Feb. 5, 2008
Nineteen Tiger grapplers wrestled unattached in this year's Missouri Valley College Open, held on Feb. 2, in Marshall, Mo., with five Tigers crowned champions in their respective weight class. A total of 15 Missouri wrestlers finished among the top six of their weight class
Redshirt freshman Willie Saxton (141) and freshmen Troy Dolan (125), Patrick Wright (165) and Dorian Henderson (174) took top honors in their classes, along with sophomore Ashtin Primus, who won at the 149 pound weight class.
Dolan, the top seed at 125 pounds, used a pin in the first round and a major decision in the second to move into the semifinals. Dolan knocked off No. 2 seed Richey Zuniga (Lindenwood) with a 3-0 decision to capture the title.
In the 133 pound weight class, No. 3 Kyle Pescaglia took home a third place finish. After winning his first match 6-0, Pescaglia upended the No. 6 seed Jake Fleckenstein (Purdue) with a 15-0 technical fall. In the quarterfinals, Pescaglia dropped a tough 5-4 decision to the No. 2 seed John Lloyd (Lindenwood), but fought his way back in the wrestleback bracket. Pescaglia won by a 7-6 decision over No. 4 Wade Lowe (McKendree) before claiming third place after Lindenwood's John Sampo was forced to forfeit due to medical reasons.
Saxton, the No. 2 seed and only Tiger representative in the 141-pound weight class, notched three major decisions in four matches on his way to being named champion. After defeating his first two opponents, 14-3 and 12-4, Saxton earned a 13-6 decision over No. 3 Eric Graham (MVC), who had pinned his first two opponents. Another 12-4 major decision in the final bout gave Saxton the championship title.
The 149-pound weight class saw three Tigers place, including first and second place finishers Primus and Rudy Galarza. Galarza scored a technical fall in the first bout and advanced to the championship after a medical forfeit by No. 2 Seth Vernon (Oklahoma). Primus also landed a technical fall in the first round and used a major decision over No. 2 Sam Schmitz (Lindenwood) to earn his spot in the championship match, where a 4-3 decision over his Tiger teammate gave him the title. Freshman Brandon Weist battled back in the wrestleback bracket after dropping his opening match against Vernon to earn a fifth place finish in the class.
No. 4 Andrew Sherry took home third place in the 157-pound weight class, winning by technical fall over Tyler Gordon (Lindenwood). Sherry won his first two matches in the championship bracket, scoring a 7-2 decision in his first match and a 16-3 major decision in his second before losing to No. 1 seed Aaron Winning (McKendree). A decision over sixth-seeded Robert Dominguez (Lindenwood) set himself up for the third place bout.
Both Tiger representatives in the 165 weight class placed, with No. 3 seeded Garrett Jones finishing in sixth and top seeded Wright bringing home the championship. Wright rode a major decision and two impressive falls to wrestle his way to the title match, where his 5-0 decision over No. 6 Kyle Reid (McKendree) gave him the championship.
Three of the top four places in the 174-pound weight class went to Tigers after Henderson was crowned champion, and Ryan Sonderegger defeated teammate John Andrews in the third place matchup. Henderson, the No. 1 seed, knocked off Cumberland's Luke Borneman in the championship match with a 9-6 decision. Sonderegger defeated Andrews, who lost to Henderson in the semifinals of the championship bracket, by a 4-2 decision.
In the 197-pound weight class, Missouri's lone representative, Trever Collins, wrestled his way to a fifth place finish. The No. 1 seed going into the tournament, Collins suffered a heartbreaking loss at the hands of Kyle Frawley (Lindenwood) in the quarterfinals. In the wrestlebacks, Collins earned a major decision and a fall before dropping another tough loss, this time to McKendree's Adam Hicks, the No. 2 seed in the class. The loss put Collins into the fifth place match, where he was able to rebound and earned a pin just 2:54 into the match over Charlie Gibbs (MVC).
Both Tiger wrestlers in the heavyweight class placed; No. 1 seed Dominique Bradley earned second place honors, while No. 5 seed Tyler Perry claimed third. Perry fought his way to three straight wins to open the tournament and advanced to the semifinals with a 5-3 decision over No. 3 Zak Adomanis (McKendree), before dropping a 3-2 decision to No. 2 seed Lance Shunna (Lindenwood). Perry battled back in the wrestlebacks, pinning his first opponent in just 1:04 before defeating No. 4 seed Dan Moore (McKendree), 4-2, for third place. Bradley found himself in the championship bout after earning three decisions and a major decision in his four previous matches, but was upended by Shunna in the championship, dropping the match 5-4.