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TULSA, Okla. – University of Missouri wrestling closed out the first day of the Big 12 Championship in third place with 96 points on Saturday, March 9. The Tigers have two wrestlers in the finals and resume Sunday, March 10 at noon CT for session III.
SESSION I
Missouri had four byes in the first round of session one and earned six wins from the competing wrestlers. In the quarterfinals, the Tigers pushed six into the semifinals: redshirt junior Noah Surtin (125), junior Keegan O’Toole (165), redshirt senior Peyton Mocco (174), redshirt sophomore Colton Hawks (184), junior Rocky Elam (197) and redshirt senior Zach Elam (285). O’Toole and Mocco earned pins in their first matches, earning valuable team points, while Hawks and redshirt freshman Kade Moore contributed major decisions. After the first session, Mizzou was in third place with 58 points, behind Oklahoma State (67.5) and Iowa State (71).
SESSION II
Starting off the semifinals, Surtin lost a nailbiter to Jore Volk of Wyoming 6-5 in the rubber match between the two Big 12 foes. Meanwhile, redshirt sophomore Josh Edmond pinned Darren Green of Cal Baptist in the consolation quarterfinals for his first fall. O’Toole defeated Olejnik for the second time this season to return to the conference championship match. R. Elam won his second match of the day, a 5-4 decision over Stephen Buchanan of Oklahoma. Redshirt senior Brock Mauller (157) and redshirt junior Logan Gioffre (149) went undefeated in the consolations to qualify for the National Tournament. At the end of two sessions, the Tigers sit in third place with 96 points behind Oklahoma State (119.5) and Iowa State (129.5).
TOURNAMENT NOTES
- Surtin earned automatic qualification to the NCAA Championship after a first-round bye and a win over Eli Griffin of Cal Baptist.
- After his first-round bye, O’Toole won his first match against Cooper Voorhees of Wyoming to earn his fourth automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
- Mocco started the day 2-0 to qualify for his fifth NCAA Tournament at 174 pounds.
- Z. Elam picked up his 100th career win with his decision victory in the quarterfinals over Chase Trussell of Utah Valley.
- Earning his fourth NCAA qualification, R. Elam defeated Novak from Wyoming in his first match of the day.
- Edmond earned his first career fall in the consolation quarterfinals over Darren Green of Cal Baptist in the second period.
- O’Toole earned his spot in the Big 12 final, defeating Olejnik from Oklahoma State for the second time this season. The junior will wrestle David Carr for the fourth time in his career. Carr won the Big Championship at 165 pounds over O’Toole in 2023, but the Hartland, Wisconsin native earned his second NCAA title over Carr at nationals.
- R. Elam defeated Stephen Buchanan to earn a trip back to the 197-pound finals match tomorrow. The Kansas City, Missouri native will wrestle Tanner Sloan of SDSU, whom he defeated last year to win the 2023 Big 12 Championship at 197 pounds.
- Qualifying for his fifth National Tournament, Mauller claimed an upset victory over Vinny Zerban to punch his ticket.
- Mauller’s victory over Zerban marked his 117th career victory, moving him to 13th in program history for wins. He sits two wins away from passing Daniel Lewis (118) for 12th.
- Gioffre notched another upset to qualify for his first career National Tournament as a redshirt junior.
UP NEXT
Sessions III and IV of the 2024 Big 12 Wrestling Championship will take place in Tulsa at the BOK Center tomorrow, March 10. Session III will begin at noon CT and feature the consolation semis and seventh-place matches. The session will be broadcast on ESPN+. Session IV will conclude the day with the championship matches, which will air at 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
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).
MISSOURI RESULTS (Through Sessions I and II)
125 – Noah Surtin (#1 Seed), 1-1
Noah Surtin over Elijah Griffin (CBU) by SV-1 7-4
Jore Volk (WYO) over Noah Surtin by Dec. 6-5
133 – Kade Moore (#6 Seed), 1-2
Kade Moore over Bubba Wright (USAFA) by MD 11-3
Dominick Serrano (UNC) over Kade Moore by Dec. 6-3
Kase Mauger (UVU) over Kade Moore by Fall (2:08)
141 – Josh Edmond (#6 Seed), 2-1
Cael Happel (UNI) over Josh Edmond by Dec. 10-3
Josh Edmond over Darren Green (CBU) by Fall (3:29)
Josh Edmond over Haiden Drury (UVU) by Dec. 7-4
149 – Logan Gioffre (#8 Seed), 3-1
Logan Gioffre over Benji Alanis (UNC) by Dec. 4-1
Casey Swiderski (ISU) over Logan Gioffre by Dec. 4-2
Logan Gioffre over James Emmer (UVU) by Dec. 5-1
Logan Gioffre over Alek Martin (SDSU) by Dec. 1-1 TB-1
157 – Brock Mauller (#5 Seed), 3-1
Brock Mauller over Caleb Dowling (UNI) by Dec. 2-1
Cody Chittum (ISU) over Brock Mauller by Dec. 7-3
Brock Mauller over Chaz Hallmark (CBU) by MD 17-8
Brock Mauller over Vinny Zerban (UNCO) by Dec. 4-1 SV-1
165 – Keegan O’Toole (#1 Seed), 2-0
Keegan O’Toole over Cooper Voorhees (WYO) by Fall (2:15)
Keegan O’Toole over Izzak Olejnik (OSU) by Dec. 7-1
174 – Peyton Mocco (#4 Seed), 2-1
Peyton Mocco over Peter Acciardi (CBU) by Fall (6:49)
Peyton Mocco over Jared Simma (UNI) by Dec. 10-4
Cade DeVos (SDSU) over Peyton Mocco by Dec. 2-0
184 – Colton Hawks (#4 Seed), 2-1
Colton Hawks over Adam Cherne (NDSU) by MD 17-3
Colton Hawks over Will Feldkamp (ISU) by MD 13-2
Parker Keckeisen (UNI) over Colton Hawks by Dec. 11-3
197 – Rocky Elam (#3 Seed), 2-0
Rocky Elam over Joey Novak (WYO) by Dec. 5-1
Rocky Elam over Stephen Buchanan (OU) by Dec. 5-4
285 – Zach Elam (#3 Seed), 2-1
Zach Elam over Deven Dawson (NDSU) by Dec. 1-0
??Zach Elam over Chase Trussell (UVU) by Dec. 5-0
Yonger Bastida (ISU) over Zach Elam by MD 11-3
