COLUMBIA, Mo. - Top-ranked Oklahoma State won its fifth Big 12 Wrestling Championship Saturday at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo. OSU collected the titles in 1997-98, 2000-01 and 2003. Oklahoma finished with top honors in all other years.

The Cowboys earned 101.5 points to capture their crown. OSU qualified the most student-athletes for the finals with nine, and captured six of the individual bouts.

Junior Johnny Thompson led the Pokes' attack by winning his third consecutive Big 12 title in the 133-pound weight class. Thompson defeated Oklahoma's Witt Durden by decision, 4-1. Thompson improved to 23-2 overall this season. The squad's other five victories include Jerrod Sanders (149), Shane Roller (157), Chris Pendleton (174), Muhammed Lawal (197) and Willie Gruenwald (HWT). But, Thompson was the only returning champion to defend his title this year.

Ushering in the new era of Big 12 champions were Oklahoma's Bo Maynes and Teyon Ware. In the first championship match of the night, Maynes ended Skyler Holman's (Oklahoma State) chances of repeating as the league champ in the 125-pound division. The Sooner senior handed Holman a 4-1 loss.

The conference's fabulous freshmen in Oklahoma State's Zack Esposito and Oklahoma's Teyon Ware met for the fourth time this season after earning a finals berth in the 141-pound match. Ware took the conference title and the third victory in his first conference meet. Ware has compiled a 27-4 record on the season, and was named the Big 12 Outstanding Wrestler of the Meet for his performance at the league championship.

In other action, Missouri's 174-pounder Tyron Woodley recorded the first Big 12 individual championship for the Tigers in the league's seven-year tenure. Following in Woodley's footsteps Scott Barker claimed the second crown for Mizzou. Both of these performances helped MU to its highest team finish, second place, in conference history.

The top three finishers in each weight class along with six wildcards (listed below) selected by the coaches advance to the Division I NCAA Championships March 20-22 at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo. The Big 12 Conference and the Kansas City Sports Commission will host this year's nationals.

BIG 12 OUTSTANDING WRESTLER: Teyon Ware

Attendance: 1,559

TEAM RESULTS
1. Oklahoma State - 101.5
2. Missouri - 55.5
3. Oklahoma - 51.5
4. Nebraska - 39.5
5. Iowa State - 26.5

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
125-Pound
Championship - Bo Maynes (OU) dec. Skyler Holman (OSU), 4-1
Third Place - Jason Powell (NU) maj. dec. Grant Nakamura (ISU), 10-2

133-Pound
Championship - Johnny Thompson (OSU) dec. Witt Durden (OU), 4-1
Third Place - Zach Roberson (ISU) dec. Joey Malia (NU), 13-7

141-Pound
Championship - Teyon Ware (OU) dec. Zack Esposito (OSU), 5-2
Third Place - J.P. Reese (MU) maj. dec. Dusty Spaulding (NU), 12-2

149-Pound
Championship - Jerrod Sanders (OSU) dec. Travis Shufelt (NU), 6-5
Third Place - Jeremy Spates (MU) dec. Nate Gallick (ISU), 4-0

157-Pound
Championship - Shane Roller (OSU) dec. Kenny Burleson (MU), 8-5
Third Place - Rafael Maturino (OU) pins David Ingalls (NU), 2:41

165-Pound
Championship - Tyron Woodley (MU) Nick Passalano (ISU), 5-1 TB
Third Place - Tyrone Lewis (OSU) tech fall Jacob Klein (NU), 24-9

174-Pound
Championship - Chris Pendleton (OSU) dec. Robbie Waller 6-3
Third Place - Travis Pascoe (NU) maj. dec. Jon Sioredas (MU), 21-8

184-Pound
Championship - Scott Barker (MU) dec. Jake Rosholt (OSU), 9-1
Third Place - Josh Lambrecht (OU) dec. Austen Palmer (ISU), 11-5

