University of Missouri
Arizona State
No. 24 Mizzou Wrestling Sees Comeback Fall Short Against Fifth-Ranked ASU
2/9/2020 3:30:00 PM | Wrestling
Koelling earns big upset win at 197 pounds; Hart tallies major, but Mizzou’s comeback effort falls short
COLUMBIA, Mo. – No. 24 Mizzou Wrestling came up short against fifth-ranked Arizona State, 21-13, Sunday afternoon (Feb. 9) at the Hearnes Center. The Sun Devils had six wrestlers ranked in the top 11 of their respective weight classes and won five of those six bouts, despite great effort from many of the Tigers. The Tigers trailed, 18-3, before rallying to cut the lead to 18-13 heading into the final bout, but the hole was too deep to dig out of. Mizzou falls to 10-7 on the season while Arizona State improves to 12-1 on the year.
Top Tigers
- No. 23 Wyatt Koelling earned a huge, 3-1 win over No. 11 Kordell Norfleet to improve to 18-5 on the season.
- No. 22 Allan Hart posted a dominant 14-4 win over Josh Kramer to improve to 15-8 on the season. He opened an 11-2 lead after the first period, tallying eight nearfall points in the opening three minutes.
- Senior Alex Butler earned a 4-2 win at 141 pounds, his third dual win this season.
- Sophomore 149-pounder Brock Mauller posted an 8-4 win over Josh Macura Sunday to improve to 22-1 as he has yet to lose this calendar year, winning 10 straight bouts.
Hear from Coach Smith
"There were some good battles and I saw some good things, even in losses," head coach Brian Smith said. "You don't like to think: oh, we wrestled well in a loss, but Dylan Wisman competed and it was a really close match. There were some points here and there that if that isn't called that way, we're right in it. He battled and that's wat we asked of the kids. Go out there, get after it and compete at a high level. When you wrestle to-level people, you have to wrestle with no fear. I really thought Wyatt Koelling had a good win too."
A Quick Recap
Sunday's dual started at 165 pounds, setting up a string of six straight bouts that Mizzou had to face wrestlers ranked in the top-11 of their weights. That also meant the dual began quickly for Arizona State, which picked up major decisions from No. 6 Josh Shields over Mizzou's Peyton Mocco (17-6) and from 174-pounder Anthony Valencia over Mizzou's Connor Flynn (15-3).
With the Tigers trailing 8-0, Mizzou 184-pounder Dylan Wisman faced the daunting task of facing top-ranked Zahid Valencia, who came into the dual at 18-0. The two wrestled through a spirited first period behind a raucous Hearnes Center crowd, but Valencia took a 6-5 lead into the second period. Things stayed close, but Wisman could never close the gap to fewer than three points. He tallied a takedown with about half a minute remaining in the third to cut the lead to 13-10, and then cut Valencia to try for another takedown, which never came as Valencia held on the for 14-10 win.
At 197 pounds, Koelling faced another Sun Devil ranked in the top-15 in No. 11 Kordell Norfleet. Koelling posted a late takedown in the second period as time expired to take a 3-0 lead into the final frame. After a Norfleet escape with about a minute remaining, Koelling fended off his attacks to hang on for a 3-1 upset win.
Arizona State then won at heavyweight and at 125 pounds before Allan Hart tallied a huge major decision over Josh Kramer, 14-4, getting Mizzou back into the dual moving to the final three weight classes.
After Hart cut the lead to 18-7, senior Alex Butler took the mat against Arizona State's Cory Crooks with a chance to pull Mizzou even closer with its two highest-ranked wrestlers remaining at 149 and 157. Brock Mauller, the reigning two-time MAC West Wrestler of the Week who just defeated No. 1 Boo Lewallen last time out, earned an 8-4 win over Josh Macura to pull Mizzou within five points of the team race.
At 157, Jarrett Jacques needed a pin for Mizzou to win the dual. He wrestled ASU's Jacori Teemer and came up on the wrong end of a 10-7 decision, clinching the dual for the Sun Devils.
vs. Arizona State
- 165 – Peyton Mocco (19-11) vs. #6 Josh Shields (16-4) – L, 17-6 (1:57 RT) Major Decision | 0-4
- 174 – Connor Flynn (15-7) vs. #9 Anthony Valencia (16-5) – L, 15-3 (2:11 RT) Major Decision | 0-8
- 184 – Dylan Wisman (14-7) vs. #1 Zahid Valencia (19-0) – L, 14-10 | 0-11
- 197 – #23 Wyatt Koelling (18-5) vs. #11 Kordell Norfleet (7-3) – W, 3-1 | 3-11
- HWT – Jake Bohlken (10-11) vs. #6 Tanner Hall (16-3) – L, 4-1 (1:23 RT) | 3-14
- 125 – Cameron Valdiviez (15-7) vs. #7 Brandon Courtney (19-4) – L, 17-6 (2:06 RT) Major Decision | 3-18
- 133 – #22 Allan Hart (15-8) vs. Josh Kramer (7-10) – W, 14-4 Major Decision | 7-18
- 141 – Alex Butler (9-7) vs. Cory Crooks (2-3) – W, 4-2 (1:09 RT) | 10-18
- 149 – #4 Brock Mauller (21-1) vs. Josh Maruca (7-8) – W, 8-4 (2:14 RT) | 13-18
- 157 – #16 Jarrett Jacques (21-4) vs. Jacori Teemer (9-5) – L, 10-7 | 13-21
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Players Mentioned
