March 18, 2010
Omaha, Neb. - The Missouri wrestling team sent six grapplers to the 80th annual NCAA Wrestling Championships held in the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb., from March 18-20. The six-member squad consists of one defending National Champion, three returning All-Americans, one Big 12 Champion, and five grapplers ranked among the top 10 of their weight class. The three seniors, junior, sophomore, and redshirt freshman will vie for their chance at a National Title, competing against their weight classes' 32 other competitors. As a team, the Tigers have finished among the top 15 programs in the nation for six consecutive years.
Three Missouri wrestlers earned automatic bids to the tournament, by the amount of allotted wrestlers per conference, per weight class set before conference tournaments began by the NCAA. Defending National Champion Mark Ellis, 2009 NCAA qualifier Dorian Henderson, and redshirt freshman Brent Haynes all earned automatic bids. Missouri's three other NCAA competitors all qualified by way of their finishes at the Big 12 Championships. The 2010 Championships mark the eighth straight year in which Missouri has qualified five or more grapplers for the National Tournament.
Leading the way for the Tigers, two-time All-American, Nick Marable earned the highest seed of his teammates, at No. 3. The senior won his third consecutive Big 12 Championship title on March 6, with a 6-5 decision over Iowa State's Jon Reader in the finals.
Over the past 11 years in which Head Coach Brian Smith has been at the helm, 12 Missouri wrestlers have been crowned All-Americans with eight earning multiple honors. Of Missouri's three returning All-Americans, seniors Maxwell Askren and Marable are two-time honorees. If either earn a top-eight finish, they would become the first Tiger since Ben Askren to earn three or more All-America accolades. M. Askren could also become just the fifth Missouri wrestler to earn All-America honors in more than one weight class.
The three-day National event will be broadcast live on the ESPN network. Friday and Saturday's action will air on ESPNU and ESPN360. Saturday evening's finals, beginning at 6:30 p.m. will be broadcast live on ESPN. First round action gets underway Thursday morning at 11 a.m. Stay tuned to mutigers.com for updates.