TULSA, Okla. - No. 25 University of Missouri wrestling has reached the end of the first day of the Big 12 Championships, sitting in eighth place with 55 points. Mizzou will have two finalists tomorrow and three in placement matches.

SESSION I

Missouri had three byes in the first round of the tournament, with Josh Edmond (141), Logan Gioffre (149) and Seth Nitzel (285) all receiving automatic bids to the quarterfinal round. A major decision by redshirt sophomore Kade Moore at 133 pounds started a run of four consecutive wins, pushing seven wrestlers into the next round.

Moore continued to lead the way for the Black and Gold, securing his spot in the semifinals and automatic qualification for the NCAA Championship by knocking off No. 1 seed Evan Frost of Iowa State. Redshirt sophomore Cam Steed and senior Keegan O'Toole continued to light up the scoreboard, advancing to the semifinals and earning bids to the national tournament with decisive bonus-point wins. Edmond, Gioffre, redshirt sophomore James Conway, and Nitzel all lost their quarterfinal matches and fell to the consolation bracket.

On the backside, freshman Gage Walker moved on with a hard-fought decision to keep his placement hopes alive at 125 pounds. Returning national qualifier Colton Hawks also advanced with a consolation win, and Jesse Cassatt advanced with a bye.

After the first session, The Tigers tied for sixth place with 33 points. Mizzou had three wrestlers alive in the semifinal round and seven still battling through the consolation bracket.

SESSION II

To kick off the semifinal round, Moore's underdog title run ended, dropping a tough loss to Kyle Burwick of North Dakota State. At 165 pounds, Steed knocked off the No. 1 seed 6-3, clinching a spot in tomorrow's final against West Virginia's Peyton Hall. Seizing the momentum at 174 pounds, O'Toole made it two finalists for the Tigers after dominating the day with three bonus-point victories.

In the first evening match for the Black and Gold, Walker dropped his second consolation bout at 125 pounds by a score of 4-2 to bring his tournament to an end. Edmond, Gioffre and Cassatt all dropped their only contests of the session, bringing their tournament runs to an end. Conway got the Tigers back on track at 157 pounds, picking up a win in sudden victory and securing a spot on the podium. Hawks kept the ball rolling by securing a decisive victory to put himself one win away from earning qualification for the national tournament. At 285 pounds, Nitzel dropped his first consolation bout to go 0-2 on the day and end his tournament.

In the third round of consolations, Conway dropped a hard-fought decision to the No. 3 seed from Northern Iowa, putting him to the seventh-place match tomorrow. Hawks also lost his consolation bout and will wrestle for seventh.

At the conclusion of the second session, five Tigers are still alive, with Steed and O'Toole in the finals, Moore in the consolation semifinals, and Conway and Hawks in contention for seventh place. A seventh-place finish for Hawks would guarantee him a spot at the national tournament. The other five wrestlers all failed to place or earn a qualification and will hope to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships.

TOURNAMENT NOTES

• Seven Tigers advanced to the quarterfinal round, a drop from last season, where all 10 wrestlers advanced. This marks the first season without having all 10 in the Big 12 quarterfinals since Mizzou rejoined the conference in the 2021-22 season.
• At 133 pounds, Moore picked up the biggest win of his career in the quarterfinals, knocking off No. 3-ranked Evan Frost of Iowa State, securing himself a spot in the national tournament for the second consecutive year. 
• Moore's upset marked his second-ranked win of the season, with his first coming over Julian Chlebove of Arizona State in January.
• With a major decision over Clayton Ulrey, Steed qualified for the NCAA Championship for the first time in his career.
• O'Toole earned a bid to his fifth national tournament with a quarterfinal win at 174 pounds, joining Brock Mauller, Peyton Mocco, and Zach Elam as the only Mizzou wrestlers to qualify five times.
• With his loss in the consolations, Edmond falls to 2-2 all-time against West Virginia's Jordan Titus, with the pair splitting matches each of the last two seasons.
• Steed's upset win in the 165-pound semifinals clinches his first Big 12 finals appearance and will make him the eighth individual to wear the Mizzou singlet in the Big 12 finals since 2021-22.
• With bonus points in every match on the day, O'Toole stormed his way to a fourth Big 12 finals appearance, where he will compete for his second consecutive and third total title. 
• For the second year in a row, Mizzou will have two wrestlers in the finals on Saturday night. O'Toole made a repeat appearance and was joined in the 2024 finals by Rocky Elam at 197 pounds.
• Of the five Tigers who were unable to capture an automatic bid to the national tournament, Edmond and Gioffre were the only two returning national qualifiers.

