March 20, 2008
St. Louis, Mo. - The Missouri wrestling team improved on its session one team standing to finish day one of the Division I Wrestling Championships in sixth place with 23 points. All seven of Missouri' qualifiers will compete in Friday's morning session, marking the first time in four years that Missouri advances all of its qualifiers to day two of the tournament. Iowa continues to lead the team competition with 29.5 points.
Four Tiger grapplers, Michael Chandler (High Ridge, Mo.), Nicholas Marable (Collierville, Tenn.), Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) and Maxwell Askren (Hartland, Wis.) all advanced through the championship bracket of their respective weight class, while Tyler McCormick (Leawood, Kan.), Josh Wagner (Milton, Wis.) and Mark Ellis (Peculiar, Mo.) will all make their way through the consolation brackets.
Chandler avenged his 6-5 loss to Cyler Sanderson, March 8 at the Big 12 Championships by recording a 5-3 win at 157 pounds over the Iowa State Cyclone on the national stage. The third meeting of the season between the league grapplers, Sanderson scored first with a takedown 1:13 into the match. An escape by Chandler pulled the Tiger within one heading into the second period and Chandler chose down to start the next two minutes of action. Escaping in one second the two entered the third period tied at two. Sanderson had choice in the third period, opting to go down, where he was turned and Chandler was credited three points on the edge of the mat for the nearfall. The Cyclone wrestler was only able to manage an escape, giving Chandler his second win of the year over Sanderson and sending him into the quarterfinals for the first time of his career.
Wrestling simultaneously, sophomore 165-pounder Marable extended his win streak to 10 and notched his 50th career victory after defeating Arizona State's Patrick Pitsch, 3-1. No points were scored in the first period and Marable chose down to start the second. Escaping in 12 seconds, Marable took Pitsch to the mat with 12 seconds remaining in the second period. Marable held Pitsch to only one escape in the third period for the win. Next up, Marable will take on Iowa State's Jonathan Reader in his third match of the championship bracket, contested Friday, March 21 in the morning session.
Missouri's Jordan improved to 6-4 in NCAA Tournament appearances after earning his second win of the day at 184 pounds. Squaring off with Rocco Caponi of UVA on mat No. 5 for the third time of his career and first time of the campaign, Jordan outscored the Cavalier, 8-2, earning four of his points by takedown, two by reversal, one for Caponi's continual stalling and one for 3:04 of riding time. With the win, Jordan will advance in the championship bracket and take on Nebraska's Vince Jones.
Seeded fifth at 197 pounds, sophomore Askren met with UNC-Greensboro's Daren Burns in the second round of tournament action. Burns entered the meet unseeded and upset 12th-seeded Joe Rovelli of Hofstra, a wrestler that handed Askren his first loss of the season. Despite the unknown of Burns, Askren proved the stronger wrestler, winning the match 14-6, Askren's second bonus point win of the day. Askren owned a 5-2 lead entering the third period and Burns chose down to start the final two minute segment. Askren cut the Greensboro grappler four times and took him town four times to score his final eight points of the match.
Senior two-time All-American McCormick suffered his first loss of the three-day tournament. The second meeting of the day between border opponents Missouri and Illinois, McCormick dropped a 6-1 decision to No. 2 seed James Kennedy at 133 pounds. McCormick will begin his run through the consolation bracket Friday morning.
Heavyweight Ellis fell victim to Oklahoma State's No. 5 seed Jake Rosholt, 4-2, in the championship bracket. The loss was Ellis' second two-point loss of the season to the Cowboy grappler.
Senior Wagner was Missouri's first and last wrestler to compete in the second session and recorded pins in both of his matches. Wagner's first fall came in 2:04 over Northern Iowa's Nick Pickerell, while his second fall came one minute and four seconds faster, in one minute over Ryan Adams of North Dakota State.
133: Tyler McCormick (1-1)
Tyler McCormick (MU) decision Tyler Dillashaw (Cal State Fullerton): 5-2
James Kennedy (Illinois) decision Tyler McCormick (MU): 6-1
149: Josh Wagner (2-1)
Matthew Fittery (Lock Haven) decision Josh Wagner (MU): 11-6
Josh Wagner (MU) fall Nick Pickerell (UNI): 2:04
Josh Wagner (MU) fall Ryan Adams (North Dakota State): 1:00
157: Michael Chandler (2-0)
Michael Chandler (MU) decision David Nakasone (Lehigh): 5-3
Michael Chandler (MU) decision Cyler Sanderson (ISU): 5-3
165: Nicholas Marable (2-0)
Nicholas Marable (MU) decision Luke Manuel (Purdue): 4-2
Nicholas Marable (MU) decision Patrick Pitsch (Arizona State): 3-1
184: Raymond Jordan (2-0)
Raymond Jordan (MU) technical fall Matthew Gevelinger (Brown): 23-7 in 5:30
Raymond Jordan (MU) decision Rocco Caponni (UVA): 8-2
197 Pounds: Maxwell Askren (2-0)
Maxwell Askren (MU) major decision Joe Fagiano (Indiana): 15-5
Maxwell Askren (MU) major decision Daren Burns (UNCG): 15-5
HWT: Mark Ellis (1-1)
Mark Ellis (MU) decision John Wise (Illinois): 5-4
Jake Rosholt (OSU) decision Mark Ellis (MU): 4-2
Updated Records
Wt. Wrestler Season Career
133 Tyler McCormick 7-9 77-42
149 Josh Wagner 22-11 86-48
157 Michael Chandler 25-4 68-30
165 Nicholas Marable 24-3 50-11
184 Raymond Jordan 24-4 85-22
197 Maxwell Askren 24-2 52-5
HWT Mark Ellis 19-11 35-22
Team Scores
1. Iowa 29.5
2. Nebraska 26.5
3. Iowa State 25
4. Central Michigan 24
4. Minnesota 24
6. Missouri 23
6. Oklahoma State 23
8. Ohio State 22