STILLWATER, Okla. – No. 24 Mizzou Wrestling came up short at No. 11 Oklahoma State, 26-6, Sunday afternoon at historic Gallagher-Iba Arena. It was the 33rd all-time meeting between to two college wrestling blue bloods. After a huge Mizzou win at 149 pounds, the Tigers were looking to take the lead in the dual, but lost close bouts at 157 pounds (first tiebreaker) and 174 pounds (a takedown with less than 10 seconds remaining) and couldn't recover from dropping those two swing matches. Mizzou falls to 10-6 on the season while Oklahoma State moves to 9-2 on the year.
The highlight of the dual for Mizzou came at 149 pounds in one of the nation's premier bouts this weekend between No. 6 Brock Mauller of Mizzou and top-ranked Boo Lewallen of Oklahoma State. Mauller trailed, 3-0, moving into the final period, but tallied an escape and then a late takedown with about a half-minute remaining to tie the bout. He scored a takedown midway through the sudden victory period to earn the 5-3 win, handing Lewallen his first loss of the season.
"We understood we would have to win close matches in this dual and today, and I thought we competed hard, but unfortunately not the entire seven minutes and lost a lot of close matches," head coach Brian Smith said. "Brock found a way to win. Both of those guys are great competitors, but Brock scored at the end of regulation and rode him out to put it in OT. Then he went and got his double and ran through the finish. It was a good win for Brock."
Also tallying a win for Mizzou Sunday was Allan Hart (133). He posted an 11-7 win over OSU's Reese Witcraft. Hart opened up an 8-0 lead thanks to a huge four-point nearfall in the first period and never looked back while coasting to his 14th win of the season.
Mizzou lost tough swing bouts at 157 pounds, as No. 10 Jarrett Jacques gave up a late lead and fell, 8-6, in the first tiebreaker period. At 174 pounds, Connor Flynn made his return to the lineup and wrestled No. 11 Joe Smith to a 6-6 tie until Smith scored a takedown and a four-point nearfall as time expired to earn a 12-6 win. Mizzou also lost an overtime match at heavyweight as the bouts were close and action-packed throughout.
- 125 – Cameron Valdiviez (15-8) vs. #4 Nick Piccininni (19-1) – L, 20-5 Technical Fall (1:22 RT) | 0-5
- 133 – Allan Hart (14-8) vs. Reece Witcraft (12-7) – W, 11-7 | 3-5
- 141 – Alex Butler (9-7) vs. Dusty Hone (16-6) – L, 9-3 (2:34 RT) | 3-8
- 149 – #6 Brock Mauller (21-1) vs. #1 Boo Lewallen (14-1) – W, 5-3 (SV-1) | 6-8
- 157 – #11 Jarrett Jacques (21-4) vs. Wyatt Sheets (13-6) – L, 8-6 (TB-1) | 6-11
- 165 – Peyton Mocco (19-10) vs. #8 Travis Wittlake (21-1) – L, 11-6 | 6-14
- 174 – Connor Flynn (15-6) vs. #11 Joe Smith (5-2) – L, 12-6 | 6-17
- 184 – Dylan Wisman (14-6) vs. Anthony Montalvo (15-5) – L, 9-5 | 6-20
- 197 – #23 Wyatt Koelling (17-5) vs. #11 Dakota Geer (17-4) – L, 10-5 | 6-23
- HWT – Jake Bohlken (10-10) vs. Cornelius Putnam (1-2) – L, 3-2 (TB-2) | 6-26
Mizzou will be back in action next Sunday, hosting Arizona State at the Hearnes Center. It is Mizzou's Alumni Weekend, as former Mizzou wrestlers will all be back at the Hearnes for the annual event. The dual will being at 1 p.m. and tickets are available by visiting MUTigers.com/WrestlingTix or by calling the Mizzou Ticket Office at 1-800-CAT-PAWS.
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).