April 27, 2006

Columbia, Mo. - Competing in the FILA Junior, Senior & Veteran Freestyle wrestling tournament April 12-15 in Las Vegas, Nev., three Missouri wrestlers placed in postseason freestyle competition against the top wrestlers in the nation. Matt Pell and Max Askren each placed at the Senior level, facing off against wrestlers who will comprise the USA national team this year.

Junior Matt Pell (Luxemburg, Wis.) finished seventh in the Senior division at 163 pounds, defeating 2006 All-American Trent Paulson of Iowa State 3-2, 3-1 in the seventh-place bout. Pell also beat 2006 All-Americans Travis Paulson of Iowa State and Wisconsin's Craig Henning in preliminary competition to reach the seventh-place bout.

Freshman Max Askren (Hartland, Wis.) opened his tournament with a pin over Stanford's Jared Boyer, then fell to the consolation bracket after a bout against Mikhail Abdul-latif of Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club. Wrestling his way to the seventh-place bout in the 211.5 pound-division, which featured the most grapplers of any weight class, Askren earned his revenge against Abdul-latif, winning the match 0-5, 5-4, 3-3.

Wrestling in the Junior division, redshirt freshman Michael Chandler (High Ridge, Mo.) won four matches to reach the semifinals of the 163-pound bracket, including a 25-second pin over Pete Puckett of the Arrichion Wrestling Club. After falling to eventual champion Matthew Coughlin in the semifinals, Chandler finished sixth, losing a tough decision to Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club's Matt Dragon, 5-5, 6-3.