Nov. 30, 2006
PRIMING FOR PRIMM, NEVADA
The second-ranked Missouri wrestling team will travel to Primm, Nev., for the 25th annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, beginning Friday, Dec. 1, at 11 a.m. (CT). This marks the fifth straight season that the Tigers have competed in the prestigious two-day event and sixth time in Head Coach Brian Smith's nine years at Missouri. Twelve of the nation's top-25 programs, including four ranked among the top-10 (No. 2 Missouri, No. 6 Cornell, No. 9 Michigan and No. 10 Ohio State), are expected to compete in the team-scored tournament, with Missouri entering as the highest ranked program. Of the nearly 200 wrestlers competing for individual titles, 96 are ranked among the top-20 in the nation according to Monday's, Nov. 27, W.I.N. rankings.
Currently, nine members of Missouri's 10-man lineup are ranked among the top-25 in the nation in their respective weight class. Two-time Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational title holder Ben Askren returns for a run at his third and final title at 174 pounds. Askren along with senior teammate Matt Pell (165 pounds) are the only Tigers to have finished among the top-eight at the Invitational on three occasions. Pell finished as high as second in 2005, earning third and fifth places finishes in 2003 and 2004, respectively, while competing at 184 pounds. Askren secured a runner-up finish as a redshirt freshman in 2003. Altogether, nine Missouri wrestlers have combined for 16 top-eight finishes at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, with three of last season's four finishers returning for the 2006 outing. Sophomore Raymond Jordan (184 pounds) took eighth in his first Cliff Keen appearance last season.
Missouri has finished as high as third in the team competition and did so on two occasions, 2003 and 2005. In 2003, a team-high five Missouri wrestlers finished the second day of competition with a top eight performances. Last season Michigan earned the team title, with Cornell finishing second and Missouri in third.
Championship finals are slated to begin at 7 p.m. (CT) on Saturday, Dec. 2, with Scott Casper of TakedownRadio.com calling all the action on both days.
All-session passes are $35 for adults and $25 for students, with single session tickets available for $12/$8 and $14/$10 for the championship finals.
A complete schedule of events is available on line at www.cklvwrestle.com. Competition will be held in the Star of the Desert Arena.
PRACTICALLY PERFECT...
Senior Ben Askren has finished first at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in his past two outings, but took runner-up honors as a redshirt freshman in 2003. His only loss in the competition came to third-ranked Ryan Lange of Purdue in a 3-2 decision. Throughout the past three years, Askren has compiled a 16-1 record at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Eight of Askren's 16 wins have come by fall, with three wins marked as tech fall victories and one as a major decision.
STACKED BRACKETS...
Two of the 10 weight classes being contested Friday and Saturday contain 11 of the nation's top-25 wrestlers with four holding 10 of the top-25. In both 149 and 157 pounds, 11 of the countries best wrestlers, including Tigers Josh Wagner (149), ranked as high as 16th and Michael Chandler (157) ranked seventh will battle it out on the 12 mat layout. A total of 96 ranked wrestlers are expected to compete, with only two of last season's champions looking to defend their titles. (Ben Askren at 174 pounds and 125 pound sophomore grappler Troy Nickerson of Cornell, also ranked No. 1 in the nation).
A NEW ERA...
Smith, now in his ninth year with the Missouri wrestling program, holds a 99-53-1 record or 65 percent winning percentage, the highest of any of the seven coaches in the Tiger program history.
WRESTLING REWIND...
The first time Missouri competed in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational under the direction of current Head Coach Brian Smith was during the 1998-99 season. Smith's first year with the program, the Tigers were eliminated from competition after the first day and failed to place at the prestigious event. Since then, Missouri has returned to the Invitational on four occasions (2006 being the fifth consecutive appearance) with nine grapplers finishing among the top-eight of their respective weight class. Missouri has finished as high as third in the team competition on two occasions and looks to earn its first title this Saturday. Talk about coming a long way in a short amount of time!
YOU'RE THE FIRST, BUT NOT THE LAST..
Seniors Ben Askren and Matt Pell became the first Missouri redshirt freshmen to finish among the top eight of their respective weight class at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Both did so in 2004 at 174 and 184 pounds, respectively. Raymond Jordan became the third Tiger redshirt freshman to accomplish the feat last season at 184 pounds.
HAND-IN-HAND?
In Missouri's last five appearances at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, the Tigers have earned 16 top-eight finishes from nine individuals. Of those nine individuals, eight qualified for the NCAA Championships the same season that they took top honors in Vegas. In 2002 and 2005 all of Missouri's top-eight finishers in Vegas qualified for Nationals.
SHAKIN' UP THE POLLS...
Ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation by Revwrestling.com, TheWrestlingReport.com and USA Today/Intermat/NWCA, three Missouri individuals (Michael Chandler, Raymond Jordan and Maxwell Askren) moved up in their respective weight class with redshirt freshman Askren making the biggest jump from 12th to 4th in the USA Today/Intermat/NWCA poll released Tuesday.
