Wrestling Readies For 2024 Big 12 Championship

TULSA, OKLA. – No. 10 University of Missouri wrestling begins the postseason at the Big 12 Championship from March 9-10. Sessions I and II on Saturday are set for 10 a.m. CT and 5 p.m. CT, respectively. Sessions III and IV will occur on Sunday, Mar. 10, at noon CT and 7:30 p.m. CT.

ALL-TIME AT BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP

• Mizzou looks to win its 13th consecutive conference championship dating back to the 2011-12 season (nine MAC and three Big 12).
• The Tigers have recorded back-to-back team titles since rejoining the conference in 2021-22.
• Junior Rocky Elam looks to defend his 197-pound conference title from 2023, while classmate Keegan O’Toole looks to gain his back at 165 pounds from the 2022 season. 

2023 BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP

• Missouri earned nine automatic bids to the NCAA tournament on its way to back-to-back Big 12 Titles (148 points). 
• Rocky Elam returns to defend his title at 197 pounds after taking down top overall seed Tanner Sloan at last year’s championship.
• The Tigers had six wrestlers in the finals last season, with Noah Surtin (125), Allan Hart (141) Brock Mauller (149), Keegan O’Toole (165), and Peyton Mocco (174) placing second. Four of which return this season.  

CONFERENCE CHRONICLES

• Last year’s conference title marked the 12th in program history, all of which have come under Head Coach Brian Smith. The total marked the most league titles in the history of Mizzou Athletics, surpassing legendary basketball coach Norm Stewart (11). 
• Coach Smith was awarded his second consecutive Big 12 Coach of the Year honor. 
• The 148 points scored by the team reset the program’s best mark in the Big 12 Championship, breaking the record set by the 2022 team (131.5).

ROCKY’S REIGN  

• Winning his second conference title (2021 MAC), Rocky Elam went 3-0 in the 2023 Big 12 tournament as the No. 2 seed to earn the 197-pound championship.
• Elam’s run to the top included wins over No. 3 seed Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) and No. 1 seed Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State). 
• The Kansas City native enters the 2024 Big 12 Championship as the No. 3 seed in the 197-pound bracket with a first-round bye. 

ACCESSING ALLOCATIONS

• The NCAA announced pre-allocations for the Division I Wrestling Championship, with the Big 12 totaling 57. 
• 125, 133, 174 and 197 all earned six spots, while 141, 149, 157, 165, 184 and 285 have five. 
• With the Tigers seeding to the Big 12 Championship, all but two (Logan Gioffre and Josh Edmond) fall inside the number of pre-allocations for the conference. 

TOP SCORERS  

• Throughout the 2023-24 season, junior Keegan O’Toole led the team with 231 points scored in 16 matches and 60 takedowns. O’Toole is the only wrestler to score over 200 points in the regular season. 
• Redshirt senior Brock Mauller came in second in points scored, totaling 190 points through 16 matches with 46 takedowns (also second). 
• Additionally, four wrestlers surpassed the 150 mark: Clayton Whiting (165), Peyton Mocco (157), Josh Edmond (154) and Noah Surtin (152). 

RIDING TIME 

• Mizzou had eight Tigers with a total of 11 minutes or more of riding time, with a minimum of 13 matches wrestled. 
• Redshirt senior Zach Elam led the charge with 27:55 in 22 matches, an average of 1:16 per match. 
• Three others broke the 20-minute mark in junior Keegan O’Toole (24:18), redshirt senior Peyton Mocco (21:26) and redshirt freshman Clayton Whiting (20:37). 
• Mocco’s average over his 13 bouts comes to 1:39, the highest on the team. 

PRINCES OF POINTS

• Mizzou topped North Dakota State by 26 team points (32-6) on Feb. 16, marking the fifth time the Tigers defeated an opponent by that margin this season. 
• Moreover, in the dual against NDSU, the starters earned five bonus-point victories out of 10, notching the sixth time this year the team totaled five or more in a match. 

DEPENDABLE DOMINANCE  

• Leading the team in wins with a 21-1 record this season, redshirt senior Zach Elam has taken advantage of his last year in Black and Gold. 
• Of the senior’s 21 wins, 11 have been bonus-point victories: eight falls and three technical falls. 
• Additionally, the Kansas City native’s pin total leads the team, and he is just two wins away from 100. 

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.  

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). 

COACHES RANKINGS

• In the third NCAA coaches rankings of the season, Missouri saw all ten wrestlers ranked, with five in the top 10.  
• Cracking the top 10 of their respective weight classes: Noah Surtin (8th, 125), Keegan O’Toole (1st, 165), Peyton Mocco (10th, 174), Rocky Elam (9th, 197) and Zach Elam (5th, 285). 
• Following behind those five are Brock Mauller (12th, 157), Colton Hawks (17th, 184), Josh Edmond (20th, 141), Kade Moore (23rd, 133) and Logan Gioffre (23rd, 149).
• 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 (98), Peyton Mocco (91), Keegan O’Toole (79), Rocky Elam (65) and Noah Surtin (61).  

CLOSING IT OUT IN KC

• The 2023-24 season will come to a close in Kansas City, Missouri, where the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship will take place at the T-Mobile Center on March 21-23. 
• Kansas City is the hometown of both Zach Elam and Rocky Elam, who graduated from Staley High School. Z. Elam, a redshirt senior, has the opportunity to end his career in his hometown. 

UP NEXT

• Missouri will turn its attention to the NCAA Championship, March 21-23, in Kansas City with all qualifying wrestlers. The tournament will take place in the T-Mobile Center with Mizzou as the host institution.