No. 7 Wrestling Travels to No. 16 Northern Iowa For Conference Matchup

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – No. 7 University of Missouri wrestling continues its road trip at No. 16 Northern Iowa on Friday, Feb. 23. The match starts at 7 p.m. CT and can be watched on FloWrestling.

LAST TIME OUT 

• Missouri continued the win streak versus No.11 South Dakota State 21-19 on Sunday, Feb. 18.
• The Tigers saw bonus points from Noah Surtin (125, MD 14-6), Keegan O’Toole (165, TF 22-5) and Zach Elam (285, Fall). 
• Elam’s pin to win the dual secured 10 wins for the Tigers this season, marking the ninth time in the last 10 seasons the team has totaled 10 or more wins. 

ALL-TIME VS. NORTHERN IOWA

• The matchup between Mizzou and Northern Iowa will mark the 35th meeting between the programs, with the Panthers holding the all-time advantage, 19-17. 
• Despite the all-time record being in favor of UNI, Missouri has won the last three consecutive matches against the Panthers and seven of the last 10. 
• Additionally, the Tigers are 14-7 against Northern Iowa during the Brian Smith era. 

LAST TIME VS. THE PANTHERS

• Missouri won the last meeting with UNI, 24-12, on Jan. 8, 2023. 
• Leading the charge with bonus points were Noah Surtin (125, TF 16-0), Peyton Mocco (174, Fall) and Rocky Elam (197, MD 10-2). 
• Additionally, Zeke Seltzer (133) and James Conway (165) made their dual debuts for the Black and Gold. 

KEEGAN’S KITCHEN

• Junior Keegan O’Toole is cooking this season, holding a 16-0 record with 13 bonus-point wins. 
• O’Toole defeated three top-10 opponents in consecutive matches this season, Jan. 26-Feb. 4, in Peyton Hall (WVU), Julian Ramirez (CU) and Izzak Olejnik (OSU).  
• Most recently, the junior collected his fourth technical fall of the season over Connor Gaynor of South Dakota State on Feb. 18, 22-5.  

DEPENDABLE DOMINANCE  

• Leading the team in wins with a 20-0 record this season, redshirt senior Zach Elam is taking advantage of his last year in Black and Gold. 
• Elam was tabbed fifth on the most recent NCAA’s Most Dominant Wrestler rankings, averaging 4.5 team points per match this season with a minimum of 16 matches wrestled. 
• Of the senior’s 20 wins, 11 have been bonus-point victories: eight falls and three technical falls. 
• Additionally, the Kansas City native’s win and pin total lead the team. 

SERIOUS SCORING

• MU topped NDSU on Feb. 16 by 26 (32-6) team points, marking the fifth time the Tigers have defeated an opponent by that margin or more this season. 

MILESTONE MAULLER

• Redshirt senior Brock Mauller has totaled 115 career wins at Mizzou and is tied for 14th all-time in program history with Joey Lavallee.  
• The Columbia, Missouri native needs two wins to pass Nick Marable (116). Mauller can move into the top 10 all-time with six more victories (120). 

SIMPLY SURTIN  

• Back-to-back major decisions in the Dakotas, redshirt junior Noah Surtin moves to 14-2 this season. 
• Surtin has totaled 11 bonus-point wins, tying for second on the team, and has four ranked wins in 2023-24. 
• Moreover, the No. 8 ranked 125-pounder has won five of his last six matches, with all five victories coming with bonus points. 

STAND UP STANFIELD  

• Freshman Drew Stanfield made his Tiger Style debut in a dual at NDSU, getting the nod at 133 pounds and earning the 12-5 win over Fernando Barreto.

COACHES RANKINGS

• In the second NCAA coaches rankings of the season, Missouri saw nine wrestlers ranked, with five in the top 10.  
• Cracking the top 10 of their respective weight classes: Noah Surtin (7th, 125), Keegan O’Toole (1st, 165), Peyton Mocco (10th, 174), Rocky Elam (8th, 197) and Zach Elam (4th, 285). 
• Following behind those five are Brock Mauller (11th, 157), Clayton Whiting (13th, 184), Josh Edmond (22nd, 141) and Kade Moore (23rd, 133). 
• Coaches’ rankings are determined by 14 coaches in each weight class, with two head coaches from each of the seven conferences. Only wrestlers designated as a starter at a respective weight class may be considered. Wrestlers must have eight Division I matches in the weight class, with at least one within the last 30 days.

MOST WINS (ACTIVE, 50+)

• Brock Mauller (115), Zach Elam (97), Peyton Mocco (91), Keegan O’Toole (79), Rocky Elam (65) and Noah Surtin (61).  

UP NEXT

• The Missouri Tigers embark on another road trip to Ames, Iowa, to dual the Iowa State Cyclones on Feb. 25. Sunday’s match is set to begin at 2 p.m. CT and can be streamed on ESPN+.