TAKE THAT...
In Missouri's 29-9 defeat of No. 10 Ohio State, the third-ranked Tigers held the Buckeyes to only THREE takedowns on the day. Missouri tallied 25 meaning that 50 of their 64 team points came from takedowns. Senior Ben Askren notched 10 in his bout, while senior Matt Pell recorded seven.
PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF...
After ending his junior season with a 14-2 major decision victory over previously unbeaten Jake Herbert of Northwestern at the NCAA Championships (the title bout to be exact), senior co-captain Ben Askren has extended the nation's longest win streak to 55 consecutive matches. Askren is 10-0 on the season and 121-8 in his four years at Missouri. Although not confirmed, it is believed that the nation's longest active win streak is held by Iowa State standout and current Head Coach Cale Sanderson at 159 wins.
JOIN THE CLUB...
Senior Matt Pell became the 14th wrestler in Missouri history to reach the century mark, doing so Nov. 16 with a 15-5 major decision victory over Chris Vondruska of Ohio State. Pell is currently 4-0 on the season and 103-28 for his career. The Luxemburg, Wis., native stands at 10th in the Missouri career wins record book and is four shy of overtaking the eighth place spot held by John Kopnisky and Jeremy Spates (106 wins).
Over the past three years, six individuals have added their name to the 100-win club, Ben Askren, Kenny Burleson, Brad Cieleski, Matt Pell, Jeremy Spates and Tyron Woodley.
MAKING A RUN...
Askren, as previously noted, holds 121 wins to his name and is a mere 10 shy of taking the lead in the Missouri Career Wins record book. The current record for most wins by a Tiger wrestler is 131 held by 1982 All-American, former Missouri Head Coach and 2006 Hall of Fame Inductee Wes Roper.
MONDAY MATCHAT...
Be sure to catch all the latest news by chatting with Missouri's wrestlers every Monday at 2:30 p.m. (CT) on www.mutigers.com. Each week throughout the season a member of the Missouri wrestling team or coaching staff will be on line to answer your questions. Fans interested in submitting questions should visit mutigers.com and locate the link on the Missouri wrestling section of the website.
184 pound 2006 NCAA qualifier Raymond Jordan will be taking your questions Monday, Dec. 4, with National Champion Ben Askren on deck for Monday, Dec. 11. Fans are encouraged to submit their questions in early as the chats will last approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
MAKIN' A MOVE...
Through the power of the Internet, the Missouri wrestling team presents you with the Move of the Week. Ever wondered about what steps Ben Askren takes when performing an outside cradle? Or how does Tyler McCormick manage that arm bar? Now you can watch and learn from the comfort of your own home. Throughout the season the Tiger team and coaching staff will present a Move of the Week in which fans will have the opportunity to learn how a move is done and see first hand how it's completed in competition. A new move will be presented each Tuesday of the season. The All-Access videos are FREE, but fans must register (no credit card information necessary) in order to watch the videos. Also, NO SPAM E-MAIL WILL BE SENT AFTER REGISTERING UNLESS YOU CLICK TO RECEIVE EMAILS. Visit www.mutigers.com for more information.
MAKING A NAME...
Redshirt freshman Maxwell Askren is attracting national attention at 197 pounds. After opening the season Nov. 16 with a win over former All-American and then No. 2 J.D. Bergman (8-4) of Ohio State, Askren improved to 5-0 taking a win over then No. 4 Joel Flaggert of Oklahoma (2-1). Askren is ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation at 197 pounds.
LOOKING AHEAD...
Following an appearance at the 25th annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, the Missouri wrestling team will head to the state of Michigan for a Friday, Dec. 9 dual with No. 11 Central Michigan followed by a Saturday, Dec. 10 dual with No. 19 Michigan State.
THE WISCONSINITES ...
This has to be some sort of first. Take a close look at Missouri's starting lineup. FOUR members of the starting lineup are from the state of Wisconsin. These Cheeseheads include Josh Wagner at 149 pounds, Matt Pell at 165 pounds, Ben Askren at 174 pounds and Maxwell Askren at 197 pounds. Together this group has combined for 25 of Missouri's 46 wins this season.
BROTHERLY LOVE...
Missouri wrestlers Ben Askren and Maxwell Askren are brothers. Despite little Askren's lack of a `fro, he is definitively an Askren. His four tournament titles as a redshirt freshman and eighth place showing at the FILA Junior World Championships this past summer are enough proof that he has the same determination and competitive spirit as older brother Ben.
Ben and Max are the fourth brother tandem on the Missouri wrestling team in six years.
Chris McCormick, a 2006 graduate and current Director of Wrestling Operations and Tyler McCormick were last year's Missouri brother duo to watch.