197-Pound
Championship - Muhammed Lawal (OSU) dec. Justin Ruiz (NU) 7-4
Third Place - Dante Stone (MU) dec. Tom Grossman (OU), 7-1

Heavyweight
Championship - Willie Gruenwald (OSU) dec. Kevin Herron (MU), 4-3
Third Place - Scott Coleman (ISU) dec. Mitch Manstedt (NU), 8-2

BIG 12 NCAA WILDCARD SELECTIONS
Aaron Holker, Iowa State (141)
Jacob Klein, Nebraska (165)
Austen Palmer, Iowa State (184)
Joey Malia, Nebraska (133)
Tom Grossman, Oklahoma (197)
Grant Nakamura, Iowa State (125)

First Alternate: Jon Sioredas, Missouri (157)
Second Alternate: Dusty Spaulding, Nebraska (141)

No. 11 Wrestling Crushes Eastern Illinois, 48-3

Kenny Burleson extended his win streak to 15 matches

CHARLESTON, Ill. - The 11th-ranked University of Missouri wrestling team continued their winning ways with a dominating 48-3 victory over Eastern Illinois University at the Lantz Arena in Charleston, Illinois. The Tigers showed no letdown after their big 23-19 victory over ninth-ranked Nebraska on Friday night. The win against the Panthers increased the Tigers dual record to 12-5 (2-1 Big 12), winning their last three duals.

Austin DeVoe (Columbus, Kan./Columbus Unified) picked up his fifth dual victory of the season, pinning Dexter Wright in 4:28 in the 125-pound bout. The pin gave the Tigers a quick 6-0 lead as the Tigers won the next eight out of nine matches.

Senior captain Mark Bader (Creve Coeur, Mo./Vianney) moved up a weight class shut out Mike Stanley for a 18-0 technical fall victory. Chris McCormick (Leawood, Kan./Blue Valley North) also moved up a weight class and picked up a technical fall victory of his own. McCormick defeated Brian Sbertoll, 22-4. Eighth-ranked Jeremy Spates (Norman, Ok./Norman) made it three technical fall victories in a row with his 20-4 win against Chris Jordan.

11th-ranked Kenny Burleson (Neosho, Mo./Neosho) won his 15th straight match and his 28th overall victory via forfeit in the 157-pound bout. Burleson is 15-1 in duals this season. His 28 victories tie his career best in overall victories set during the 2001-02 season when he went 28-11 and 13-3 in duals.

The Panthers got there first and only points of the day in the 165-pound bout when Matt Veach upset seventh-ranked Tyron Woodley (Ferguson, Mo./McCluer), 5-3. The win by Veach made the score 27-3 in favor of the Tigers.

Sophomore John Sioredas (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge) picked up his first dual win of the season with a 10-6 decision over Clay French in the 174-pound match. 2002 All-American Scott Barker (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville) pinned Josh Lepper in 1:15 to give Barker his eighth dual victory and sixth pin of the year. Senior Dante Stone (Calder, Id./North Idaho Junior College) won the 197-pound match by forfeit.

Senior Kevin Herron (Imperial, Mo./Fox) ended the dual with a pin of Pete Ziminski in 1:34 in the heavyweight bout. The pin was Herron's 16th of the year and increased his career pins to a school record 39 career pins. Herron's pin made the final score 48-3 and dropped the Panthers to 4-9 in duals for the season. Up next for the Tigers is an important home dual against conference opponent Iowa State on Saturday, February 8 in the Hearnes Center Fieldhouse at 1:00 p.m. A win by the Tigers over the 13th-ranked Cyclones would clinch the number two seed for the Big 12 Championships behind Oklahoma State.

