Missouri Wrestling
Marshall, Mo., (Jan. 14, 2022)- The Missouri Valley College men’s wrestling team hosted St. Ambrose (Iowa) Friday evening inside the Burns Athletic Complex in a Heart of America Athletic Conference dual. The Vikings earned their first dual shutout since 2018, defeating the Fighting Bees and winning four weight classes by pin, 52-0.
285 pounds: No. 8 Sophomore Joshua Isaac (Woodbridge, Va.) defeated Abdullah Razzak in a first period (0:28) pin. Missouri Valley leads, 6-0.
125 pounds: No. 17 Freshman Brayden Bradley (Belton, Mo.) defeated Michael Chagnon in a 15-5 major decision. Missouri Valley leads, 10-0.
133 pounds: Junior Dessmund Prospero (Brighton, Colo.) defeated Blake Dirksen in a 20-13 decision. Missouri Valley leads, 13-0.
141 pounds: No. 13 Sophomore Joseph Rice (New Plymouth, Idaho) defeated Riley Woods in a first period (1:11) pin. Missouri Valley leads, 19-0.
149 pounds: Freshman Jovon Mitchell (Strafford, Va.) defeated Diego Machado in a 13-9 decision. Missouri Valley leads, 22-0.
157 pounds: Senior Larry Rodriguez (Norwalk, Calif.) defeated Slade Dias in a first period (2:40) pin. Missouri Valley leads, 28-0.
165 pounds: Freshman Brody Von Brethorst (Weiser, Idaho) won by forfeit, as St. Ambrose left the weight class open. Missouri Valley leads, 34-0.
174 pounds: Freshman Drake Tipton (Grain Valley, Mo.) won by forfeit, as St. Ambrose left the weight class open. Missouri Valley leads, 40-0.
184 pounds: Sophomore Donovan McElligott (Madison, Ga.) defeated Dylan Meiners in a first period (1:28) pin. Missouri Valley leads, 46-0.
197 pounds: Freshman David Bortz (Bernville, Pa.) won by forfeit, as St. Ambrose left the weight class open.
Missouri Valley defeated St. Ambrose, 52-0.
Exhibition Matches:
285 pounds: Freshman Mario Quezada (Grandview, Mo.) defeated Abdullah Razzak in a first period (1:31) pin.
133 pounds: Freshman Zachary Ouilette (Oscoda, Mich.) defeated Blake Dirksen in a first period (2:55) pin.
141 pounds: Freshman Donovan Parn (Brookfield, Mo.) defeated Riley Woods in a 16-13 decision.
“We had a great showing tonight,” said Men’s Wrestling Head Coach Mike Machholz. “I was very proud of the guys and the way they battled. We showed great intensity. Starting at 285 pounds gave Joshua Isaac a chance to get the ball rolling with a dominiate pin. Later, our grit showed when we came from behind in a couple of matches to get tough wins. We’ve had a few COVID issues, a couple injuries along the line and a month off so I really wasn’t sure how we were going to compete tonight. Overall I’m very proud of the team. Now we have to get ready for the Missouri Valley Invite next week. The top teams in our division will be here so it should be loaded with great matchups.
The Vikings improve to 3-3 on the season in duals. St. Ambrose falls to 3-9.
Missouri Valley last shutout an opponent in a dual back on Feb. 6, 2018, in a 47-0 win over St. Mary (Kan.). Tonight’s victory includes the most points earned and largest margin of victory for the program since a 56-0 win over Truman State (Mo.), back on Nov. 12, 2017. The last time the Vikings earned more points, and defeated an NAIA opponent by a larger margin came back on Nov. 16, 2013 in a 55-0 win over Graceland (Iowa).
Up next, the Viking men’s wrestling team will host the Missouri Valley Invitational, Jan. 21-22, which is one of the largest regular season NAIA men’s wrestling events in the country.
