Happy Monday Missouri Wrestling Fans!!  As most of you know, we held our intersquad Black and Gold meet this past weekend.  The Black and Gold matches were very exciting and gave fans their first taste of what our probable lineup will be for the 2008-09 season.  The matches went as follows…

 

133	Nathan McCormick (BT)  decision Taylor Crane (GT): 7-3	3	0
141	Nick Hucke (GT) decision Cody Farinella (BT): 8-2	3	3
149	Max Shanaman (BT) decision Daniel Hewitt (GT): 4-2	6	3
149	Andrew Sherry (GT) decision Brandon Wiest (BT): 6-2	6	6
157	Emanuel Brooks (BT) decision Patrick Wright (GT): 3-1	9	6
165	Todd Porter (GT) decision Garrett Jones (BT): 4-1	9	9
125	Luke Cherep (GT) decision Troy Dolan (BT): 10-8	9	12
133	Todd Schavrien (GT) major decision Nathan McCormick (BT): 8-0	9	16
141	Marcus Hoehn (BT) decision Nick Hucke (GT): 10-5	12	16
149	Andre Sherry (GT) decision Max Shanaman (BT): 2-1	12	19
157	Emanuel Brooks (BT) decision Michael Chandler (GT): 3-2	15	19
165	Nicholas Marable (BT) major decision Todd Porter (GT): 15-4	18	19
184	Dorian Henderson (BT) decision John Andrews (GT): 9-4	21	19
197	Maxwell Askren (GT) fall Jake Glore (BT): 3:16	21	25
HWT	Dominique Bradley (BT) decision Mark Ellis (GT): 3-2 (2OT)	24	25

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The preliminary matches were mostly freshmen and underclassmen getting to show off their newly gained talents in front of the home crowd.  For the freshmen, it was the first time they got to strap on the black and gold and go to battle.  I can still remember my wrestle off with Brad Cieleski my freshman year; a match in which I got handled 15-1, but hey, you live and you learn!  Nevertheless, I was so excited to pull up my straps and go to war as a Missouri Tiger for the first time.  Stepping onto the mat, then just a teenager, I got my first real experience as a Division I wrestler.  The Black and Gold matches are a great learning experience and change of scene for the team.  Even though we have a state-of-the-art wrestling room, we get a little tired of competing inside the same four walls everyday.  Its always fun to roll out the mats on the Hearnes Center floor and wrestle in front of you, the fans.  Here is a little roundup of the matches...   

 

The match at 125 was not a real wrestle off as Luke Cherep (133) wrestled down at 125 to face the very talented and front runner at the weight, Troy Dolan.  Cherep came up with the win, but this match was a good one to say the least.  Troy was very close to scoring a few takedowns and by making a few minor mistakes, missed a few opportunities.  Luckily Troy has the willingness and eagerness to learn and will improve leaps and bounds over the course of the season. 

 

Nathan McCormick and Nick Hucke both won their preliminary matches to set themselves up for a chance at the returning varsity guy.  They both wrestled well and are two guys to keep a close eye on for the rest of their careers, I expect them to do great things for us. 

 

At 133, Todd Schavrien showed his skills on top to get two turns in the second and third periods to get the 8-0 shutout on the freshman.  While at 141, Marcus Hoehn displayed his dedication to scoring more takedowns than the years past.  I can tell you firsthand that Marcus made a commitment to increasing the amount of shots he takes in matches as he worked on his takedowns all summer in the room.

 

The matches at 149 and 157 were both very close and could have gone both ways on any given day.  Andrew Sherry used his experience and expertise on top to get a third period ride-out and a win by a riding time point, while Emmanuel Brooks displayed a great defensive strategy and a last minute body lock to secure the win at 157.  Expect for battles to arise for these two spots so that the best wrestler emerges and scores the most points for the team week in and week out.

 

The match at 165 would include returning All-American, ranked number one in the country, Nick Marable taking on the future "pride of Northwest High School" Todd Porter.  Marable got the major decision, 15-4, and did a great job of showing the home crowd that he can score some bonus points for us this year.

 

At 174, Raymond Jordan did not wrestle in the Black and Gold unfortunately.  I heard since he dropped a weight class, everyone is scared to wrestle him.  That was a joke of course, I don't exactly know why he didn't have anyone to wrestle off, but I'll just go with my first statement that everyone was too scared.  After all, he is wrestling very tough in the room and is adjusting to the weight class drop well.  We all look forward to seeing him on the top of the podium this year at NCAA's.

 

Redshirt freshman Dorian Henderson used his lightning quick and explosive shots to get the win over senior John Andrews at 184 lbs.  This match consisted of a lot of rolling around and the freshman showed that he can not only blast through opponents, but he can also scramble as well.  Look for Dorian to do big things for us in the next four seasons.

 

At 197, returning All-American Max Askren got the second period pin over Jake Glore from my rival High School back in Imperial, Missouri.  This comes as no surprise to any of you who have seen Max wrestle, the guy can pin you from any position.  This particular fall came from a scramble position and Max used his sixth sense to catch Jake, to what can be described as a defensive fall.  I am not too sure, it all happened too fast to tell.

 

The last bout of the evening, and quite possibly the most anticipated match of the night, was between the retuning starter Mark Ellis and redshirt freshman Dom Bradley.  In my opinion, it was a typical heavyweight match, low score and overtime.  They both battled hard and Dom came out with the win in double overtime with a ride out.  This is another weight class that will be a battle each week to see who wears the singlet in competition.               

 

All of the matches were close and many came down to the last minute of action.  Many fans don't realize that it is hard to expect exciting matches when we are wrestling the same guys that we wrestle day in and day out in the wrestling room.  For this reason, I extend a promise that any timidness or lack of action that was displayed on Saturday will be nowhere to be found when we take on our real opponents.  Having watched wrestle-offs for five years in a row, I can honestly say that the guy who wins the Black and Gold match isn't always the guy who will be in the lineup later in the season.  It all comes down to who is going to go out there and wrestle hard for seven minutes and try and score bonus points for the team.  Because after all, minor decisions get you close to team titles, and bonus points WIN team titles. It is only November, and we are all training for what really matters which is March at Nationals.  Make sure you come out and support your Tigers as we host Hofstra November 22 at 2 p.m..  All of the proceeds go to our endowment fund which will help guys who graduate stick around and help coach so that Missouri Wrestling will continue to grow as a Dynasty!  Thank you for your time, I look forward to informing you of our adventures for the rest of the season.  Have a great day.