The Tigers lost a tough match to Virginia Tech on the road, dropping seven of ten matches. They were still missing Noah Surtin and Rocky Elam, with true freshmen coming close to highly ranked upsets. They had success at their middleweights with consecutive wins at 165-184 but it wasn’t enough to take out the Hokies. Colton Hawks was the highlight with a top five win over a returning All-American.
Josh Edmond was the only Mizzou wrestler to suffer an upset on paper against a dangerous Sam Latona. The biggest difference maker for the Tigers comes in the takedown category. The only wrestler to earn a takedown in the first five matches was Gage Walker, a true freshman. Outside of him and the three Mizzou winners, the only other wrestler to score any takedowns was Aeoden Sinclair while in a big deficit.
Virginia Tech is a tough team with a strong mix of veterans and young wrestlers, but it’s going to be hard for the Tigers to find wins with the recent struggles in scoring. I had this dual finishing with Tech winning 21-11, with the only flipped results coming with an Edmond win and Hawks losing.
125lbs: #13 Eddie Ventresca Dec. Gage Walker (6-5)
This match started well with Walker getting a quick takedown on a nice reshot. Ventresca got to legs a few times and Walker showed some quick scrambling with rolls to hold him off. Walker struggled on bottom to give up riding time, but was unable to find a takedown late for the win.
Overall I thought Walker wrestled well against a former All-American. He got a takedown, something he’s been missing in big matches. However, it came off a reshot and when it was time to generate his own offense he couldn’t find a score. The struggles on bottom aren’t unexpected with a true freshman. This was certainly a step forward for Walker, and there’s a good chance we continue to see him as he has two dates left.
133lbs: #10 Connor McGonagle Dec. #29 Kade Moore (3-0)
This was a match with plenty of action but not much scoring. McGonagle had an early takedown and a tough ride, with a lot of near turns that Moore was just barely able to fight off. Moore looked great in the second with a solid ride of his own, with a solid leg ride. In the third Moore took neutral and had some moments but didn’t come that close to scoring.