COLUMBIA, Mo. – No. 24 Mizzou Wrestling hosts Northern Illinois and Cleveland State in a dual doubleheader this Saturday (Jan. 25) inside the Hearnes Center. The duals will begin at 2 p.m. Mizzou (8-5, 5-0 MAC) enters the weekend with a chance to clinch at least a share of the 2019-20 MAC Regular Season Championship and the West Division Title this weekend. A title would be Mizzou's eighth straight in the MAC and ninth consecutive conference championship, dating back to the program's final year in the Big 12.
Looking at the standings, Mizzou sits atop the MAC's West Division at a perfect 5-0 in league action. Northern Illinois sits at 3-1 in MAC competition. With a pair of wins this weekend, Mizzou would eliminate NIU from contention in the west division, with the Tigers slated to wrestle just one more MAC dual this season at SIU-Edwardsville on Feb. 12. Should Mizzou win both duals, only Rider (8-2 overall, 4-1 MAC) who sits atop the MAC East standings could still match the Tigers for a share of the conference title. Below are the complete standings:
West Division
|
Team |
Conf. |
Conf. Pct. |
Overall |
Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
5-0 |
1.000 |
8-5 |
0.615 |
|
|
3-1 |
0.750 |
8-3 |
0.727 |
|
|
3-2 |
0.600 |
3-4 |
0.429 |
|
|
3-3 |
0.500 |
7-7 |
0.500 |
|
|
2-2 |
0.500 |
4-5 |
0.444 |
|
|
2-2 |
0.500 |
6-2 |
0.750 |
|
|
1-3 |
0.250 |
5-8 |
0.385 |
|
|
0-5 |
0.000 |
1-8 |
0.111 |
East Division
|
Team |
Conf. |
Conf. Pct. |
Overall |
Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
4-1 |
0.800 |
8-2 |
0.800 |
|
|
5-2 |
0.714 |
8-3 |
0.727 |
|
|
3-3 |
0.500 |
9-5 |
0.643 |
|
|
2-2 |
0.500 |
4-8 |
0.333 |
|
|
2-3 |
0.400 |
7-4 |
0.636 |
|
|
2-3 |
0.400 |
6-4 |
0.600 |
|
|
0-4 |
0.000 |
2-5 |
0.286 |
|
|
4-1 |
0.800 |
8-2 |
0.800 |
Mizzou is coming off of a perfect 2-0 weekend in MAC competition, earning road dual wins at Central Michigan (25-13) Friday, and at Kent State (31-12) Sunday. Mizzou has won three of its four duals since the calendar year switched to 2020. Saturday marks the Tigers second home date in 2020 with its only other dual being a 22-12 win over Ohio on Jan. 10.
Northern Illinois comes into Saturday's dual at 8-3 overall and 3-1 in MAC competition, sitting in second place behind only Mizzou in the west standings. The Huskies' only MAC loss came against east division leader Rider, 26-6, back in November. NIU has won four straight dual meets since a Dec. 6 loss to Illinois, defeating Kent State, Central Michigan, Cal Poly and Little Rock. The Tigers defeated NIU, 40-6, last year and own a 15-4 all-time record against the Huskies. Mizzou has won all seven meetings against NIU since moving to the MAC for the 2012-13 season by a combined score of 231-50 (33.0 – 7.1 avg.). NIU's last win over Mizzou came during the 2002-03 season, a 21-16 triumph.
Mizzou and Cleveland State have never met in dual action as this is the Viking's first year in the conference. Cleveland State is 6-2 on the year and 2-2 in MAC competition. The Vikings wrestled Ohio last Saturday, falling 19-13. They will face SIU-Edwardsville Friday night before heading to Columbia for Saturday's doubleheader.
Below are the projected lineups for Saturday's dual:
vs. Northern Illinois
- 125 Pounds: Dack Punke (11-9) or Cameron Valdiviez (15-6) vs. Bryce West (16-7)
- 133 Pounds: Allan Hart (11-7) vs. Caleb Brooks (3-6)
- 141 Pounds: #17 Grant Leeth (7-3) or Alex Butler (7-4) vs. Anthony Gibson (9-4) or Nathan Swartz (2-7)
- 149 Pounds: #5 Brock Mauller (18-1) vs. McCoy Kent (14-7)
- 157 Pounds: #12 Jarrett Jacques (19-3) vs. Mason Kauffman (9-7) or Dylan Thurston (3-3) or Tristin Guaman (2-1)
- 165 Pounds: Peyton Mocco (16-7) or Connor Flynn (12-3) vs. Izzak Olejnik (11-8)
- 174 Pounds: Jeremiah Kent (15-7) vs. Kenny Moore (7-5) or Caden McWhirter (4-4)
- 184 Pounds: Dylan Wisman (11-5) or Canten Marriott (10-5) vs. Brit Wilson (14-1)
- 197 Pounds: #25 Wyatt Koelling (16-3) vs. Gage Braun (15-9)
- 285 Pounds: Jacob Bohlken (10-6) or Rodrigo Diaz (12-10) vs. Max Ihry (10-9)
vs. Cleveland State
- 125 Pounds: Dack Punke (11-9) or Cameron Valdiviez (15-6) vs. Logan Heil (17-7)
- 133 Pounds: Allan Hart (11-7) vs. Justin Patrick (13-8)
- 141 Pounds: #17 Grant Leeth (7-3) or Alex Butler (7-4) vs. Evan Cheek (27-3)
- 149 Pounds: #5 Brock Mauller (18-1) vs. Gus Sutton (11-9)
- 157 Pounds: #12 Jarrett Jacques (19-3) vs. Nico O'Dor (10-8)
- 165 Pounds: Peyton Mocco (16-7) or Connor Flynn (12-3) vs. Riley Smucker (17-10) OR Ryan Ford (6-2)
- 174 Pounds: Jeremiah Kent (15-7) vs. Chase Archangelo (13-13)
- 184 Pounds: Dylan Wisman (11-5) or Canten Marriott (10-5) vs. DeAndre Nassar (16-12 overall; 7-6 at 184)
- 197 Pounds: #25 Wyatt Koelling (16-3) vs. Ben Smith (19-9)
- 285 Pounds: Jacob Bohlken (10-6) or Rodrigo Diaz (12-10) vs. John Kelbly (11-10) OR Collin Kelly (7-10)
For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the tam on social media (@MizzouWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook).