Feb. 2, 2007
Making their final regular season road trip of the 2006-07 campaign, the second-ranked Missouri wrestling team will travel to the state of Oklahoma for a pair of duals beginning Saturday, Feb. 3, in Stillwater. Slated for a 7 p.m. (CT) start in Gallagher Iba Arena, the Tigers will battle with fourth-ranked Oklahoma State (13-4, 1-1) for the second time of the season before traveling to Norman for a 3 p.m. (CT) dual with 13-ranked Oklahoma (8-4, 0-2) on Sunday, Feb. 4.
After shutting down No. 20 Nebraska, 31-11, in the Big 12 season opener last Sunday, Missouri looks to go 3-0 in the conference for only the second time in Tiger wrestling history. Missouri has never beaten both Oklahoma schools on the road, but became the first school in the league to sweep both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in home events during the 2003-04 season.
Saturday's dual with the Cowboy's is the second of the season as the two teams last squared off in the semi-finals of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Cliff Keen Dual Jan. 14, in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Missouri advanced to the championship bout after besting OSU 27-9. The win was Missouri's second ever over the Cowboys who hold a 32-2 lead in the all-time series dating back to the 1928-29 season. Missouri walked away with seven wins in the Jan. 14 outing, including then 15th-ranked Tyler McCormick's 3-2 decision at 133 pounds over then-No. 3 Coleman Scott and then-No. 15 Josh Wagner's pin with one second remaining on the clock of B.J. Jackson at 149 pounds. The Tigers collected three wins by fall in their dual with Oklahoma State. Wagner recorded the first, with senior Ben Askren pinning Brandon Mason in 1:16 at 174 pounds and redshirt freshman Maxwell Askren dropping Jared Shelton in 1:17.
Missouri enters the weekend duals with eight wrestlers ranked at their respective weight class according to the Jan. 30, USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll. Both Oklahoma State and Oklahoma have six grapplers ranked among the 20 in the nation of their respective weight class. All three schools have wrestlers ranked at 165 and 174 pounds, with Missouri's Ben Askren retaining the top spot at 174 pounds. Between the three schools, the Tigers, Cowboys and Sooners hold four the 10 No. 1 rankings (125 pounds, Sam Hazewinkel, Oklahoma; 165 pounds, Johny Hendricks, Oklahoma State; 174 pounds, Ben Askren, Missouri; 197 pounds, Maxwell Askren, Missouri).
Battling the Sooners on Super Bowl Sunday, the Tigers look to win their first dual in Norman since the 2002-03 campaign. Competing in Howard McCasland Field House four years ago, the Tigers, then ranked 20th, pulled off a 25-20 upset over then-No. 3 Oklahoma giving Head Coach Brian Smith his 50th career victory. This Sunday, Smith, who now holds 106 wins to his name, will pit his second-ranked Tigers against the 13th-ranked Sooners.
Although both teams competed at the Missouri Open, Nov. 19, only the wrestlers at 197 pounds will see familiar competition. Missouri's Maxwell Askren and Oklahoma's Joel Flaggert met in the championship bout of the Open with Askren knocking off Flaggert, 2-1. The upset of Flaggert along with Askren's win three days prior over former All-American J.D. Bergman (Ohio State) helped Askren to his first Big 12 Wrestler of the Month honor.