Dec. 5, 2006

Columbia, Mo. - Redshirt freshman Maxwell Askren (Hartland, Wis.) was named November's Big 12 Wrestler of the Month after knocking off three of the nation's top-five wrestlers as announced today by the league office. A perfect 10-0 on the season, Askren most recently collected his first Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational title at 197 pounds becoming Missouri's first freshman to take top honors at the prestigious event.

Opening the season Nov. 16 against Ohio State, Askren, then ranked No. 12 in the nation, took down All-American and then No. 2 J.D. Bergman, 8-4. Adding to the wins list, Askren went 4-0 at the Missouri Open, Nov. 19, besting two-time All-American and then No. 4 Joel Flaggert of Oklahoma, 2-1.

In his next outing of the campaign, Askren went 5-0 and finished first at the 25th annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in Primm, Nev., Dec. 2. Ranked No. 3 in the country, Askren held off No. 2 Jerry Rinaldi of Cornell, 4-3, in the title match.

Next up for the Tigers are back-to-back duals against Central Michigan (Dec. 9) and Michigan State (Dec. 10).