Jan. 13, 2005

Hampton, Va. - After suffering its first dual loss of the season Tuesday night to No. 6 Lehigh, the 12th ranked Missouri wrestling team (8-1) will compete in Hampton, Va., at the 25th annual Virginia Duals, Friday, Jan. 14 and Saturday, Jan. 15. The Tigers are expected to wrestle their first opponent, the Citadel at 10 a.m. (CT), followed by Tennessee-Chattanooga at 2 p.m. (CT) Friday in the Hampton Coliseum.

Four ranked wrestling programs, including Missouri, fellow Big 12 opponent Nebraska (No. 6), Edinboro (No. 24) and Indiana (No. 25) will be in attendance, along with teams from American, Cal-State Bakersfield, Lock Haven, Old Dominion, North Dakota State, Rider, The Citadel, Buffalo, North Carolina, University of Ohio, Tennessee-Chattanooga and the University of Virginia.

The trip to Hampton marks the first time in three years that the Tigers have competed in the Virginia Duals. In their last outing during the 2001-02 campaign, Head Coach Brian Smith and his squad captured the team title after holding off Hofstra, 25-13. This season marks Missouri's eighth appearance at the Virginia Duals and second under Coach Smith.

Eight Tigers remain ranked in the weekly wrestling polls and will likely face fierce competition from the approximately 39 ranked competitors attending the Virginia Duals. Missouri and Nebraska both enter the Duals with eight ranked wrestlers, with Indiana holding three in their starting lineup. An overall look of the Virginia Duals shows that three of the 10 weight classes have six top-20 ranked wrestlers (125, 157 and 165 pounds). Of those three weight divisions, the 125 and 165 pound classes each hold three top-10 ranked competitors, respectively.

Ranked as high as No. 1 in the nation at 174 pounds, sophomore Hartland, Wis., native Ben Askren looks to extend his win streak to 20 straight matches. Askren is coming off of a win over Lehigh Moutain Hawk Travis Frick and is five wins away from setting a new Missouri consecutive victories record. The current record holder is Khris Whelan who won 24 straight matches during his senior campaign, 1982-83.

Results of the Virginia Duals will be available through the schedule and results page of the Missouri wrestling website, www.mutigers.com or by visiting www.virginiaduals.org.

Missouri Lineup and Updated Records: Season (Career)
125-Austin DeVoe: 14-6 (43-32)
125-Tim Kephart: 16-9 (16-9)
133-#18 Tyler McCormick: 15-7 (15-7)
141-#12 Chris McCormick: 21-4 (47-36)
141-Josh Wagner: 10-3 (10-3)
149-#18 Cody Greene: 17-4 (56-21)
157-#14 Brad Cieleski: 19-4 (19-4)
165-#8 Tyron Woodley: 22-2 (95-34)
174-#2 Ben Askren: 19-0 (51-5)
174-Tristan Hansen: 10-3 (40-26)
184-#9 Matt Pell: 24-3 (55-15)
197-#14 Jeff Foust: 16-4 (61-25)
HWT-Chase Wetenkamp: 19-10 (19-10)