Missouri
Southern Scuffle Day 1
No. 1 Tiger Wrestling Team Finishes First Day of Tournament in Fourth Place
12/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 29, 2006
Greensboro, N.C. - The No. 1 ranked Missouri wrestling team finished day one of the Southern Scuffle in fourth place with 50.5 points, with eight of the Tigers 16 wrestlers advancing in the championship bracket of their respective weight class and four competing in the consolation rounds. Second-ranked Minnesota leads the team-scored event with 59.5 points and No. 12 Edinboro stands in second with 53.5. No. 10 Cornell rounds out the top three with 52 points.
Recording two wins on the day, both by fall, senior defending National Champion Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) not only advanced to the quarterfinals in the 174 pound bracket, but now stands tied with former Tiger grappler Wes Roper in the Missouri career wins record book with 131 to his name. Roper set the current record between 1978-82. Entering the tournament as the No. 1 ranked wrestler at 174 pounds, Askren notched his 12th and 13th consecutive falls this season after pinning Steve Ratley of Virginia Tech in 1:26 followed by a stick in one minute against Marcus Boyd of Davidson. With the wins, Askren improves to 20-0 on the season with 18 of his victories coming by fall. To date, Askren has collected 80 wins by fall since beginning his collegiate wrestling career during the 2003-04 campaign.
Eight Missouri wrestlers will begin day two of the Southern Scuffle in the quarterfinals of their respective weight class. Junior Josh Wagner (149 pounds, Milton, Wis.), sophomores Michael Chandler (157 pounds, High Ridge, Mo.) and Raymond Jordan (184 pounds, New Bern, N.C), redshirt freshmen John Olanowski (125 pounds, Virginia Beach, Va.), Maxwell Askren (197 pounds, Hartland, Wis,) and Mark Ellis (HWT, Peculiar, Mo.) along with true freshman Ashtin Primus (141 pounds, South Connelsville, Penn.) and senior Ben Askren all finished the day with perfect records.
One of Missouri's biggest upsets of the day came by Primus. Entering the tournament unseeded, Primus went 2-0, recording a win by fall over sixth-seeded and 20th-ranked Chris Bencievenga of UNC-Greensboro in 1:51. Primus is now 23-5 on the season.
Juniors Tim Kephart (125 pounds, O'Fallon, Mo.) and James Williamson (165 pounds, Blue Springs, Mo.), along with sophomore Joey Garrity (174 pounds, Orion, Ill.) and redshirt freshman Nicholas Marable (165 pounds, Collierville, Tenn.) will all begin day two of the tournament in the consolation bracket.
The Tigers notched 17 extra point wins on the day including 11 by way of fall.
Day two of the Southern Scuffle will begin at 8 a.m. (CT) with the quarterfinals and the fourth round of wrestle-backs. Championship finals are slated to begin at 5:30 p.m. (CT) with live results available at www.southernscuffle.com.
John Olanowski-125 (2-0) #18 John Olanowski (MU) fall Brody Essick (Appalachian St): 1:18 #18 John Olanowski (MU) decision Jeff Hedges (UNCG): 9-7 TB Quarterfinals: #18 John Olanowski (MU) #2 Troy Nickerson (Cornell)Tim Kephart-125 (2-1) Nicholas Hyatt (Lock Haven) fall Tim Kephart (MU): 4:34 Consolation: Tim Kephart (MU) major decision Joe Coughlin (George Mason): 12-1 Consolation: Tim Kephart (MU) fall Will Livingston (Ohio State): 1:52 Consolation Tim Kephart (MU) vs. Alex Ustics (Navy):
Willie Saxton-133 (2-2)-OUT OF TOURNAMENT Willie Saxton (MU-unat) decision Matt Smith (Ohio): 4-3 #8 Drew Headlee (Pittsburgh) decision Willie Saxton (MU-unat.)7-2 Consolation: Willie Saxton (MU-unat.) fall Cameron Teitelman (Stanford): 3:53 Consolation: Thomas Kimprell (Cal State Bakersfield) major decision Willie Saxton (MU-unat.): 17-9
