Missouri
Big 12 Championships
Four Tiger Wrestlers Finish Among Top Three at Big 12's
3/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 5, 2005
Omaha, Neb. - Competing in the ninth annual Big 12 Wrestling Championships at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb., three Missouri wrestlers, seniors Brad Cieleski (157), and Tyron Woodley (165) and sophomore Ben Askren (174) finished second in their respective weight classes. In all, six Tigers finished among the top-four. As a team, Missouri wrapped up the day in fifth place with 35 points. No. 1 Oklahoma State claimed Championship honors for the third straight year and seventh time in nine seasons with 95.5 points.
Cieleski, Woodley, Askren and Greene all received automatic bids to the 2005 NCAA Championships, March 17-19, in St. Louis. Matt Pell joined the three automatic qualifiers as a wildcard selection at 184 pounds and Jeff Foust was named an alternate at 197-pounds.
Wrestling at 157-pounds, 15th-ranked Cieleski (Brookville, Pa.) split the day 1-1 after upsetting Nebraska's 10th-ranked B.J. Wright, 9-7, before falling to Kevin Ward (Oklahoma State), 6-4, in the championship match. Cieleski entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed and topped second seeded Wright, after scoring first and building on his lead. Throughout the seven-minute match, Cieleski recorded three takedowns, two coming in the first period, and three escapes. In his second bout, Cieleski and Ward closed out the first period with one point each after being hit with a double-stall call. Cieleski and Ward exchanged three lead changes with Ward scoring a final reversal for the win.
Number one-seeded Woodley (Ferguson, Mo.) finished second in his final run at a Big 12 title at 165-pounds. The 2003 league champion rebounded from a fifth place finish in 2004 after dropping Iowa State Cyclone Travis Paulson, 2-1, in his opening match but suffered a disheartening 4-1 loss to 2004 All-American and third-ranked Johny Hendricks (OSU).
For the seventh time in two years, No. 2 Askren shook hands with No. 1 Chris Pendleton (OSU) at center circle. Pendleton outscored Askren 12-8 to win the title. Earlier in the day, Askren, held EK Waldhaus (Oklahoma) to only one point in their semifinal round 174-pound bout. With a final score of 5-1, Askren scored three points in the third period.
Senior Cody Greene (St. Charles, Mo.) went 2-1 on the day sealing a third-place finish with a dramatic fall in 5:17 over Nebraska's third-seeded Travis Shufelt at 149-pounds. It was the second pin of the day in the tournament and secured Green's first trip to the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Fourth-seeded Greene, ranked 16th in the nation, opened the morning with a 5-3 decision over ISU Cyclone Aron Scott. Wrestling No. 3 Zach Esposito (No. 1 seed) in his second match of the day, Greene fell 16-5 to drop to the consolation brackets.
"A lot of our guys had really strong days," Head Coach Brian Smith said. "Both Brad and Cody wrestled guys seeded above them and came out with a couple of exciting upsets. Our focus now is to return to the room and get ready for Nationals. We have two weeks to get these guys prepared and we want them to go in as strong as possible."
Junior Jeff Foust (197) and sophomore Matt Pell (184) finished fourth in their respective weight classes.
CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS Wt. Wrestler over Wrestler: Result 125 #17 Coleman Scott (OSU) decision #1 Sam Hazewinkel (OU): 2-1 OT (TB) 133 #9 Nathan Morgan (OSU) major decision Dominick Moyer (NU): 14-6 141 #1 Nate Gallick (ISU) decision #2 Teyon Ware (OU): 4-3 OT (TB) 149 #2 Zach Esposito (OSU) decision #4 Matt Storniolo (OU): 10-4 157 Kevin Ward (OSU) decision #17 Brad Cieleski (MU): 6-4 165 #3 Johny Hendricks (OSU) decision #4 Tyron Woodley (MU): 4-1 174 #1 Chris Pendleton (OSU) decision #2 Ben Askren (MU): 12-8 184 #3 Kurt Backes (ISU) fall #2 Travis Pascoe (NU): 2:13 197 #13 B.J. Padden (NU) decision #2 Jake Rosholt (OSU): 5-2 HWT #1 Steve Mocco (OSU) decision #10 Scott Coleman (ISU): 9-4TEAM SCORE 1. Oklahoma State-95.5 2. Iowa State-49 3. Nebraska -47.5 4. Oklahoma-45 5. Missouri-35
MISSOURI FINISHES 149-Cody Greene-3rd 157-Brad Cieleski-2nd 165-Tyron Woodley-2nd 174-Ben Askren-2nd 184-Matt Pell-4th 197-Jeff Foust-4th
UPDATED MISSOURI RECORDS: 125: Tim Kephart: 20-17 (20-17) 133: Tyler McCormick: 20-14 (20-14) 141: Chris McCormick: 25-10 (51-42) 149: Cody Greene: 27-8 (68-24) 157: Brad Cieleski: 22-8 (22-8) 165: Tyron Woodley: 32-4 (103-36) 174: Ben Askren: 30-2 (62-6) 184: Matt Pell: 31-8 (62-20) 197: Jeff Foust: 25-8 (70-30) HWT: Chase Wetenkamp: 23-18 (23-18)
Results Through Finals 125 #12 Grant Nakamura (ISU) major decision Tim Kephart (MU): 12-0 #7 Matt Keller (NU) decision Tim Kephart (MU): 10-3
133 Dominick Moyer (NU) over Tyler McCormick (MU): injury default (5:16) Jesse Sundell (ISU) over Tyler McCormick (MU): medical forfeit
141 #10 Daniel Friskhorn (OSU) major decision Chris McCormick (MU):16-3 #4 Matt Murray (NU) decision Chris McCormick (MU): 5-4 OT (TB1)
149 #16 Cody Greene (MU) decision Aron Scott (ISU): 5-3 #2 Zach Esposito (OSU) major decision #16 Cody Greene (MU): 16-5 #16 Cody Greene (MU) fall Travis Shufelt (NU): 5:17
157 #17 Brad Cieleski (MU) decision #10 B.J. Wright (NU): 9-7 Kevin Ward (OSU) decision #17 Brad Cieleski (MU): 6-4
165 #4 Tyron Woodley (MU) decision #6 Travis Paulson (ISU): 2-1 #3 Johny Hendricks (OSU) decision #4 Tyron Woodley (MU): 4-1
174 #2 Ben Askren (MU) decision #10 EK Waldhaus (OU): 5-1 #1 Chris Pendleton (OSU) decision #2 Ben Askren (MU): 12-8
184 #3 Kurt Backes (ISU) decision #12 Matt Pell (MU): 7-2 #12 Matt Pell (MU) decision Clay Kehrer (OSU): 3-2 #13 Justin Dyer (OU) decision #12 Matt Pell (MU): 4-2
197 #19 Jeff Foust (MU) decision #18 Trevor Smith (ISU): 7-5 #2 Jake Rosholt (OSU) major decision #19 Jeff Foust (MU): 14-4 #17 Joel Flaggert (OU) decision #19 Jeff Foust (MU): 5-3
HWT Jon May (NU) decision Chase Wetenkamp (MU): 9-4 #13 Jake Hager (OU) decision Chase Wetenkamp (MU): 8-4
