No. 10 Wrestling Set for Road Duals With Air Force and Wyoming

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 10-ranked University of Missouri wrestling team hits the road for back-to-back conference matches at Air Force Friday, Jan. 13, and Wyoming Saturday, Jan. 14. The duals are scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT and 6:00 p.m. CT, respectively, with both being streamed on FloWrestling. 

— PREVIOUSLY ON TIGER STYLE — Missouri topped No. 13 Northern Iowa Sunday, Jan. 8, 24-12, inside the Hearnes Center. Mizzou had three wrestlers earn bonus point victories in Noah Surtin (TF, 16-0), Peyton Mocco (Fall, 6:43) and Rocky Elam (MD, 10-2) at 125, 174 and 197 pounds, respectively. The Tigers also saw Allan Hart (10-4) at 141, Brock Mauller (3-1) at 149 and Zach Elam (SV-1 3-1) at 285 earn decisions. It was R. Elam’s major decision that sealed the dual, making the score 21-12 prior to the final bout of the evening at 285. 

— FOR SURTIN — Since returning from injury, redshirt sophomore Noah Surtin has been nothing short of impressive. Surtin made his return at the Southern Scuffle, Jan. 1-2, where he was 4-1 with two falls and a major decision. The redshirt sophomore finished second at 125 pounds in the tournament, losing to No. 12 Matt Ramos of Purdue in the final match. Following the scuffle, the Edwardsville, Ill. native made his Hearnes Center debut in 2022-23 with a 16-0 technical fall against Northern Iowa’s Kyle Gollhofer. 
        Overall, Surtin is ranked No. 12 at 125 pounds by FloWrestling with a 9-3 record this season. Moreover, his 66.7 bonus point rate leads all starters with just one of his nine wins being decided by decision. 

— MORE FROM MOCCO — Recording falls in back-to-back duals, redshirt junior Peyton Mocco is on a tear. Mocco defeated Gaven Sax of North Dakota State by pin (3:20), Dec. 20, and Carson Babock of Northern Iowa (6:43), Jan. 8. Between those duals, the redshirt junior went 4-1 at the Southern Scuffle, Jan. 1-2, only losing to No. 4-ranked Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State in the finals and finishing second at 174 pounds. 
        Mocco is ranked ninth by FloWrestling at 174 pounds with a 12-3 overall record. The West Allis, Wis. native has a .800 win percentage in 2022-23, having won six of his last seven matches. 

— ELAMINATED — Redshirt junior Zach Elam dominated the 2023 Southern Scuffle at 285 pounds, going 5-0 on his way to an individual weight title. Elam earned three bonus point victories at the tournament, including a 22-second pin of Little Rock’s Josiah Hill. The redshirt junior went on to post a shutout effort in the final, defeating Cory Day of Binghamton with a 5-0 decision. 
        With his most recent win, a 3-1 decision in sudden victory over No. 13 Tyrell Gordon of Northern Iowa, Elam leads all starters with 13 wins in 2022-23. Furthermore, the heavyweight has seven of his 13 wins coming via bonus point. 

— ALL-TIME vs. AIR FORCE — Mizzou’s return to the Big 12 in 2021-22 brought the first-ever meeting between Missouri and Air Force on the mats. With the Tigers coming out on top in the initial meeting, they hold a 1-0 record against the Falcons. 

— LAST TIME vs. THE FALCONS —  In the first-ever meeting between the two programs, Missouri defeated Air Force, 39-3, Nov. 19, 2021. Mizzou’s heavier six weights showed out against the Falcons, accounting for 30 of the Tiger’s points beginning with Jarrett Jacques at 157 pounds, who recorded his first pin of the season. Jeremiah Kent also picked up his first fall of the year at 184 pounds. Keegan O’Toole (19-3, 1:57),  Rocky Elam (19-1, 4:34) and Zach Elam (21-6, 6:30) earned technical falls at 165, 197 and 285 pounds, respectively. 

— ALL-TIME vs. WYOMING — Missouri holds a 7-2-0 all-time record against Wyoming. Additionally, the Tigers have won the last six consecutive meetings between the two programs, dating back to the 1999-2000 season. The Cowboys have not defeated Missouri since the previous year, 1998-99, in Laramie, Wyo. 

— LAST TIME vs. THE COWBOYS — Last season, Mizzou traveled to Utah Valley for a doubleheader that began with a 30-6 win over Wyoming, Jan. 29, 2022. The upset of the dual came at 174 pounds as Sean Harman took down No. 11 Hayden Hastings in a 4-2 decision. Missouri logged three bonus-point wins, highlighted by a first-period fall from Jeremiah Kent at 184 pounds. Trey Crawford picked up his first bonus-point win in a dual this season in a 16-0 technical fall and Zach Elam finished off the matchup with a 17-4 major decision.

— GO WITH THE FLO  — Mizzou wrestling will be on FloWreslting for the 2022-23 season. Fans can find all home duals on the streaming platform. Additionally, the Tigers will be on the FloWrestling network while on the road at Air Force and Wyoming, Jan. 13 and 14.  

— UP NEXT — The Tigers remain on the road to take on the State of Oklahoma. Mizzou is scheduled to challenge the Oklahoma Sooners Friday, Feb. 3, before matching up with No. 13 Oklahoma State Sunday, Feb. 5. The duals are slated for 7 p.m. CT and 2 p.m. CT, respectively.