Amond Prater-141 (0-2) OUT OF TOURNAMENT Cam Watkins (ODU) major decision Amond Prater (MU): 11-1 Consolation: Darrion Caldwell (AVOLA) major decision Amond Prater (MU): 15-3
Ashtin Primus-141 (2-0) Ashtin Primus (MU) decision Matt Easter (Cornell): 6-1 Ashtin Primus (MU) fall #20 Chris Bencivenga (UNCG): 1:51 Quarterfinals: Ashtin Primus (MU) vs. Alex Krom (Maryland):
Marcus Hoehn-141 (1-2) OUT OF TOURNAMENT Marcus Hoehn decision Wes Kuser (Duke): 6-4 Cody Cleveland (UTC) decision Marcus Hoehn (MU): 11-7 Consolation: Jeff Newby (Boise State) decision Marcus Hoehn (MU):4-3
Dane Espinosa-149 (1-1) OUT OF TOURNAMENT #19 Lance Palmer (Ohio State) decision Dane Espinosa (MU): 5-2 Consolation: Joe Caramanica (Cal State Bakersfield) decision Dane Espinosa (MU): 4-1
Josh Wagner-149 (3-0) #16 Josh Wagner (MU) fall Clay Tucker (Ohio): 3:51 #16 Josh Wagner (MU) major decision Alex Bimes (E. Stroudsburg): 8-0 #16 Josh Wagner (MU) decision #16 John Cox (Navy): 13-12 Quarterfinals: #16 Josh Wagner (MU) vs. #13 Aaron Martin (UTC):
Andrew Sherry-149 (1-2) OUT OF TOURNAMENT Andrew Sherry (MU) fall Derek Royster (Citadel-unat): 1:10 Gregor Gillespie (Edinboro) tech fall Andrew Sherry (MU): 15-0, 4:51 Consolation: Drew Dipasquale (UVA) decision Andrew Sherry (MU): 8-2
Michael Chandler-157 (2-0) #10 Michael Chandler (MU) win by medical forfeit Robert Henry (George Mason) #10 Michael Chandler (MU) decision David Nakasone (Lehigh): 7-5 Quarterfinals: #10 Michael Chandler (MU) vs. Kody Hamrah (NC State)
James Williamson-165 (2-1) James Williamson (MU) decision Matthew Koelling (Duke): 8-3 James Williamson (MU) decision Manuel Schubert (Lehigh): 6-4 #18 Chris Vondruska (Ohio State) decision James Williamson (MU): 2-1 Consolation: James Williamson (MU) vs. Jason Kiesling (Maryland)
Nicholas Marable-165 (4-1) Nicholas Marable (MU) decision Landis Wright (Lock Haven): 11-5 #13 Keegan Mueller (UNC) decision Nicholas Marable (MU) 5-4, TB Consolation: Nicholas Marable (MU) major decision Matthias Piasecki (Gardner-Webb): 15-4 Consolation: Nicholas Marable (MU) decision Mark Ring (UNCG):12-6 Consolation: Nicholas Marable (MU) injury default Robert Johnston (Navy) Consolation: Nicholas Marable (MU) vs. Jacob Ison (Ohio)
Ben Askren-174 (2-0) #1 Ben Askren (MU) fall Steve Ratley (Virginia Tech):1:26 #1 Ben Askren (MU) fall Marcus Boyd (Davidson): 1:00 Quarterfinals: #1 Ben Askren (MU) vs. Neal Martin (Appalachian State)
Joey Garrity-174 (2-1) Aaron Miller (Kent State) decision Joey Garrity (MU): 9-3 Consolation: Joey Garrity (MU) major decision Antione Love (Ohio): 11-2 Consolation: Joey Garrity (MU) technical fall Marcus Boyd (Davidson): 16-0 Consolation: Joey Garrity (MU) vs. Lloyd Rogers (UTC)
Raymond Jordan-184 (3-0) #6 Raymond Jordan (MU) fall Mike Marable (UTC): 5:21 #6 Raymond Jordan (MU) decision Jesse Strawn (ODU): 10-4 #6 Raymond Jordan (MU) fall Jeremy Colbert (N.C. State): 2:51 Quarterfinals: #6 Raymond Jordan (MU) vs. #20 Steve Borja (Virginia Tech):
Maxwell Askren-197 (2-0) #1 Maxwell Askren (MU) fall Ed Backus (Binghampton) 1:26 #1 Maxwell Askren (MU) decision Dennis Drury (UNC):12-6 Quarterfinals: #1 Maxwell Askren (MU) vs. Brent Jones (UVA)
Sean Connole-HWT (1-2) OUT OF TOURNAMENT #11 Joe Fendone (Edinboro) fall Sean Connole (MU-unat).: 2:04 Consolation: Sean Connole (MU-unat.) major decision Phil Doerner (Stanford): 12-3 Consolation: Ryan Kittrick (George Mason) Sean Connole (MU-unat.): 5:59
Mark Ellis-HWT (2-0) #17 Mark Ellis (MU) fall Leon Barrow (VMI): 2:32 #17 Mark Ellis (MU) decision Janoir Palma (NC State): 7-6 Quarterfinals: #17 Mark Ellis (MU) vs. #8 Ed Prendergast (Navy):
Players Mentioned
