Ringing In The New Year: No. 2 Wrestling Welcomes No. 11 Virginia Tech, Jan. 2

COLUMBIA, Mo. – No. 2-ranked Missouri wrestling returns home to ring in 2024, welcoming No. 11 Virginia Tech to Hearnes Center on Tuesday, Jan. 2. The action will begin at 5:30 p.m. CT and can be streamed on FloWrestling, where Beau Baehman and Matt Manley will have the call. 

MIZZOU TO THE LOU

• Mizzou topped Illinois on Dec. 21 in St. Louis as a part of the Mizzou to the Lou series, 29-6. 
• The Tigers wrestled the Fighting Illini on stage in the Stifel Theater to regain Braggin’ Rights, headlined by junior Keegan O’Toole, who bumped up to 174 pounds to defeat No. 5 Edmond Ruth by decision. 
• Both redshirt freshman Kade Moore (133) and redshirt senior Brock Mauller (157) earned major decisions, 17-8 and 14-5, respectively. Clayton Whiting, a classmate of Moore’s, also secured his first fall (4:11) in 2023-24 at 184 pounds. 
• Redshirt junior Noah Surtin (125), redshirt sophomore Josh Edmond (141), junior Rocky Elam (197) and redshirt senior Zach Elam (285) all collected decision wins for the Black and Gold. 

ALL-TIME VS. VIRGINIA TECH 

• The dual between Missouri and Virginia Tech will be the eighth meeting between the two programs, with Mizzou holding a 4-3 record against the Hokies. 
• The Tigers have dropped the last three meetings with Virginia Tech dating back to the 2019-20 season.

LAST TIME VS. THE HOKIES

• During the 2022-23 season, Missouri lost in Blacksburg, Virginia, to Virginia Tech, 17-15, on Dec. 11, 2022.
• Allan Hart (141) and Brock Mauller (149) got Mizzou on the board with decision wins, followed by Keegan O’Toole (165) and Rocky Elam (197). 
• The Tigers were behind 17-12 going into the final match of the dual. Zach Elam (285) earned the 4-2 decision win, but it was not enough to push Mizzou over the top of the Hokies. 

NOT TOOLIN’ AROUND

• Junior Keegan O’Toole is not messing around this season, holding a 9-0 record and a 100 percent bonus rate at 165 pounds.
• Most recently, the junior bumped up to 174 pounds against Illinois in the absence of redshirt senior Peyton Mocco due to injury. O’Toole defeated the No. 5-ranked 174-pounder Edmond Ruth 12-7, earning him Big 12 Wrestler of the Week honors. 
• The conference award marked his first wrestler of the week accolade since Feb. 15, 2022. 
• O’Toole secured the fastest pin of his career (0:35) over Brett McIntosh of Wyoming on Dec. 8. 

MAJOR MOORE

• Redshirt freshman Kade Moore continues to hold down the 133-pound spot in the Missouri lineup, collecting his second consecutive major decision on Dec. 21 against Kole Bower of Illinois, 17-8. 
• 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 and holds a 7-2 record this season. 

BROCK ON LOCK

• Redshirt senior Brock Mauller has taken the three-point takedown rule change and ran with it, totaling five technical falls and two major decisions in his first nine 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 .778 bonus-point rate this season, which is second on the team. 
• Additionally, Mauller picked up his 110th 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). 

HISTORIC HEAVY

• Last season, Zach Elam totaled four falls, one tech fall, and two major decisions, while this season, he is off to a 13-0 start and has 10 bonus-point wins, seven of which are pins. 
• Elam’s double-digit win total and .538 fall rate leads the team in 2023-24, and his .769 bonus rate is third on the team.
• Furthermore, the Kansas City native is one of three Big 12 wrestlers to have totaled seven or more pins this season. 

MOST WINS (ACTIVE, 50+)

• Brock Mauller (110), Zach Elam (90), Peyton Mocco (87), Keegan O’Toole (72), Rocky Elam (62) and Noah Surtin (56). 

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. 

UP NEXT

• The Tigers hit the road, flying to Stanford for a dual out west on Wednesday, Jan. 10. The action is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. CT in Palo Alto, California. 

FOLLOW THE TIGERS

Visit MUTigers.com for the latest information on all things Mizzou Wrestling. You can also find the Tigers on social media by liking us on Facebook (Mizzou Wrestling) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@MizzouWrestling).