Dec. 1, 2006
Primm, Nev. - The No. 2 Missouri wrestling team finished day one of the 25th annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in first place with 86 points leaving No. 8 Michigan, No. 18 Nebraska and No. 15 Pennsylvania in a three-way tie for second (64 points), at the Star of the Desert Arena in Primm, Nev. Four of Missouri's wrestlers have advanced into tomorrow's semi-final bouts, with four more grappling through the consolation brackets.
Seniors Matt Pell (165 pounds, Luxemburg, Wis.) and Ben Askren (174 pounds, Hartland, Wis.), along with sophomore Raymond Jordan (184 pounds, New Bern, N.C.) and redshirt freshman Maxwell Askren (197 pounds, Hartland, Wis.) all advanced through the championship bracket of their respective weight class and will begin semi-final competition tomorrow at Noon (CT).
Seeded No. 1 at 165 pounds, Pell opened the day with a fall in 2:54 over Daniel Atondo of Cal State- Bakersfield, adding two more major decision victories to his name while improving to 7-0 on the season. Pell is one of three Missouri wrestler to still hold an unblemished record this season (both Ben and Maxwell Askren are also unbeaten) and moves to the No. 8 spot along with former Tigers John Kopnisky (174) and Jeremy Spates (149) in the Missouri career wins record book.
Number one ranked Ben Askren (174) extended the nation's longest win streak to 58 victories, dating back to the start of his junior campaign (2005). Askren entered the two-day tournament as one of two Missouri wrestlers seeded No. 1 and pinned all three of his opponents, the fastest clocked at 1:35 in the opening round, against Big 12 opponent Casey Roberts of Nebraska.
Jordan, seeded third at 184 pounds, will have his chance for revenge against Ohio State Buckeye Mike Pucillo when the tournament semi-finals begin Saturday afternoon. In their last meeting, Jordan fell to Pucillo by a one point decision (3-2) in Missouri's season opener, Nov. 16. In Friday's action, all four of Jordan's wins were of the extra point variety, beginning with a fall over Kyle Sand (Northern Idaho) in 4:28. As a team, the Tigers tallied 13 falls on the day. All four of the top-four seeds remain alive at 184 pounds, with Pucillo seeded No. 2.
Also seeded No. 3 in his weight class, Maxwell Askren improved to 8-0 on the season with a 3-0 finish in day one of the prestigious tournament. In his first appearance at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Askren won two of his bouts by a one point difference and pinned Ernesto Ancona (Cal State-Bakersfield) in what became Missouri's fastest fall of the day, 57 seconds.
Junior All-American Tyler McCormick (133 pounds, Leawood, Kan.), sophomore Michael Chandler (157 pounds, High Ridge, Mo.) and redshirt freshmen John Olanowski (125) and Mark Ellis (HWT) all suffered one loss in the tournament and will battle through the consolation bracket of their respective weight class.
Day two of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational will begin tomorrow at 11 a .m. (CT) with championship finals slated for a 7 p.m. (CT) start. Eight of the No. 1 seeds are still competing in their respective brackets. Live results are available on line at The Wrestling Mall .
