March 15, 2007
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Photo Gallery 
| Session 1 Highlights
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - The Missouri Wrestling team opened competition at the NCAA National Championships Thursday morning, advancing six grapplers into the second round which will take place tonight at 6:30 p.m. (EST). The Tigers scored four falls to currently stand in second place in the team race with 20.5 points, trailing only Minnesota who scored 22.5 total team points.
Starting off the day for the Tigers was 157-pound Michael Chandler (High Ridge, Mo.). Taking on Kurt Gross of Kent State, Chandler won the match 7-5 while accumulating 3:13 of riding time. Choosing to start down in the second period, Chandler wasted no time scoring a two-point reversal at 1:51 to take a 4-3 lead. After Gross escaped in the third period, Chandler earned a hard fought takedown to help put Gross away. Chandler would later lose to Bubba Jenkins of Penn State, and will look to advance in the wrestleback bracket.
Competing in the only other pigtail for the Tigers, defending national champion at 174 pounds, Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) topped Daniel Burk of Northern Illinois 19-4 for a technical fall, earning bonus points for the Tigers. Askren piled up 4:45 of riding time, dominating the match. Askren came close to pinning Burk, tallying three nearfalls throughout the match. Askren kept Burk from scoring until the 1:06 mark of the second period. Askren went on to earn a win by fall in his second match, topping Lloyd Rogers of Tennessee-Chattanooga with 34 seconds remaining in the match.
Starting the preliminaries the Tigers got back-to-back falls from 133-pound grappler Tyler McCormick (Leawood, Kan.) and 149-pound Josh Wagner (Milton, Wis.). McCormick squared off against Christian Staylor of Old Dominion. Needing only 3:52 to pin Staylor, McCormick scored bonus points for the Tigers to help keep pace with the Gophers.
In his first match of the day, Wagner grappled against Jake Patascil of Purdue. After a scoreless first period, Wagner scored a takedown with 30 seconds remaining in the second period. Choosing to start neutral at the start of the third, Wagner registered a takedown which he then turned into a pin with 1:08 remaining in the match.
Matt Pell (Luxemburg, Wis.) continued the pinning for the Tigers. Using a takedown at 1:34 in the second period, Pell pinned Nick Pullano of Old Dominion in 4:39, giving the Tigers more critical bonus points to keep pace in the team battle. Also advancing, Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) topped Wisconsin's Trevor Brandvold 4-2. Jordan scored a takedown with 20 seconds left in the match to take the lead 4-1.
Top-seeded Maxwell Askren (Hartland, Wis.) failed to advance to the next round, and will need to make his run in the wrestleback bracket. Facing Brandon Halsey of Bakersfield, Halsey used two takedowns in the first period to upset top-ranked Askren 5-4.
Freshman heavyweight Mark Ellis (Peculiar, Mo.) capped the session for the Tigers. Ellis faced Clarion's A.J. Brooks in a tight match until the third period. Ellis scored three points in the final period to and gained 3:10 riding time to top Brooks 8-3.
The second session of the day will start at 6:30 p.m. and will feature all eight Tiger wrestlers. Chandler and Max Askren will look to battle their way back in the consolation brackets, while the six others will continue toward a title. Stay tuned to www.mutigers.com for results from tonight's action.
Top-Five Team Scores
1st Minnesota 22.5
2nd Missouri 20.5
3rd Iowa State 20
4th Penn State 18
5th Iowa 13.5
