Nov. 28, 2008

Columbia, Mo. - Ranked as high as fifth in the nation, the Missouri wrestling team will compete in the Northeast Duals, Saturday, Nov. 29, beginning at 10 a.m. (CT) in Troy, N.Y., against No. 20 Old Dominion. The first of four duals on the day, the Tigers will follow up the match against the Monarchs with a 12:15 p.m. contest against Maryland, 2:15 p.m. dual with Harvard and 4 p.m. match with Brown. Held on the Hudson Valley Community College campus, Missouri is one of 17 schools to compete in the all-day event and one of two Big 12 programs represented. Oklahoma State will also compete.

The Tigers have traveled 15 wrestlers to compete in the Northeast Duals. Filling into the 10-man lineup is 125 pounder Troy Dolan. Dolan finished the Missouri Open in fourth place, earning his first career victory by fall over Oklahoma State's Taylor Andre (1:21).

Sophomore transfer Todd Schavrien and freshman Taylor Crane will make an appearance at 133 pounds. Schavrien finished third at the Missouri Open and owns a 1-2 record in duals. True freshman Crane is 16-5 on the season and has three top-six tournament finishes to his name. Most recently, Crane finished the freshman/sophomore division of the Missouri Open in first place, collecting a 5-0 record on the day.

Marcus Hoehn will return to the lineup at 141 pounds, while Andrew Sherry, who ranks 22nd in the latest Wrestling Report poll will compete at 149 pounds. Brandon Wiest, a redshirt freshman, is also listed in the 149 pound weight class.

Seventh-ranked Michael Chandler will resume the starting position at 157 pounds. With a perfect 8-0 record, Chandler stands at 76-32 on his career and has won the University of Central Missouri and Missouri Open this season. Chandler took on his first ranked opponent of the season, No. 15 Jonny Bonilla-Bowman of Hofstra, and won 13-2. Redshirt freshman Patrick Wright, who took fifth at the Missouri Openm is also expected to start at 157 pounds.

Coming off of a 2-1 win over then-No. 1 ranked Mack Lewnes of Cornell at the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) All-Star dual on Monday, current No. 1 ranked 165 pounder Nicholas Marable will step back into the lineup. Marable is 1-1 against ranked wrestlers this season.

Raymond Jordan, ranked as high as second by RevWrestling, will make his fourth dual start at 174 pounds. Jordan is 7-0 on the season with four of his wins recorded as bonus point victories.

Redshirt freshman Dorian Henderson will compete at 184 pounds while junior Maxwell Askren, ranked as high as fifth by WIN Magazine, will wrestle at 197 pounds.

Missouri Head Coach Brian Smith will choose between fourth-ranked junior Mark Ellis and redshirt freshman Dominique Bradley to start at heavyweight. The duo has combined for a 14-2 record. Ellis carries a four-match win streak entering the bout with Old Dominion.

The Tigers own a 5-0 record over Old Dominion, 1-1 mark with Maryland, 2-0 record over Harvard and 2-0 advantage over Brown. The Monarchs of Old Dominion have as many as four wrestlers ranked among the top 15 in the nation, with 125 pounder James Nicholson ranked highest at fourth. Maryland enters the dual with five wrestlers ranked among the top 15. Competing at 197 pounds, Hudson Taylor, ranked second, marks Askren's highest ranked opponent of the still young season. Harvard also has four wrestlers ranked among the top-20. Third ranked J.P. Conor is ranked highest of his teammates at 157 pounds. Brown does not have any ranked wrestlers.