125-John Olanowski: 2-1
#20 John Olanowski (MU) decision Brandon Zoetheway (Cal State-Bakersfield): 5-1
#20 John Olanowski (MU) decision #22 Collin Cudd (Wisconsin): 7-6
#4 Tanner Gardner fall #20 John Olanowski (MU): 4:31
Saturday Morning: #20 John Olanowski (MU) vs. #26 Jeff Hedges (UNC-Greensboro)
133-Tyler McCormick: 2-1
#4 Tyler McCormick (MU) decision #27 Will Powars (George Mason): 3-2
#4 Tyler McCormick (MU) fall Matt Smith (Ohio): 6:22
#10 Mark Budd (Buffalo) decision #4 Tyler McCormick (MU): 3-1 OT
Saturday Morning: #4 Tyler McCormick (MU) vs Chad Vandiver (N. Illinois)
141-Amond Prater: 1-2
#22 Steve Delorenzo (Brown) decision #18 Amond Prater (MU): 5-1
#18 Amond Prater (MU) decision Virgil Lockett (San Francisco State): 3-2
#17 Don Fisch (Rider) fall #18 Amond Prater (MU): :44
149-Josh Wagner: 3-2
#16 Josh Wagner (MU) decision Derek Kipperberg (Oregon State): 10-8
#6 Josh Churella (Michigan) decision #16 Josh Wagner (MU): 9-3
#16 Josh Wagner (MU) fall Shawn Haratani (Cal-Davis): 1:50
#16 Josh Wagner (MU) fall Kirk Platt (UNT): 1:12
#28 Brandon Doyle (Cal-State Bakersfield) decision #16 Josh Wagner (MU): 9-4
157- Michael Chandler: 2-1
#7 Michael Chandler (MU) fall Tom Fazio (Brown): 3:48
#7 Michael Chandler (MU) fall Tyler Sherfey (Boise State) 1:59
#3 Craig Henning (Wisconsin) decision #7 Michael Chandler (MU): 7-0
Saturday Morning: #7 Michael Chandler (MU) vs. #18 Travis Piccard (The Citadel)
165-Matt Pell: 3-0
#6 Matt Pell (MU) fall Daniel Atondo (Cal-State Bakersfield): 2:54
#6 Matt Pell (MU) major decision Dustin Noack (Cal-Davis): 10-2
#6 Matt Pell (MU) major decision #27 Christopher Vondruska (Ohio State): 12-4
Saturday Morning: #6 Matt Pell (MU) vs. #13 Max Dean (Indiana)
174-Ben Askren: 3-0
#1 Ben Askren (MU) fall Casey Roberts (Nebraska): 1:35
#1 Ben Askren (MU) fall Luke Feist (Stanford): 2:48
#1 Ben Askren (MU) fall #24 Jeremy Larson (Oregon State): 2:07
Saturday Morning: #1 Ben Askren vs. #10 Keith Gavin (Pittsburgh)
184-Raymond Jordan: 4-0
#4 Raymond Jordan (MU) fall Kyle Sand (North Idaho): 4:28
#4 Raymond Jordan (MU) major decision Joffrey Lander (Embrey-Riddle): 13-5
#4 Raymond Jordan (MU) technical fall Michael Marable (UTC): 18-2
#4 Raymond Jordan (MU) major decision #12 Rocco Caponi (UVA): 13-4
Saturday Morning: #4 Raymond Jordan (MU) vs. #8 Michael Pucillo (Ohio State)
197-Maxwell Askren: 3-0
#3 Maxwell Askren (MU) decision Nathan Everhart (Indiana): 5-4
#3 Maxwell Askren (MU) fall Ernesto Ancona (Cal-State Bakersfield): :57
#3 Maxwell Askren (MU) decision #15 Jared Villers (West Virginia): 6-5
Saturday Morning: #3 Maxwell Askren (MU) vs. Nick Roy (Michigan)
HWT-Mark Ellis: 2-1
Mark Ellis (MU) fall Jeff Burdorf (Northern Illinois): 6:19
Mark Ellis (MU) fall Dustin Rogers (West Virginia): 3:50
Tervel Dlagnev (UNK) major decision Mark Ellis (MU): 12-4
Saturday Morning: Mark Ellis (MU) vs John Buck (The Citadel)
UPDATED SEASON AND CAREER RECORDS
Wt. Name Season Career
125 John Olanowski 8-2 8-2
133 Tyler McCormick 3-1 54-24
141 Amond Prater 6-5 69-30
149 Josh Wagner 9-4 46-28
157 Michael Chandler 6-2 25-18
165 Matt Pell 7-0 106-28
174 Ben Askren 13-0 124-8
184 Raymond Jordan 8-1 41-13
197 Max Askren 8-0 8-0
HWT Mark Ellis 3-3 3-1
