Feb. 9, 2009
Thirteen members of Missouri's wrestling team competed unattached at the Missouri Valley College (MVC) Open, Feb. 7, in Marshall, Mo., with seven placing in their respective weight classes. Freshman Nick Hucke (Pewaukee, Wis.) led the Tigers at 141 pounds earning a first place finish with his perfect 5-0 record.
Hucke opened the day with two pins over unattached Chad Harding and Nathan Godsey (Cumberland) before taking on freshman teammate Nathan McCormick (Leawood, Kan.). Hucke defeated McCormick by an 8-0 major decision to move into the finals against No. 6 seed Tyler Holloway (CalPoly). Fifth seeded Hucke upended Holloway with a 6-2 decision.
Freshman Cody Farinella (Maryland Heights, Mo.) won three straight matches in the 141 pound championship bracket before a loss to Holloway (CalPoly). Farinella entered the wrestlebacks claiming a fall over No. 4 seed Alptekin Ozicilic before claiming the title over No. 2 seed Colby Robinson of Central Oklahoma.
The 141 pound weight class continued to see more action from the Tigers as McCormick upset No.1 seed Nick Fisher with a 2-0 decision. McCormick recovered from his loss to teammate Hucke and No. 2 seed Robinson (Central Oklahoma) and continued on with a win by medical forfeit over No. 4 seed Ozicilic (Lindenwood) to take fifth place for the day.
In the 133 pound weight class, Missouri's lone representative, sophomore Luke Cherep (Naperville, Il.), wrestled his way to a fourth place finish. Cherep dropped his first match of the day to No. 8 seed Woodrow Harris (WBU) with a 14-7 decision. Cherep battled back in the wrestlebacks with two straight wins over the No.3 and No.6 seed. He then fell in the third place match against No. 4 seed Kyle Willams of McKendree College.
Both Tiger wrestlers in the 157 pound weight class placed; No. 2 seed Nick Gregoris (Mebane, N.C.) earned third place honors while No. 4 seed Patrick Wright (Grand Ledge, Mich.) claimed fourth. Gregoris fought his way to three straight wins to open the tournament and advanced to the third place bout after a win over Travis Rasmussen (Cal Poly) with a 3-2 decision. Gregoris also won three straight before a 6-0 decision to No. 1 seed Joe Cornejo (MVC). This landed the two Tigers dueling for third place honors. Gregoris pulled out the win with a 2-1 decision over redshirt freshman Wright.
A freshman from House Springs, Mo., Todd Porter finished the tournament at fourth while competing at 165 pounds. After winning three straight matches, including a 13-1 major decision over Francisco Maldanado (Pratt), Porter dropped a match to No. 7 seed Robert Hicklin (Lindenwood). Porter went on to defeat the No. 3 seed in an 8-4 decision before losing to John Murray (Lindenwood) in the third place bout 9-7.
Freshman Brent Haynes (Kansas City, Mo.) battled his way to three consecutive wins in the 184 pound weight class before losing in a 2-1 decision to No.3 seed Enock Francois (Cal Baptist).
Jake Glore took home fifth place in the 197 pound weight class winning by decision over Scott Prause of McKendree College. Glore won his first match by way of a 7-4 decision, before losing to No. 3 seed Ryan Sutton (MVC). Glore then won two more matches with 3-2 decisions before entering the fifth place bout.