It was a tale of two duals for the Tigers, winning one match against Oklahoma State before sweeping Northern Colorado two days later. The team score was lopsided against the Cowboys but had four matches within a takedown and Mizzou showed great fight in big matches. They were aggressive in neutral with shot attempts but struggled to finish and getting out from bottom. After the dual Coach Smith said that OKST’s ability to score late in periods and riding was the difference as a top five team.
The team rebounded well against conference opponent Northern Colorado and scored bonus points in seven matches. Their closest win on the day was an 11-7 decision. It was their second Division 1 shutout this season after blanking LIU in December. They kept up a high attack rate but found much more success, winning the takedown battle 43-2. It was a good bounce back for the Tigers as they moved to 9-7 overall and 3-2 in conference duals.
125lbs:
- OKST: #7 Troy Spratley Maj. #24 Mack Mauger (19-5)
- UNCO: #24 Mack Mauger Tech Bryson Valdez (19-4 3:29)
I thought Mauger had a shot to keep the match close against Spratley, but handfighting and shot defense was an issue. Mauger was doing well early but once Spratley racked up enough riding time he went cut and release. He struggled against the same shot and finish against Spratley where he was able to reach across to score. Mauger has great positioning but it mostly comes off his two on one which Spratley was clearly prepared for and had multiple counters for it. Spratley is one of the better handfighters at 125 and that did a good job of keeping Mauger off balance and I think where the match got away from him. His bottom issues continued, but Spratley is excellent at staying on top so that wasn’t unexpected.
Mauger rebounded well with a quick tech against UNCO where he went cut and release early and often. My worry for Mauger as he has more film and higher ranked opponents is them being able to exploit his reliance on his two on one and it showed. This was his first match with an opponent and result like this though so I’m hoping it can be a good learning match to build off of.
133lbs:
- OKST: #14 Jax Forrest Tech #26 Gage Walker (16-1 3:08)
- UNCO: #26 Gage Walker Maj. Kade Orr (11-1)
I tried to hype up how good Jax Forrest was going into this match but still may have undersold it. In this match Walker actually had a great shot but once scrambling started it was all Forrest.
