University of Missouri
Illinois
No. 12 Mizzou Wrestling Falls to Illinois at Francis Howell High School
11/14/2019 9:27:00 PM | Wrestling
Leeth, Mauller, Jacques and Koelling tallied key wins, but the Tigers couldn’t overcome six bout losses
SAINT CHARLES, Mo. – In front of a near-capacity crowd of 1,877 at Francis Howell High School, No. 12 Mizzou Wrestling lost its dual with Illinois, 19-14, Thursday night (Nov. 14). The Tigers fall to 0-2 on the season while Illinois improves to 2-1 on the year.
Mizzou got wins at 141, 149, 157 and 197 pounds, including bonus-point wins at 141 and 149. However, the Illini won six of the 10 bouts and escaped with the narrow victory. It all came down to heavyweight as Mizzou trailed, 16-14, going into the evening's final bout and Rodrigo Diaz and Illinois Luke Luffman put together a spirited battle. A late takedown by Huffman, however, ended the dual as he claimed a 9-7 decision.
Mizzou dropped the first two bouts at both 125 and 133 via decision as Illinois took a 6-0 lead into the 141-pound bout. Fifth-ranked All-American Grant Leeth made his season debut against Illinois' We Rachal. Leeth got Mizzou on the board with a 10-2 major decision, getting a two-point stall call late with 2:27 riding time to seal the bonus point win and get Mizzou into the dual.
At 149, it was another Mizzou All-American with a dominant major decision, this time by sophomore Brock Mauller. He led Mousa Jodeh, 5-1, heading into the third and used three takedowns and tacked on a riding time point to secure the major. That gave Mizzou an 8-6 lead heading into 157.
Returning NCAA qualifier No. 14 Jarrett Jacques was dominant in a 7-2 win over another top-20 opponent in No. 16 Eric Barone. That gave Mizzou an 11-6 lead heading into intermission.
Illinois won the next three bouts following the intermission as Peyton Mocco dropped an 11-5 decision before Connor Flynn lost a late 2-0 lead before falling the first sudden victory period to No. 18 Joey Gunther. Canten Marriott then lost to 18th-ranked Zac Braunagel at 184 pounds, 15-6.
Next up, Wyatt Koelling won an exciting 6-2 dual, pulling away in the third period. That set up the heavyweight bout, and despite Diaz leading 6-3 going into the third, he and the Tigers couldn't hang on for the victory.
- 125 Pounds – Dack Punke (2-4) vs. Justin Cardani (4-3) - L, 4-0 (1:43 RT) | 0-3
- 133 Pounds – No. 25 Allan Hart (3-2) vs No. 9 Travis Piotrowski (7-1) - L, 4-3 | 0-6
- 141 Pounds – No. 5 Grant Leeth (1-0) vs We Rachal (2-4) - W, 10-2 Major Decision (2:27 RT) | 4-6
- 149 Pounds – No. 2 Brock Mauller (6-0) vs Mousa Jodeh (2-5) - W, 12-3 Major Decision (2:35 RT) | 8-6
- 157 Pounds – No. 14 Jarrett Jacques (5-1) vs No. 16 Eric Barone (4-4) - W, 7-2 | 11-6
- 165 Pounds – Peyton Mocco (2-3) vs No. 23 Danny Braunagel (8-1) – L, 11-5 | 11-9
- 174 Pounds – No. 8 Connor Flynn (5-1) vs No. 18 Joey Gunther (4-1) – L, 4-2 (SV-1) | 11-12
- 184 Pounds – Canten Marriott (2-2) vs No. 18 Zac Braunagel (6-2) – L, 15-6 Major Decision | 11-16
- 197 Pounds – No. 20 Wyatt Koelling (2-0) vs Matt Wroblewski (3-4) - W, 6-2 (1:02 RT) | 14-16
- Heavyweight – Rodrigo Diaz (3-3) vs Luke Luffman (7-0) – L, 9-7 (1:50 RT) | 14-19
Mizzou will be back home next Thursday (Nov. 21) for a doubleheader with Missouri Valley and Central Missouri at 6:30 p.m.
For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on social media (@MizzouWrestling on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) for updates as well.
Players Mentioned