No. 11 Wrestling Upsets No. 9 Nebraska, 23-14 in Front of Record Crowd

The Tigers have two Big 12 Conference victories, the first time in school history

COLUMBIA, Mo. - In front of a record-breaking crowd of 1,145 fans, the University of Missouri wrestling team pulled off their second upset in a row by defeating ninth-ranked Nebraska, 23-14. The win is the Tigers second win this season in the Big 12, the first time in school history that a Tiger team has won two Big 12 duals. The win improved the Tigers to 11-5 for the season and 2-1 in the Big 12.

The Tigers started off in a 7-0 hole after the first two matches. Mark Bader (Creve Coeur, Mo./Vianney) lost a 11-4 decision to 3rd-ranked Jason Powell in the 125-pound bout. Chris McCormick (Leawood, Kan./Blue Valley North) couldn't get anything started against 15th-ranked Joey Malia in the 133-pound match and lost via a major decision, 11-2.

J.P. Reese (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Adams) got the Tigers on the board with his 9-2 decision over Dusty Spaulding in the 141-pound match. Jeremy Spates (Norman, Okla./Norman), ranked #8, made it two in a row with his 7-4 decision over 7th-ranked Travis Shufelt to cut the deficit to 7-6.

11th-ranked Kenny Burleson (Neosho, Mo./Neosho) extended his team's-best winning streak to 14 matches with his 11-5 decision over Nate McMillin in the 157-pound match to put the Tigers on top 9-7. The win gave Burleson his team leading 27th win and 14th dual win.

Tyron Woodley (Ferguson, Mo./McCluer) kept the Tigers winning ways going with his 12-1 major decision victory over 17th-ranked Jacob Klein. The seventh-ranked Woodley recorded his team-leading ninth major decision of the season. The win increased the Tigers lead to 13-7.

Sophomore John Sioredas (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge) saw his second dual action of the season against eighth-ranked Travis Pascoe. Sioredas couldn't hold off Pascoe's onslaught of takedowns and lost due to a technical fall, 27-12. The win narrowed the Tiger lead to 13-11.

2002 All-American and fourth-ranked Scott Barker (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville) showed he was 100 percent recovered from his early season injuries with a quick pin of 13th-ranked B.J. Padden in 1:44 in the 197-pound bout. The pin gave the Tigers a 19-11 lead with two matches to go.

The Huskers made it 19-14, when 2002 All-American and third-ranked Justin Ruiz defeated 19th-ranked Dante Stone (Calder, Id./North Idaho Junior College), 8-3, in a tightly contested battle. The win gave the Huskers a chance to win the dual with a pin in the final bout.

Kevin Herron (Imperial, Mo./Fox) made sure that would not be the case as he dominated Mitch Manstedt in the heavyweight-bout and won by a major decision, 14-2 to clinch the victory and the upset. This is the first time in school history that the Tigers have won two in a row against top-ten opponents.

The win by the Tigers dropped the Huskers to 13-5 and 0-1 in the Big 12.

The win puts the Tigers in good shape to gain a second seed in the Big 12 Championships. If the Tigers defeat the Iowa State Cyclones next Sunday they would clinch the second seed behind Oklahoma State.

The Tiger hit the road Sunday for a nonconference dual against Eastern Illinois in Charleston, Illinois. The Panthers are 4-8 in duals this season. NOTES FROM THE MAT: The previous attendance record was set last season against Oklahoma State when 1,138 fans attended the 26-7 loss by the Tigers in the Hearnes Center Arena.

No. 20 Wrestling Team Upsets No. 3 Oklahoma, 25-20

Tigers Head Coach Brian Smith records 50th dual victory NORMAN, Okla. - The 20th-ranked Missouri wrestling team upset the third-ranked Oklahoma Sooners (11-5, 1-3 Big 12), 25-20 in a conference dual meet at the Howard McCasland Field House in Norman, Oklahoma. The win for the Tigers (10-5, 1-1 Big 12) gave Head Coach Brian Smith his 50th dual victory as Tiger head coach, he is only the fourth Tiger wrestling coach with 50 dual wins. The win also gave Smith his first victory over former mentor and close friend Jack Spates, the Sooners Head Coach.

