March 3, 2011Live Blog | Live Webcast | Big 12 Championship Central | Complete Notes 
After two weeks off from competition, the Missouri wrestling team is set to head to the 15th annual Big 12 Championships, held on Saturday, March 5 in the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. 50 of the league's grapplers will be fighting for the 33 allotted automatic qualifier spots for the NCAA Championships.
The Tigers look to improve on their highest tournament finish in program history, second, set first in 2003 and repeated in 2007. Oklahoma State is the defending champs, having won their 10th Big 12 title last season. Iowa State has won three titles, Oklahoma has won a pair and Nebraska has taken first once.
First round matches will begin at 10 a.m. CT on two mats, with semifinals expected to begin at 11 a.m. Consolation matches are slated for a 1 p.m. start time with the championship finals set for 7 p.m.
Fans unable to attend the event can follow along with the live blog at MUTigers.com, or watch the live stream provided by Big12Sports.com. Links to both are located on the sidebar of the wrestling page at MUTigers.com
Six of the 10 Tigers wrestling this weekend will be making their first career appearance at the Big 12 Championship. True freshman Alan Waters, redshirt freshman Kyle Bradley, sophomore Nick Gregoris, redshirt freshman Zach Toal, sophomore Mike Larson and junior Dom Bradley will all be competing on the Big 12 stage for the first time.
Senior Todd Schavrien and junior Dorian Henderson are the veterans on the roster, as this will be the third Big 12 Championship for both of them. Schavrien finished third in each of the last two years, while Henderson is still looking for his first win at the event.
Sophomores Nathan McCormick and Brent Haynes competed in their first Big 12's last season, as both took fourth place in their respective class. Each grappler won their first match of the day before dropping their last two contests.
PRESEEDS
Dom Bradley is expected to be the No. 1 seed at heavyweight, the lone top seed for the Tigers. Schavrien was unanimously selected as the No. 2 seed in the pre-seeds at 141. Waters, Kyle Bradley, Gregoris and Henderson were picked as the No. 3 seeds at 125, 149, 157 and 174, respectively, in the pre-seeding. McCormick, Toal, Larson and Haynes came in at fourth in their respective classes according to the pre-seeds. The official bracket will come out on the evening of Friday, March 4.
AUTO QUALIFYING
The NCAA announced the qualifier allocations for the 2011 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships a few weeks back. Each qualifying tournament was awarded spots per weight class based on current year data. Each wrestler was measured on the following: Division I winning percentage; rating percentage index (RPI); and coaches ranking.
For each wrestler that reached the threshold in at least two of the three categories, his qualifying tournament was awarded a qualifying spot in that weight class. Each qualifying tournament was awarded a minimum of one wrestler per weight class, which will go to the tournament champion, even if they did not have any wrestlers reach at least two of the three thresholds. NCAA tournament spots for each qualifying event will be awarded at the tournament based solely on place-finish.
After all of the qualifying events have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 49 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 9. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers. The at-large selections will be made based on the following criteria: head-to-head competition; qualifying event placement; quality wins; results against common opponents; winning percentage; RPI; coaches ranking and the number of matches contested at that weight class.
BIG 12 ALLOTMENT
125: 3 165: 5
133: 4 174: 3
141: 4 184: 4
149: 1 197: 4
157: 1 285: 4
Since 165 pounds will qualify all five of those that compete at Big 12's, Zach Toal has already punched his ticket to the 2011 NCAA Championships.
WHAT'S NEXT
Missouri's qualifying grapplers will head to the 2011 NCAA Championships in Philadelphia, Pa., from March 17-19.
TIGERS LOOKING FOR FIRST BIG 12 CROWN
The Missouri wrestling team is still looking for their first Big 12 wrestling team championship. Their highest team finish ever was second place in both 2003 and 2007. Last year, Mizzou finished in fourth place, finishing with 53 points. In the three previous Big 12 Championships held in Ames, Iowa, the Tigers have finished fourth once and fifth twice.
INDIVIDUAL BIG 12 TITLES
Missouri has had 14 Big 12 Champions in the program's history, all coming since 2003. The Tigers have had at least one champion in each of the last five years. The most champions they've ever had in a year is three, accomplished in both 2004 and 2007. Mizzou has had three repeat winners: Ben Askren (04, 06, 07), Max Askren (07, 08) and Nicholas Marable (08, 09, 10).
RECORD WATCH
Numerous Tigers have either already stepped into the all-time Missouri record books, or are about to do so. Freshman Alan Waters is just two wins away from finding himself within the top-10 of most victories in a season. His .900 winning percentage would be seventh all-time in a single season if the season ended today. Todd Schavrien has five technical falls this year, tying him for fourth most in a year at Missouri, and he's one major decision away from jumping into the top-10, as he currently has eight on the year
2011 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS SOLD OUT
The Division I Wrestling Committee, Rider University and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference have announced that tickets for the 2011 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships are sold out. The three-day event, taking place March 17-19 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa., officially sold out of all-session tickets, and because of this no single session tickets will be available for the championships.
Tickets for the 2012 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo., go on sale Thursday, March 17. To purchase tickets or for more information on the wrestling championships, log on to NCAA.com/wrestling.
EARLY POINTS BIG FOR TIGERS
Much of the Tigers' success this season was because of the big wins they had right off the bat in their dual meets. More specifically, the success they had at 125, 133 and 141 pounds. The Tigers scored 503 total team points in duals this season, and 204 of those have come from the first three weight classes, making up over 41% of the team's total. Mizzou accumulated 54 points at 133 pounds, 71 points at 125 and 79 points at 141. The only other class to pick up more than 50 points was heavyweight, which has accumlated 62 points so far this season. 125 pounds picked up bonus points in five of their 20 wins, while 133 scored bonus point wins in seven of their 23 matches. 141 pounds led the way, picking up bonus points in 12 of their 19 victories on the season. The Tigers started 21 of their 23 contests at 125 pounds.
TIGERS TROUNCE NO. 17 IOWA STATE
Winning seven of the 10 matches on the day, the No. 13 Tiger wrestling squad closed out their regular season campaign with an impressive 23-11 victory over the No. 17 Iowa State Cyclones on Sunday afternoon. Missouri finished the regular season with a 15-8 dual record and a 1-3 record in conference competition.
Prior to the match, the Tigers honored their three seniors for Senior Day, as Luke Cherep, Tyler Perry and Todd Schavrien were recognize for the hard work and dedication they had given the Missouri program over the years. An announced attendance of 1,512 was there to witness Missouri's final dual of the season.
In a fitting way to close out senior day, Schavrien finished off the day for the Tigers at 141 pounds in his last match at the Hearnes Center, where he knocked off No. 15 Chris Drouin by a 3-1 decision. After a scoreless first, Schavrien took the 1-0 edge on an escape to begin the second. Drouin matched that in the third, making it 1-1, but the Tiger landed a takedown on a scramble with 20 seconds left in the match, riding out Drouin and picking up one last win in front of the Tiger faithful.