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TULSA, Okla. – The University of Missouri wrestling team sits atop the standings after the first day of action at the Big 12 Championships in Tulsa, Okla. All 10 starters remain in the bracket while six Tigers advanced to the finals of their respective brackets as the Tigers accumulated 135.0 team points through the first two sessions.
Mizzou began building its lead in the first session, as all eight Tigers competing in first-round matches advanced and the entire Tiger lineup wrestled matches in the quarterfinals. By the end of the second session, the Tigers created more separation on the back of six semifinal victories to create a 23-point lead over second-place Iowa State.
Session I
After the first session concluded, nine wrestlers advanced to the semifinals as the Tigers stood in first place with 87.5 team points. In total, Mizzou claimed 10 bonus-point victories across the first two rounds of action. Redshirt sophomore Noah Surtin (125), sophomore Keegan O’Toole (165) and redshirt junior Peyton Mocco (174) all notched bonus points in both of their matches in the session.
Surtin ran through his opening slate in dominating fashion, picking up his first two victories with a first-round pin and a major decision in the quarterfinal. Redshirt senior Connor Brown put forth a strong showing at 133 pounds, earning his place in the semifinals with a pair of decisions, the latter of which came in a dramatic sudden-victory takedown in the quarterfinals against No. 4 seed Cody Phippen of Air Force.
Redshirt senior Allan Hart (141) cruised through the opening rounds at 141 with a 16-0 technical fall to open the proceedings, then scored a 10-4 decision to upset No. 3 seed Cael Happel of Northern Iowa. At 149 pounds, redshirt junior Brock Mauller remained unbeaten in his career in conference championships with two decision triumphs.
In the 157-pound bracket, redshirt senior Jarrett Jacques split his matches by recording a 4-1 decision in the opening round before taking a defeat in a narrow tiebreaker during his quarterfinal matches. O’Toole recorded his bonus-point wins by way of an opening-round pin and a dominant major decision in the quarterfinals.
At 174, Mocco reached double figures in bonus-point victories for 2022-23 with his 10th and 11th of the season via major decision and pin in the first round and quarterfinal, respectively. In his first appearance at the Big 12 Championships, sophomore Colton Hawks fought his way through the first two rounds of the 184-pound bracket, picking up a pin in his first-round victory and scoring a 3-2 decision to advance to the semifinals.
Both sophomore Rocky Elam (197) and redshirt junior Zach Elam (285) received byes into the quarterfinal and earned a victory in their lone matches of the session. R. Elam notched his first pin of the season early in the second period to advance, while Z. Elam controlled the pace of his match to pick up a 10-3 decision.
In total, eight of Missouri’s 10 starters qualified for the NCAA Championships by the end of the first session.
Session II
Starting off the session in the consolation bracket, Jacques picked up victory No. 99 in his first match of wrestlebacks against No. 5 seed Derek Holschlag of Northern Iowa. Powered by a four-point near fall, the redshirt senior earned the 5-1 decision. He dropped his next match against Iowa State’s Jason Kraisser, the No. 7 seed in the bracket, to put himself in the seventh-place match tomorrow afternoon.
Surtin continued the quest for his first conference crown in the semifinals, taking a 5-3 decision to seal a berth in the second conference championship match of his career. At 133 pounds, Brown dropped his semifinal match against No. 1 seed Daton Fix.
Hart continued his run of upsets through the 141-pound bracket, picking up a pin midway through the third period to knock off No. 2 seed Mosha Schwartz of Oklahoma. The win put Hart in the Big 12 championship match for the second year in a row. Mauller remained unbeaten in his career at conference championships, taking down No. 5 seed Victor Voinovich in a comfortable decision.
O’Toole booked his trip to a third-consecutive conference final with his second win of the season over No. 3 seed Michael Caliendo III of North Dakota State, controlling the entirety of the clash to earn an 8-3 decision. Mocco followed suit at 174 pounds, landing his spot in back-to-back finals with a decision over No. 5 seed Tate Picklo of Oklahoma.
After Hawks dropped a narrow decision against No. 1 seed Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa, R. Elam pitched his second shutout in less than a month against No. 3 seed Yonger Bastida of Iowa State to move one step closer to his second conference title. Z. Elam closed out the night by dropping a close decision against No. 2 seed Sam Schuyler of Iowa State.
Notes
• With 87.5 team points in Session I, the Tigers more than doubled their point total from the opening session in the 2022 Big 12 Championships (40.5).
• The Tigers’ 135.0 team points after the first two sessions surpassed the team’s total score in last season’s 2022 team championship run, where Mizzou earned 131.5 team points.
• On the day, the Tigers reeled off 10 wins over ranked opponents.
• Hart collected a pair of upset victories, taking his quarterfinal match over No. 3 seed Cael Happel of Northern Iowa and semifinal match against No. 2 seed Mosha Schwartz of Oklahoma, evening his record against both opponents to 1-1.
• With his wins over Happel, who is ranked No. 8 in the nation, and Schwartz, who is ranked No. 7, Hart picked up his two highest-ranked wins of the season along with his second and third top-10 decisions of the campaign.
