“It just means more”, the SEC motto was jokingly thrown out before and after the dual for the unofficial SEC title as Mizzou won six matches to take the dual. A strong showing at the middleweights was sandwiched between some frustrating losses at the bookends. The Sooners didn’t bring their full lineup, missing ranked starters at 165, 174, and 184. The Tigers still got stung in close matches at 125 and 141, while giving up bonus points at 197 and 285.
A big story outside of the dual was the presence of Massoma Endene on an official visit. Endene was a three-time D3 national champ at Wartburg before transferring to Iowa for his senior year. He was ranked as high as #4 including a pin over current starter Evan Bates before an injury and suprising exit from Iowa. He is now taking a medical redshirt and entered the portal for the 2027 season and would be a big addition for the Tigers.
125lbs: #32 Conrad Hendricksen Dec. #26 Mack Mauger (SV 4-1)
This match felt similar to Mauger’s last loss against Strickenberger, with a lot of back and forth handfighting before giving up a late takedown. Mauger struggled with Hendricksen’s positioning, unable to get to legs consistently. He normally gets to his 2 on 1 but Hendricksen continued to counter with underhooks that kept Mauger off balance. There were some good exchanges from both but it wasn’t until overtime where Mauger shot and Hendricksen went front headlock to a cradle for the takedown.
The theme remains the same for Mauger this season. His handfighting can be great but finding consistent offense from it is the issue. He has opportunities but his timing appears to be just off in matches like this to get to legs. This was a significant match as far as seeding for Big 12’s goes but one he can get back in the future. Outside of a match against Spratley where he got overwhelmed and a late move by Trevor Anderson, all of Mauger’s losses are within a takedown or less. The freshman is a few adjustments away from taking a big jump to get wins like this.