Nov. 8, 2003
The ninth ranked Missouri wrestling program officially kicked off its season with the black and gold wrestle-off's Saturday in the Hearnes Center Fieldhouse. With an attendance of 208 fans, head coach Brian Smith left the scrimmage pleased with the performance of his men and anxious to take his team into a more competitive environment.
"Today's black and gold wrestle-off's went really well," Smith said. "Not only was I happy with the way that several individuals performed, but I was excited about the number of fans that came out to show their support. It's great to see our fan base growing, and I'm hopeful that it will only get bigger as our season progresses."
Competing on two mats, 17 matches were held in seven of the 10 weight classes with 20 of MU's wrestler's taking part in the black and gold wrestle-offs.
"It was good to get some of our redshirt freshmen out there in a Missouri singlet," Smith said. "I think today's black and gold will help them get ready for the upcoming season."
Redshirt freshman Ben Askren (174) of Hartland, Wis., donned the black Missouri singlet for the first time of his collegiate career, winning both of his matches, one with a fall in 1:12.
"The black and gold wrestle-offs are a good warmup for the team," Askren said. "Personally, I feel like I did pretty well in both of my matches today, but there's always room for improvement. I'm just really ready for the Oklahoma State dual in a few weeks."
Transfers Paul Collum (junior, 133) and Mike Whitehead (senior, HWT) made positive first impressions on the MU crowd. Collum won both of his matches, while Whitehead faced off against Jeff Foust (197) in an exhibition match and won with a 7-1 decision.
Several Mizzou wrestlers will travel to Central Missouri State Saturday, Nov. 15, for the all-day Central Missouri State Open, while the rest of the team will open the dual portion of their schedule, Saturday, Nov. 21, against Oklahoma State at Hazelwood Central High School at 7 p.m.
RESULTS:
125- No Matches
133- Amond Prater over Brett Watkins D, 5-2
Paul Collum over Brett Watkins F, :38
Paul Collum over Amond Prater MD, 15-5
141- No Matches
149- No Matches
157- Kenny Burleson over Jake Dieffenbach MD, 13-0
165- Gabe Conaghan over James Williamson D, 3-1
Tyron Woodley over James Williamson F, 1:10
Tyron Woodley over Gabe Conaghan D, 10-1
174- Mark Wall over Ian Semelroth D, 5-2
Joe Williamson over Ray Napolitan F,
Ben Askren over Ray Napolitan F, 1:12
Ben Askren over Joe Williamson D, 10-4
184- T.J. Hansen over J.C. Russell D, 6-4 (1OT)
Mark Wall over Matt Pell TF, 15-0
Ian Semelroth default J.C. Russell
Matt Pell over T. J Hansen MD, 15-0
197- Jeff Foust over Clint Freeman D, 2-0
HWT- Exh 197/HWT Mike Whitehead over Jeff Foust D, 7-1