• Hawks’ quarterfinal win over DeAnthony Parker Jr., the No. 24-ranked wrestler at 184 pounds, was his first victory over a ranked opponent.
• Brown’s quarterfinal win over No. 4 seed Cody Phippen of Air Force, the No. 19 grappler in the class, marked his first ranked win of the season.
• As a result of Brown’s quarterfinal victory, he punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships for the first time in his career.
• R. Elam picked up his first pin of the year in the second period of his quarterfinal match against Xavier Vasquez of Northern Colorado.
• Mocco, O’Toole and Hart became second, third and fourth grapplers on the 2022-23 roster to yield at least 10 bonus-point victories, joining Surtin.
• Nine Tigers advanced to the semifinals in Session I, marking the seventh time in the past decade that MU advanced at least nine wrestlers past the quarterfinals.
• O’Toole’s semifinal victory over Caliendo is his second victory over the NDSU wrestler after defeating the redshirt freshman in dual action on Dec. 20.
• With Caliendo ranked No. 7 in the weight class, O’Toole scored his second victory over a top-10 opponent this season.
UP NEXT
Sessions III and IV of the 2023 Big 12 Wrestling Championships will take place in Tulsa at the BOK Center tomorrow, March 5. Session III will begin at noon CT and feature the consolation semis and 7th place matches, with the 3rd and 5th place matches starting at 1:30 p.m. CT. The session will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Session IV will conclude the day with the championship matches, which will air at 8 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
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 (#3 Seed), 3-0
#3 Noah Surtin over Carlos Negrete Jr (NDSU) by Fall (3:27)
#3 Noah Surtin over #6 Tanner Jordan (SDSU) by MD 13-2
#3 Noah Surtin over #7 Joey Prata (OU) by Dec. 5-3
133 – Connor Brown (#5 Seed), 2-1
#5 Connor Brown over Davin Rhoads (WVU) by Dec. 9-2
#5 Connor Brown over #4 Cody Phippen (AFA) SV-1 6-4
#1 Daton Fix (OSU) over #5 Connor Brown by MD 11-3
141 – Allan Hart (#6 Seed), 3-0
#6 Allan Hart over Christian Nunez (CBU) TF 16-0 (2:57)
#6 Allan Hart over #3 Cael Happel (UNI) by Dec. 10-4
#6 Allan Hart over #2 Mosha Schwartz (OU) by Fall (6:09)
149 – Brock Mauller (#1 Seed), 3-0
#1 Brock Mauller over Chase Zollmann (WYO) Dec. 8-2
#1 Brock Mauller over #8 Sam Hillegas (WVU) Dec. 3-1
#1 Brock Mauller over #5 Victor Voinovich (OSU) by Dec. 7-1
157 – Jarrett Jacques (#3 Seed), 2-2
#3 Jarrett Jacques over Jack Ganos (AFA) by Dec. 4-1
#6 Jacob Wright (WYO) over #3 Jarrett Jacques by TB-1 3-2
#3 Jarrett Jacques over Derek Holschlag (UNI) by Dec. 5-1
#7 Jason Kraisser (ISU) over #3 Jarrett Jacques by Dec. 5-2
165 – Keegan O’Toole (#2 Seed), 3-0
#2 Keegan O’Toole over Frank Almaguer (CBU) by Fall (6:31)
#2 Keegan O’Toole over #7 Tanner Cook (SDSU) by MD 12-2
#2 Keegan O’Toole over #3 Michael Caliendo III (NDSU) by Dec. 8-3
174 – Peyton Mocco (#1 Seed), 3-0
#1 Peyton Mocco over Julien Broderson (ISU) by MD 14-4
#1 Peyton Mocco over #8 Scott Joll (WVU) by Fall (3:32)
#1 Peyton Mocco over #5 Tate Picklo (OU) by Dec. 6-5
184 – Colton Hawks (#4 Seed), 2-1
#4 Colton Hawks over Peter Acciardi (CBU) by Fall (1:40)
#4 Colton Hawks over #5 DeAnthony Parker Jr. (NDSU) by Dec. 3-2
#1 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) over #4 Colton Hawks (Missouri) by Dec. 7-5
197 – Rocky Elam (#2 Seed), 2-0
#2 Rocky Elam over Xavier Vasquez (UNC) by Fall (4:40)
#2 Rocky Elam over #3 Yonger Bastida (ISU) by Dec. 6-0
285 – Zach Elam (#3 Seed), 1-1
#3 Zach Elam (Missouri) over #6 Josh Heindselman (OU) by Dec. 10-3
#2 Sam Schuyler (ISU) over #3 Zach Elam by Dec. 3-2
TEAM RESULTS
1. Missouri – 135.0 Points
2. Iowa State – 112.0 Points
3. Oklahoma State – 102.5 Points
4. Oklahoma – 78.0 Points
5. South Dakota State – 69.5 Points
6. North Dakota State – 67.5 Points
7. Air Force – 57.5 Points
8. Northern Iowa – 57.0 Points
9. Northern Colorado – 42.0 Points
10. West Virginia – 31.5 Points
11. Wyoming – 30.0 Points
12. Utah Valley – 26.0 Points
13. Cal Baptist – 1.0 Points