UP NEXT

Sessions III and IV of the 2025 Big 12 Wrestling Championship will take place in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the BOK Center tomorrow, March 9. Session III will begin at noon CT and feature the consolation semifinals and seventh-place matches. The session will be broadcast on ESPN+. Session IV will conclude the day with the championship matches, which will air at 8 p.m. CT on ESPNU.

FOLLOW THE TIGERS

Visit MUTigers.com for the latest information on all things Mizzou Wrestling. You can also find the Tigers on social media by liking us on Facebook (Mizzou Wrestling) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@MizzouWrestling). 

MISSOURI RESULTS (Through Sessions I and II)

125 - No. 33 Gage Walker, 1-2

Troy Spratley (OKST) over Gage Walker (MIZ) by decision, 9-2

Gage Walker (MIZ) over Mitchell Neiner (CBU) by decision, 1-0

Antonio Lorenzo (OU) over Gage Walker (MIZ) by decision, 4-2

133 - Kade Moore (#8 Seed), 2-1

Kade Moore (MIZ) over Gavin Caprella (AF) by major decision, 15-3

Kade Moore (MIZ) over Evan Frost (ISU) by major decision, 20-6

Kyle Burwick (NDSU) over Kade Moore (MIZ) by major decision, 10-2

141 - No. 15 Josh Edmond (#6 Seed), 0-2

Jacob Frost (ISU) over Josh Edmond (MIZ) by decision, 15-8

Jordan Titus (WVU) over Josh Edmond (MIZ) by decision, 5-4

149 - Logan Gioffre (#7 Seed), 0-2

Paniro Johnson (ISU) over Logan Gioffre (MIZ) by decision, 6-5 SV1

Sam Hillegas (WVU) over Logan Gioffre (MIZ) by major decision, 13-1

157 - No. 26 James Conway (#7 Seed), 2-2

James Conway (MIZ) over Michael Kilic (ASU) by decision, 16-9

Caleb Fish (OKST) over James Conway (MIZ) by decision, 8-5

James Conway (MIZ) over Drayden Morton (CBU) by decision, 5-2 SV1

Ryder Downey (UNI) over James Conway (MIZ) by decision, 5-0

165 - No. 14 Cam Steed (#5 Seed), 3-0

Cam Steed (MIZ) over Boeden Greenley (NDSU) by technical fall, 18-3 (4:44)

Cam Steed (MIZ) over Clayton Ulrey (UNCO) by major decision, 13-2

Cam Steed (MIZ) over Terrell Barraclough (UVU) by decision, 6-3 SV1

174 - No. 5 Keegan O'Toole (#2 Seed), 3-0

Keegan O'Toole (MIZ) over Devin Wasley (NDSU) by major decision, 14-5

Keegan O'Toole (MIZ) over MJ Gaitan (ISU) by technical fall, 15-0 (1:44)

Keegan O'Toole (MIZ) over Gaven Sax (OU) by major decision, 10-1

184 - No. 11 Colton Hawks (#8 Seed), 2-2

Aidan Brenot (NDSU) over Colton Hawks (MIZ) by major decision, 14-5

Colton Hawks (MIZ) over AJ Heeg (UNCO) by decision, 2-0

Colton Hawks (MIZ) over Caleb Uhlenhopp (UVU) by decision, 11-7

Eddie Neitenbach (WYO) over Colton Hawks (MIZ) by major decision, 15-4

197 - Jesse Cassatt, 0-2

Ian Bush (WVU) over Jesse Cassatt (MIZ) by major decision, 16-2

Nathan Schon (ISU) over Jesse Cassatt (MIZ) by decision, 11-5

285 - No. 29 Seth Nitzel (#4 Seed), 0-2

Juan Mora (OU) over Seth Nitzel (MIZ) by decision, 6-3

Andrew Blackburn-Forst (NDSU) over Seth Nitzel (MIZ) by decision, 6-3