Senior Mark Bader battled No. 7 Bo Maynes in the first match of the night, but eventually lost the 125-pound bout by decision, 4-1. In the 133-pound match Chris McCormick had a difficult time against All-American and fourth-ranked Witt Durden and lost by technical fall, 23-8.

The Tigers sent out 11th-ranked J.P. Reese to take on No. 1 Teyon Ware in the 141-pound bout. Ware defeated Reese, 8-3. The win gave the Sooners a 11-0 lead going into the middle weight classes.

Jeremy Spates (No. 8) used five takedowns to record a major decision over Danny Rubenstein, 16-5 in the 149-pound bout. The win cut the lead 11-4 with six matches left. In the 157-pound match 11th-ranked Kenny Burleson recorded his team-leading 26th win with a 3-1 decision over Rafael Maturino. Seventh-ranked Tyron Woodley pinned Wes Roberts in the 165-pound bout in 2:47. The three wins gave the Tigers a 13-11 lead.

The Sooners regained the lead, 17-13, when All-American and third-ranked Robbie Waller pinned Matt Turner in the 174-pound bout. The Tigers answered back with a win of their own. Tiger All-American and fourth-ranked Scott Barker pinned Derrick Brown in the 184-pound match in 1:29. The pin gave the Tigers the lead back, 19-17.

The 197-pound bout featured two top-15 wrestlers. No. 15 Dante Stone took on the Sooners 14th-ranked Tom Grossman. Grossman held on for the 7-4 win, giving the Sooners the lead once again, 20-19, heading into the final bout.

Senior Kevin Herron, the 15th-ranked heavyweight, made quick work of Jake Hager and pinned him in :56 seconds to secure the Tiger win, 25-20. The pin added to Herron's career pin record of 39 pins, including a Big 12 and team leading 15 pins this season.

The Tigers return home to take on Big 12 rival and 12th-ranked Nebraska in a conference dual meet in the Hearnes Arena on Friday, Jan. 31 at 7:00 p.m.

NOTES FROM THE MAT: The victory over the third-ranked Sooners was the highest ranked opponent that Coach Smith has had a win against as coach of the Tigers...Sooner Head Coach is the father of Tiger wrestler Jeremy Spates...Tiger Head Coach Brian Smith served as an assistant coach for Jack Spates while at Cornell University...The victory was the first victory over Oklahoma since the 1994 season, when the Tigers won 20-19. The Sooners still lead the overall series, 38-3.

Wrestling Team Falls to #5 Arizona State and #14 Northern Iowa at National Duals

No. 17 Missouri Tiger wrestling team falls to 9-5 in duals this season

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The 17th-ranked Missouri wrestling team showed that they belonged in the company of the elite wrestling schools of the country, despite being eliminated from the National Duals after suffering two heartbreaking loses to two ranked opponents in Columbus, Ohio. In the first round the Tigers fell to 5th-ranked Arizona State, 19-17, then suffered a 18-15 setback to 14th-ranked Northern Iowa in the first round of the consolation bracket.

Against the Sundevils the Tigers started off strong after senior captain Mark Bader recorded a 17-2 technical fall victory over Adam Chavira in the 125-pound bout. The Sundevils answered with a technical fall of their own with #10 Mike Simpson recording the 17-1 victory over Chris McCormick.

The Sundevils won the next two bouts; #4 Dana Holland rallied from a 7-4 deficit to record a 9-8 decision over #9 J.P. Reese in the 141-pound bout. Jeremy Spates (#9) could not defeat Andy Larkin, the #1 149-pounder in the country, and lost via a major decision, 12-3. The two wins gave the Sundevils a 12-5 edge in team points.

