hart began his quest to the finals with a shutout tech fall in the first round before exacting revenge on a pair of regular-season defeats. In the quarterfinals, Hart squared off against No. 3 seed Cael Happel of Northern Iowa and won a convincing 10-4 decision. With a spot in the finals on the line, Hart pinned Oklahoma’s Mosha Schwartz, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, late in the third period.
By knocking off Happel and Schwartz, Hart was the only Big 12 wrestler across all weight divisions to make the final of his bracket while being seeded below No. 4.
— MODEL OF CONSISTENCY — In his 25 years in Columbia, Head Coach Brian Smith has turned the Mizzou wrestling program into a national powerhouse with a strong run of Tigers qualifying for the NCAA Wrestling Championships in bunches.
At the Big 12 Championships, the Tigers extended their streak of sending at least eight wrestlers to the NCAA Championships to 13 seasons. Additionally, all 10 starters qualified to wrestle for a national championship for the fifth time in program history.
— ELITE EXPERIENCE — Along with qualifying the whole lineup for the NCAA Championships, Mizzou boasts the most returning qualifiers at nationals, as nine Tigers have previously wrestled in the championship bracket.
The Tigers have one five-time qualifier (Jarrett Jacques), four four-time qualifiers (Peyton Mocco, Brock Mauller, Allan Hart, Zach Elam), three three-time qualifiers (Rocky Elam, Keegan O’Toole, Noah Surtin) and one two-time qualifier (Connor Brown).
— SPOTLIGHT ON SMITH — Head Coach Brian Smith had a momentous weekend at the Big 12 Championships, earning back-to-back Big 12 Coach of the Year honors while collecting his eighth overall conference coach of the year award (Five – MAC, Three – Big 12).
Along with his individual accolade, Smith’s 12th conference title as a head coach gives him the most conference titles by any head coach in Mizzou Athletics history, surpassing legendary head men’s basketball coach, Norm Stewart.
— MILESTONE WATCH — With two wins at the NCAA Championships, redshirt junior Brock Mauller would become the 30th member of Mizzou’s 100-Win Club, as he enters the event with 98 career wins.
— TIGERS TAKE ON NATIONALS — The NCAA released its seedings and matchups for all 10 NCAA championship brackets, with the whole of Mizzou’s lineup represented with nine automatic qualifications and an at-large berth.
Six Tigers were seeded within the top 10 of their respective bracket, led by 2022 All-Americans Keegan O’Toole, who earned the No. 2 seed at 165 pounds for a second consecutive season, and Rocky Elam, whose No. 3 seed in the 197-pound bracket marks the best starting position he’s received at the NCAA Championships in his third trip.
Among the other top-10 seeds, Big 12 runner-up Allan Hart earned the third top-10 placement as the No. 8 seed at 141 pounds. Two-time All-American Brock Mauller set himself up for another deep run at NCAAs with a No. 6 seed in the 149-pound tournament. Peyton Mocco received the best seed of his career, entering the 174-pound bracket with a No. 7 placement. Zach Elam rounds out the top-10 Tigers with the No. 10 seed in his battle for the 285-pound title.
Noah Surtin (125) and Jarrett Jacques (157) will start at No. 14 and No. 17 in their respective brackets. Other qualifiers include 184-pounder Colton Hawks (No. 22 seed) and Connor Brown (No. 27 seed) at 133 pounds.
— HAWKS’ FIRST FLIGHT — Sophomore Colton Hawks is the lone first-time qualifier for Mizzou wrestling this season. Entering the Big 12 Championship, the sophomore knew he needed to place fourth or better in order to automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Hawks immediately went to work, defeating Peter Acciardi of Cal Baptist by fall (1:40) and Deanthony Parker of North Dakota State by 3-2 decision. The Wentzville, Mo. native battled hard against the No. 1-ranked Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa, losing a close decision 7-5. His win over Noah Blake (Air Force) by 4-3 decision secured him at least fourth place and his first NCAA birth.
— TITLE DEFENSE — After winning the 2022 165-pound national championship, sophomore Keegan O’Toole is looking to earn the 10th individual national championship in program history and become the third back-to-back national champion for Mizzou wrestling alongside Ben Askren (2006-07) and J’den Cox (2016-17).
O’Toole capped off his undefeated 2021-22 with a 5-0 run as the No. 2 seed at the 2022 NCAA Championships. After winning his opening round match by fall over No. 31 seed Caleb Fish of Michigan State in the first period, the then-freshman rattled off a trio of decisions over No. 18 seed Anthony Valencia of Arizona State, No. 7 seed Carson Kharchla of Ohio State and No. 6 seed Cameron Amine of Michigan en route to the final.
In the final against the reigning 165-pound champion, No. 5 seed Shane Griffith of Stanford, O’Toole notched a 6-5 decision victory to stake his place atop the 165-pound division.
He will begin his championship defense as the No. 2 seed in the class, opening with a contest against No. 31 Wyatt Sheets of Oklahoma State, who he defeated by major decision in dual competition, Feb. 5.
— LAST TIME AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS — The Tigers earned a ninth-place finish at the 2022 NCAA Championships in Detroit, Mich., marking the best finish by a Big 12 program and seventh consecutive season within the top 10 at the event.
Keegan O’Toole earned the program’s ninth individual national championship at 165 pounds, knocking off defending champion Shane Griffith of Stanford in the final with a 6-5 decision. He, along with freshman Rocky Elam, who finished fourth in the 197-pound bracket, took home All-American honors to advance Mizzou’s streak of yielding multiple All-Americans to 10 consecutive seasons.
