TULSA, Okla. - No. 25 University of Missouri wrestling closed out the final day of the Big 12 Conference Championship at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with 65.5 total points and an eighth-place finish. Five Mizzou wrestlers earned a podium spot by finishing in the top eight, and three Tigers earned bids to the NCAA Championship on March 20-22 in Philadelphia.

SESSION III

Three wrestlers were active in the medal round to start off the second day. Redshirt sophomore Kade Moore started with a win in the consolation semifinals by injury default, which advanced him to the third-place match. Moore dropped his final match to Northern Iowa's Julian Farber, securing a fourth-place finish.

Wrestling for seventh place, redshirt sophomore James Conway secured a victory over Caleb Dowling of West Virginia to end his tournament with a win. He will look to receive an at-large bid for the NCAA Championship, announced Wednesday. At 184 pounds, Colton Hawks was unable to flip the result of a first-round loss to North Dakota State's Aidan Brenot, dropping the seventh-place match by an 11-7 decision. The 11th-ranked redshirt junior will need an at-large bid to qualify for the national tournament.

Mizzou held firm in eighth place throughout the round, sitting at 61.5 points heading into the finals. The Tigers went 2-2 in the session, with Conway and Moore bringing home wins in the round.

SESSION IV

Two Tigers saw action in the championship matches. At 165 pounds, redshirt sophomore Cam Steed made a run to the finals in his first appearance at the tournament, ultimately falling short in a tough decision to West Virginia's Peyton Hall. 

Seeking to defend his conference title, Keegan O'Toole took the mat against top seed Dean Hamiti of Oklahoma State. After a scoreless first period, surrendering an escape, and takedown in the second, the Hartland, Wisconsin native faced an early deficit. A clutch third-period takedown, followed swiftly by an overtime takedown, clinched a third Big 12 title for the Tiger. O'Toole will head to Philadelphia as a favorite to earn the No. 1 overall seed and will seek his third national title.

TOURNAMENT NOTES

• Automatic bids to the NCAA Championship were earned by Moore (133), Steed (165) and O'Toole (174).
• Moore and Steed both received their first automatic bids to the tournament, with Moore making his second trip after earning an at-large bid last season. O'Toole received his fifth automatic bid.
• Moore's fourth-place finish marks the highest placement of his career, following a 0-2 performance last season.
• With his fourth-place finish, Moore placed four spots above his seed, entering the tournament as the eighth seed. At 165 pounds, Steed finished three spots above his seed, placing second out of the five spots. O'Toole returned to the top of the podium, placing one spot above his number two seed.
• In the 165-pound final, Steed matched up against Hall for the second time, coming up short again, with the first match ending in a 10-8 win for the Mountaineer.
• O'Toole secured his first official victory over the Cowboy Hamiti with his title match victory. The two faced off in an exhibition match in November of 2022 with Mizzou's own securing a 7-1 victory, but the match did not count for official records.
• At 174 pounds, O'Toole closed out his tournament as a four-time conference champion, with three coming in the Big 12, and one coming in the Mid-American Conference in 2020-21.
• With the Black and Gold going 1-1 in the final round, Mizzou has ended the season with one individual conference champion every season since 2020-21. During that campaign, the Tigers had four individual champions in the MAC.

UP NEXT

The Tigers will head to the NCAA Championship on March 20-22 in Philadelphia.

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MISSOURI RESULTS (Through Sessions III and IV)

125 - No. 33 Gage Walker, DNP, 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), Fourth Place, 3-2

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

Kade Moore (MIZ) over Derrick Cardinal (SDSU) by injury default (1:22)

Julian Farber (UNI) over Kade Moore (MIZ) by decision, 10-6

141 - No. 15 Josh Edmond (#6 Seed), DNP,  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), DNP, 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), Seventh Place, 3-2

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

James Conway (MIZ) over Caleb Dowling (WVU) by decision, 6-3

165 - No. 14 Cam Steed (#5 Seed), Second Place, 3-1

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

Peyton Hall (WVU) over Cam Steed (MIZ) by decision, 2-0

174 - No. 5 Keegan O'Toole (#2 Seed), First Place, 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

Keegan O'Toole (MIZ) over Dean Hamiti (OKST) by decision, 7-4

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

Aidan Brenot (NDSU) over Colton Hawks (MIZ) by decision, 11-7

197 - Jesse Cassatt, DNP, 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), DNP, 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