The season is just around a month away now and the Tigers have a great schedule lined up. They start with some local events that should see a large number of Tigers get matches. Then they head to Tulsa for the newest version of the National Duals, where brackets get announced on October 7th. From there the Tigers kick off their typical dual schedule that highlights non conference opponents in Illinois, Nebraska, and Little Rock.
November 2nd: Missouri Duals (Columbia, MO)
- Participating Schools: Drury (D2), Maryville (D2), Central Methodist (D2)
A new event on the Tiger’s schedule hosts a number of in-state schools in different divisions. This event has actually replaced the Black and Gold dual this season with an established lineup, but this should be an opportunity for a number of different wrestlers to get in the lineup.
Last season:
Central Missouri finished 7th at NCAA’s and returned one qualifier. Maryville finished 9th at NCAA’s and returned two former qualifiers. Drury was 43rd at NCAA’s and returned one qualifier at 174lbs. Central Methodist finished 10th in the NAIA tournament, a program high. They return two All-Americans and another national qualifier.
November 9th: Tiger Style Invite (Columbia, MO)
- Participating Schools: Oklahoma, Purdue, South Dakota State, Little Rock
Now back in Columbia after two years at Staley High School, the TIger Style Invite is into its third year. As always, it features a solid contingent of Division I schools and a solid mix of conferences. Unfortunately it sounds like Maryland isn’t going to be here this season, as they always have a solid lineup. Most of these schools are likely to send a handful of starters with a lot of depth. This is a good tournament for schools to start some lineup battles and see who can place higher, and see some redshirting freshman get high level opportunities. With this crop of schools expect to see a handful of ranked matches in the later rounds and get some tough matches early in the year.
November 15-16th: National Duals (Tulsa, OK)
- Participating Schools:
- Big 12: Oklahoma State, Wyoming, Northern Iowa, Arizona State
- Big 10: Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Cornell, Ohio State, Nebraska, Illinois
- ACC: Virginia Tech, NC State
- PAC 12: Little Rock
- EIWA: Lehigh
The premier event this season in my eyes is the come back of National Duals in a new setting and venue. Each school will get a minimum of $20k, with increasing cash prizes based on finish. 1st ($200k), 2nd ($150k), 3rd ($150k), 4th ($75k), 5th ($50k), 6th ($40k), 7th ($25k), and 8th ($20k).