The Tigers rallied with two consecutive victories of their own. #13 Kenny Burleson defeated #12 Rocky Smart, 7-5 in the 157-pound match and #6 Tyron Woodley defeated #8 Nick Frost, 5-3. The wins pulled the Tigers within one point, 12-11. In the 174-pound bout, Matt Turner lost to #5 Curtis Owen, 18-10. The win increased the Sundevils lead to 16-11.

The Tigers then mounted a comeback and regained the lead 17-16, recording two victories in the 184 and 197-pound bouts. Scott Barker (#4) defeated Ron Renzi, 7-3 and #14 Dante Stone defeated Ryan Bader, 9-4.

In the final and deciding match of the dual, heavyweights Kevin Herron (#15) took on the Sundevil's Kellan Fluckinger (#4). Fluckinger took an early 4-0 lead and Herron tried mounting a comeback, but found himself at the wrong end of a 5-2 decision. The Sundevils won the dual, 19-17 and moved on to face #1 seed and the #1 team in the country Oklahoma State.

The Tigers moved to the consolation bracket and faced #14 Northern Iowa, who lost to Oklahoma State, 28-9 in the first round. The Tigers had faced the Panthers earlier in the season at the Lone Star Duals in Dallas, Texas. The Tigers lost the dual, 21-16.

The dual once again started in favor of the Tigers as Austin DeVoe recorded a 5-0 decision over Chris Helgeson in the 125-pound bout for the early 3-0 lead.

The Panthers then won the next two bouts; Pat Garcia defeated McCormick, 12-5 and #3 Dustin Long defeated #9 Reese, 4-0. this gave the Panthers a 6-3 lead.

Spates tied things up at six-all with his 9-4 decision over 16th-ranked Jon Garvin in the 149-pound bout. Burleson followed suit and recorded his team leading 25th victory with a 4-2 decision over Chris Bitetto in the 157-pound match.

The Tigers then increased their lead to 12-6 with Woodley's 8-6 victory over 12th-ranked Drew Kelly in the 165-pound match.

The Panthers then preceded to win the next three matches and a 18-12 lead. Turner was pinned by #5 Eric Hauan in the 174-pound bout, Jeff Foust lost a 15-12 decision to Bob Koenig in the 184-pound bout and Stone lost to #9 Sean Stender, 4-3.

Once again the dual came down to the last match, with the Tigers needing a pin or a forfeit to tie the Panthers at 18-all. A forfeit would not happen as the Panthers sent out their top heavyweight, fourth-ranked Paul Hynek. Herron tried for the pin, but came up short, recording a 6-2 upset victory. The Panthers held on for the 18-15 victory.

The Tigers fall to 9-5 in duals this season. Next up for the Tigers is a conference dual meet against 11th-ranked Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma on January 26. NOTES FROM THE MAT: Top-seeded and top-ranked Oklahoma State won the NWCA National Duals with a convincing 27-6 victory over Oklahoma.

No. 17 Wrestling Team Draws No. 5 Arizona State for the First Round of the NWCA National Duals 16 of the top wrestling teams in the country will converge on Columbus, Ohio for the two day affair this weekend.

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The 17th-ranked Missouri Tiger wrestling team (9-3, 0-1 Big 12) will take on fifth-ranked and eighth seeded Arizona State in the first round of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) National Duals on Saturday, January 18 on the campus of Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. The dual will start at 9:00 a.m. EST on Saturday in the St. John Arena. The winner of the match will take on the winner of the match between top-ranked and top seed Oklahoma State and 14th-ranked Northern Iowa.

This will be the second time that the Tigers have faced the Sundevils in a dual meet. The last meeting was won by Arizona State, 34-9 on January 21, 1989. The Sundevils (5-3, 1-0 Pac-10) are coming off a big dual win against fourth-ranked Oklahoma, 21-21 with the Sundevils holding the edge on bout victories, 6-4. They also defeated Northern Iowa at the Reno Tournament of Champions, to give them two wins over ranked opponents. Their three losses are against #2 Iowa, #3 Minnesota and #8 Nebraska. They finished fourth at the Las Vegas Invitational and third at the Reno Tournament of Champions.

