Jan. 2, 2008

Evanston, Ill. -Missouri senior Josh Wagner (Milton, Wis.) finished third at 149 pounds at the prestigious Midlands Championships, Dec. 30, in Evanston, Ill. Held in the Welsh-Ryan Arena on the campus of Northwestern University, 14 Tigers competed in the two-day tournament.

Wagner, ranked 17th in the nation at 149 pounds, finished the Championships with a 6-1 record. Suffering his only loss of the tournament to sixth-ranked Brent Metcalf of Iowa in his third bout of the day, Wagner rebounded with four straight wins, two by fall, to take third. The first of Wagner's win by fall was recorded in 3:29 over 12th-ranked Brandon Carter of Central Michigan. Wagner followed with a fall in 1:57 over No. 19 Don Fisch of Rider, an opponent he suffered a 17-9 loss to earlier in the season. In the end, Wagner claimed his first tournament top-three finish of the season by holding off UTC's Joey Knox, 6-4.

Altogether, the Tigers tallied 12 bonus point victories, with seven coming by fall, three by major decision and two by technical fall.

Wrestling unattached was transferBrock Wittmeyer (Platte City, Mo.). Competing at 174 pounds, the recent transfer opened the tournament with a win by technical fall, 16-0, in 4:55 over Dan Midgett of Southern Illinois. Wittmeyer, who finished the tournament with a 4-2 record, also notched a 14-1 win by major decision over Marques Gales.

The Tigers will open the home portion of their schedule, Friday, Jan. 4, with a 7 p.m. (CT) dual with Bucknell. Tickets for the event will be $5 for adults and $3 for students.