Mizzou To The Lou: No. 3 Wrestling Takes On Illinois In St. Louis Thursday

COLUMBIA, Mo. – No. 3 Missouri wrestling heads east to Gateway City for a Braggin’ Rights challenge with Illinois on Thursday, Dec. 21. The dual will start at 7 p.m. CT and will be streamed on UFC Fight Pass. 

LAST TIME OUT

• Missouri took care of business against Air Force on Dec. 17, defeating the Falcons 38-3. 
• The Tigers secured technical falls from Noah Surtin (125; 17-1), Brock Mauller (157; 16-0), Peyton Mocco (174; 18-2) and Zach Elam (285; 15-0) to put the match out of reach. 
• Additionally, Kade Moore (133; 12-3), Logan Gioffre (149; 11-3) and Keegan O’Toole (165; 23-12) all earned major decisions. 

MIZZOU TO THE LOU

• Mizzou wrestling will participate in the Mizzou to the Lou series in partnership with the St. Louis Sports Commission to bring multiple sporting events to the St. Louis area throughout the 2023-24 season. 
• The wrestling team will take on Illinois in a Braggin’ Rights dual at the Stifel Theater on Thursday, Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. CT. 
• The partnership is an opportunity to bring Mizzou Athletics to fans in St. Louis and the surrounding areas. Additionally, Mizzou looks to strengthen the sports landscape in the region and grow its partnership with the St. Louis Sports Commission.

ALL-TIME VS. ILLINOIS 

• The matchup between the Tigers and Illini will be the 34th between the two programs, with Illinois leading the all-time series 12-21. 
• Despite Illinois leading the series, Missouri has won three of the last four duals between the rivals. 

LAST TIME VS. THE FIGHTING ILLINI

• In the last meeting, Illinois topped Missouri narrowly 19-14 on Nov. 14, 2019. 
• The Tigers saw major decisions from Grant Leeth (141) and Brock Mauller (149), while Jarrett Jacques (157) and Wyatt Koelling (197) also secured decision wins. 
• The dual came down to the heavyweight bout, with Mizzou down 16-14. Despite being ahead 6-3 entering the third period, Rodrigo Diaz could not hang on for the victory and dropped a 9-7 decision.
• Moreover, only two wrestlers who were in the starting lineup in the 2019 match remain on the roster: Brock Mauller and Peyton Mocco.

NOT TOOLIN’ AROUND

• Junior Keegan O’Toole is not messing around this season, holding an 8-0 record and a 100 percent bonus rate. 
• O’Toole earned the fastest pin of his career (0:35) over Brett McIntosh of Wyoming on Dec. 8. 

WE WANT SOME MOORE

• Redshirt freshman Kade Moore earned his first bonus-point win as a dual starter on Dec. 17, with a major (12-3) over Gavin Caprella of Air Force.  

BROCK O’CLOCK

• Redshirt senior Brock Mauller has taken the three-point takedown rule change and ran with it, totaling five technical falls and a major decision in his first eight matches of the 2023-24 season. 
• During his freshman season (2018-19), Mauller earned 11 wins via bonus points over his 33 matches (.33). The redshirt senior holds a .625 bonus-point rate this season. 
• Additionally, Mauller picked up his 109th win against Gable Brooks of Air Force on Dec. 17, tying him for 17th all-time with Brad Cieleslki. The Columbia, Missouri native is two wins away from passing Tyron Woodley (110). 

ZACH ATTACK

• Last season, Zach Elam totaled four falls, one tech fall, and two major decisions, while this season, he is off to a 12-0 start and has 10 bonus-point wins, seven of which are pins. 
• Elam’s double-digit win total and .583 fall rate leads the team in 2023-24, and his .833 bonus rate is second on the team behind Keegan O’Toole (100 percent). 
• Furthermore, the Kansas City native is one of five Big 12 wrestlers to have totaled seven or more pins this season. 

MOST WINS (ACTIVE, 50+)

• Brock Mauller (109), Zach Elam (89), Peyton Mocco (87), Keegan O’Toole (71), Rocky Elam (61) and Noah Surtin (55). 

UP NEXT

• Mizzou breaks for the holidays before returning to Hearnes Center for a dual with No. 11 Virginia Tech on Tues. Jan. 2.