Nov. 1, 2005

Columbia, Mo. - The No. 14 Missouri Tigers wrestling squad will open its 2005-06 campaign with the Black and Gold match, Thursday. Nov. 3, with action beginning at 7 p.m. (CST). Held in the Hearnes Center Fieldhouse, the annual intrasquad match is a chance for fans to get an early glimpse of this year's team, led by two-time NCAA runner-up and preseason No. 1 Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.), wrestling at 174 pounds.

The favorite to bring home Missouri's first national title, Askren enters the 2005-06 campaign looking to build on last year's success, in which the team captain set Tiger records for falls in a season as well as consecutive wins. Askren is one of two returning All-Americans for the Tigers, joining fellow junior Matt Pell (Luxemburg, Wis.), who will wrestle at his natural weight of 165 pounds this season after placing seventh at the 2005 NCAA Championships at 184 pounds.

Joining Askren as team captains are sophomore Tyler McCormick (Leawood, Kan.) and senior Jeff Foust (Blue Springs, Mo.), who enter the season ranked No. 18 and No. 17 at 133 and 197 pounds, respectively. Seniors Austin DeVoe (Columbus, Kan.) and Chris McCormick (Leawood, Kan.) will also see their first action of the season as they begin their quest for All-America honors. DeVoe enters the year ranked No. 16 at 125 pounds and McCormick comes in at No. 19 in the 141-pound division.

Several Black and Gold matches will help determine starting spots for Missouri, with one of the most hotly contested at the heavyweight level, where freshmen Sean Connole (Erie, Penn.) and Mark Ellis (Peculiar, Mo.) each made their mark by finishing second and third, respectively at the Lindenwood Open, Oct. 29.

"The wrestle-offs are one of the deciding factors in who will start the opening meet for us, although there are other things to consider," Head Coach Brian Smith said. "Black and Gold is also a chance for fans to get a glimpse of the incoming freshmen, who will be competing for the first time in the Hearnes Center."

Headlining the group of freshmen is 197-pound Max Askren (Hartland, Wis.), who took first place at the Lindenwood Open, as well as second-place finishers Dane Espinosa at 149 pounds (Neosho, Mo.) and John Olanowski (Virginia Beach, Va.) at 125-pounds.

In addition to the Black and Gold matches, the Tigers will hold a free youth clinic in the Missouri wrestling room (fourth floor of the Hearnes Center) for young wrestlers eighth grade or under. The clinic will be conducted by Smith and the Tiger coaching staff, and will include an information session about the Columbia Youth Wrestling Club. Participants will have a chance to sign up for the club, which practices in the state-of-the-art Missouri wrestling facilities.

The wrestle-offs will help determine who starts against Stanford, the Tiger's first opponent. Missouri takes on the Cardinal at Oak Park High School in Kansas City Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. (CST) For ticket information please call 1-800-CAT-PAWS or stop by the ticket office in Mizzou Arena.