The Sundevils have seven individuals ranked amongst the top-15 in the country in their respected weight classes. Led by Eric Larkin, who is the top-ranked 149-pounder in the country.

Earlier this season many Tigers faced Sundevil wrestlers in individual bouts at the Las Vegas Invite. Jeremy Spates lost to Larkin in the quarterfinals of the 141-pound match, 13-9. Tyron Woodley defeated then 19th-ranked Nick Frost, 9-4 in the 165-pound wrestleback round. Matt Turner lost a 7-4 decision to then 14th-ranked Curtis Owen in the round of 32 of the 174-pound matches. Jeff Foust defeated Ron Renzi, 7-3 in the wrestleback round of the 184-pound weight class.

Teams competing in the duals are two-time defending champions of both the NCAA Championships and the National Duals; Minnesota, Iowa, Oklahoma State, #4 Cornell, #6 Ohio State, #7 Oklahoma, #10 West Virginia, #11 Michigan, #12 Central Michigan, Northern Iowa, #18 Michigan State, #20 Iowa State, #21 Boise State and Ohio University.

First round action is slated for 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. (EST). Missouri, win or lose, will wrestle again at 1:00 p.m. Saturday. To advance to the matches on Sunday, the Tigers must win at least two duals in the double-elimination tournament.

There will be a live webcast of all the dual matches on The Amateur Wrestling Show's (TAWS) website at http://members.citynet.net/sites/taws . Results will be posted on www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com, the Ohio State website, after each session. There will also be a link to each of these sites on the Missouri Wrestling home page.

POSSIBLE LINE-UPS

125- Mark Bader (12-11, 6-5) vs. Jeremy Mendoza (11-10, 2-2)
133- Chris McCormick (10-8, 4-2) vs. #9 Mike Simpson (13-16, 1-6)
141- #11 J.P. Reese (20-6, 6-2) vs. #4 Dana Holland (21-5, 5-2)
149- #12 Jeremy Spates (14-3, 6-2) vs, #1 Eric Larkin (16-0, 7-0)
157- #13 Kenny Burleson (23-4, 10-1) vs. #12 Rocky Smart (2-0, 2-0)
165- #9 Tyron Woodley (20-5, 8-3) vs. #8 Nick Frost (19-8, 6-2)
174- Matt Turner (11-10, 4-5) vs. #5 Curtis Owen (9-5, 1-3)
184- #4 Scott Barker (4-1, 4-1) vs. Ron Renzi (8-9, 2-4)
197- #14 Dante Stone (17-8, 7-4) vs. Ryan Bader (15-10, 3-5)
HWT- #15 Kevin Herron (20-5, 11-1) vs. #4 Kellan Fluckiger (21-5, 7-1)

*Records are overall followed by dual record

#12 Missouri-26 Cal. Poly-18
125 lbs. #12 Vic Moreno (CP) dec. #18 Mark Bader (MU): 6-3 0 3
133 lbs. Austin DeVoe (MU) dec. Andy Kim (CP): 8-5 3 3
141 lbs. Jeff Owens (CP) wins by forfeit: 3 9
149 lbs. Matt Cox (CP) dec. #5 Jeremy Spates (MU): 7-5 3 12
157 lbs. #14 Kenny Burleson (MU) dec. Nick Hopping (CP): 10-6 6 12
165 lbs. #7 Tyron Woodley (MU) maj. dec. Keith Kroeger (CP): 12-4 10 12
174 lbs. Matt Turner (MU) maj. dec. Joe Brady (CP): 11-3 14 12
184 lbs. #3 Scott Barker (MU) pins Dan Martinez (CP): 1:45 20 12
197 lbs. David Shenk (CP) pins Dante Stone (MU): :32 20 18
HWT #17 Kevin Herron (MU) pins Dan Howe (CP):5:41 26 18