No. 2 Wrestling Heads To Cali For Dual With No. 18 Stanford

COLUMBIA, Mo. – No. 2-ranked Missouri wrestling team hits the road for a match with No. 18 Stanford on Wednesday, Jan. 10. The dual out west will start at 4 p.m. CT and can be streamed on Pac-12 Network. 

THE CLOSERS

• With three matches left in the dual against No. 11 Virginia Tech, Missouri found itself down 17-11. 
• The Tigers proceeded to rattle off two majors and a decison win to defeat the Hokies. 22-17. Clayton Whiting, Rocky Elam and Zach Elam totaled eight takedowns to zero for the Hokie wrestlers and outscored them 30-4. 
• Whiting defeated Dakota Howard (184, 11-3), R. Elam topped No. 21 Andy Smith (197, 11-0) and Z. Elam bested No. 20 Hunter Catka (285, 8-1). 

MOORE MAGIC

• Redshirt freshman Kade Moore pulled off the upset of the season thus far, pinning No. 5 Sam Latona at 133 pounds, helping Missouri defeat No. 11 Virginia Tech, 22-17. 
• Moore is 4-0 in duals since taking the starting spot at 133 pounds, including two major decisions and a fall. 
• Moreover, the upset pushed the Allen, Texas native into the rankings, sitting 24th at 133 pounds by FloWrestling.

ALL-TIME VS. STANFORD 

• The matchup between Mizzou and Stanford will mark the fourth meeting between the programs. 
• The Tigers have defeated the Cardinal in all three matches and looks to remain undefeated in the series. 
• Throughout the series, Mizzou has outscored Stanford 89-20 in team points. 

LAST TIME VS. THE CARDINAL

• In the last dual between the teams, Missouri won nine of 10 matches in the dual to win 31-3. 
• The Tigers totaled four major decisions from Nathan McCormick (133), Drake Houdashelt (149), Mike Larson (184) and Brent Haynes (197). 

NOT TOOLIN’ AROUND

• Junior Keegan O’Toole is not messing around this season, holding a 10-0 record and a 100 percent bonus rate at 165 pounds.
• Most recently, O’Toole defeated No. 27 Connor Brady by technical fall 20-4 in the 165-pound match against No. 11 Virginia Tech. 
• The junior secured the fastest pin of his career (0:35) over Brett McIntosh of Wyoming on Dec. 8. 

HEAVYWEIGHT HERO 

• Leading the team in wins with a 13-0 record this season, redshirt senior Zach Elam is taking advantage of his last year in Black and Gold. 
• Of his 13 wins, 10 have been bonus-point victories: seven falls, three technical falls. 
• The seven pins from the redshirt senior leads the team and marks a single-season high, besting the six he earned his freshman season (2018-19). 

BONUS-POINT BROCK

• Redshirt senior Brock Mauller is making the most of his final year at Mizzou, totaling five technical falls and two major decisions in his first nine matches of the season. 
• Mauller is 8-1 this season with his last win via decision being his first of the season in November. Every win since has come with bonus points. 
• His five technical falls this season ties his career single-season high from 2018-19, his freshman season, and the Columbia, Missouri native needs just three more to tie his career total heading into this season (8). 
• Moreover, the redshirt senior picked up his 110th career win against Joe Roberts of Illinois on Dec. 21, tying him for 16th all-time with Tyron Woodley. The Columbia, Missouri native is four wins away from passing Brent Haynes (113). 

QUALIFIED

• The Missouri wrestling program has a connection to three wrestlers who qualified for the 2024 Olympic Trials with Team USA. 
• Junior Keegan O’Toole qualified when he won the U23 World Championship at 74 kg in October. 
• Assistant coach Dom Bradley and Tiger Style alum Jarrett Jacques (Tiger Style WC) accomplished the feat at Senior Nationals. Bradley won the tournament at 125 kg for the fourth time, while Jacques placed fourth at 74 kg. 

MOST WINS (Active, 50+)

• Brock Mauller (111), Zach Elam (91), Peyton Mocco (87), Keegan O’Toole (73), Rocky Elam (63) and Noah Surtin (56). 

UP NEXT

• Missouri’s next dual action will be at No. 20 West Virginia on Friday, Jan. 26. The Tigers will also send a contingent to the UNI Open tournament on Saturday, Jan. 20.