March 17, 2006
Oklahoma City, Okla. - The No. 9 Missouri wrestling team finished the third session of the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla., in 15th place, advancing four grapplers to the fourth session. Missouri jumped nine spots from their placing at the end of the first day. One Tiger has already secured All-America status, while the other three Tigers will achieve All-America status with a victory in their next bout.
No. 1 junior Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) won a scramble for the first takedown of his bout against No. 8 Travis Frick of Lehigh. Keeping control of the bout, Askren added two more takedowns and a three-point nearfall to lead the bout going into the second frame, 9-2. Cradling Frick to his back twice in the middle period, Askren needed just one takedown to complete his second technical fall over the Lehigh grappler this season, 19-3, early in the third frame. Askren advances to the semifinals, where he'll take on No. 5 Mike Patrovich of Hofstra, whom he defeated by major decision Dec. 3 at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. The victory also ensures Askren's third consecutive All-America honor.
Unseeded at 157 pounds, redshirt freshman Michael Chandler (High Ridge, Mo.) gave up a pair of early takedowns to undefeated No. 5 seed Ben Cherrington in the quarterfinals. Chandler was unable to come back, dropping to the consolation bracket with a 8-1 loss.
Sophomore Tyler McCormick (Leawood, Kan.) advanced through the second and third rounds of the 133-pound consolation bracket with victories over Mike Ciotti of Pittsburgh and David Armstrong of Cleveland State. McCormick utilized a second-period reversal, third-period takedown, and 1:33 of riding time to beat Ciotti, 5-0. McCormick then picked up two bonus points for the team with a quick fall over Armstrong, stopping his opponent in 1:26.
Wrestling at 165 pounds, junior Matt Pell (Luxemburg, Wis.) dominated the first period of his bout against North Carolina's Garrett Atkinson, pinning his opponent in 2:23 to advance through the second consolation round. Needing a victory to advance to the second session, Pell took down Indiana's Max Dean early in the first, but a pair of escapes by Dean tied the score 2-2 heading into the final period. Holding 1:23 of riding time, Pell added an escape to get the victory, 4-2.
A redshirt freshman at 184 pounds, No. 9 Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) won by decision, over Greg Gifford of Fresno State in the second consolation round. Jordan alternately finished his own shots and countered the shots of Gifford to record four takedowns in a 10-5 victory. Squaring off against Alex Camargo of Kent State in the third round, Jordan was defeated, 7-2, to finish the tournament 2-2.
An upset by unseeded senior Jeff Foust (Blue Springs, Mo.) over 10th-seeded Matt Delguyd of Northwestern propelled him into the third consolation round. A series of leg attacks completed the 7-2 victory for Foust, but the senior fell in a tough bout that was decided on riding time against Nathan Moore of Purdue, 1-0, to finish the tournament 2-2.
Semifinal action begins at 6 p.m. CST in the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., and will be televised live on ESPNU. Live updates are available at www.ncaasports.com, while www.mutigers.com will have detailed coverage of Missouri grapplers following each session.
Quarterfinals
157 - No. 5 Ben Cherrington (BSU) dec. Michael Chandler (MU): 8-1
174 - No. 1 Ben Askren (MU) tech. fall. over No. 8 Travis Frick (LU): 19-3
Second-Round Consolation
133 - Tyler McCormick (MU) dec. Mike Ciotti (Pitt): 5-0
165 - No. 5 Matt Pell (MU) won by fall over Garret Atkinson (UNC): 2:23
184 - No. 9 Raymond Jordan (MU) dec. Greg Gifford (UFS): 10-5
197 - Jeff Foust (MU) dec. No. 10 Matt Delguyd (NU): 7-2
Third-Round Consolation
133 - Tyler McCormick (MU) won by fall over David Armstrong (CSU): 1:26
165 - No. 5 Matt Pell (MU) dec. Max Dean (IU): 4-2
184 - Alex Camargo (KSU) dec. Raymond Jordan (MU): 7-2
197 - Nathan Moore (PU) dec. Jeff Foust (MU): 1-0
Updated Records: Season (Career)
133 - Tyler McCormick: 29-8 (49-22)
157 - Michael Chandler: 19-15 (19-15)
165 - Matt Pell: 33-5 (99-27)
174 - Ben Askren: 43-0 (109-8)
184 - Raymond Jordan: 33-12 (33-12)
197 - Jeff Foust: 17-9 (87-38)