Missouri
Session III
No. 18 Wrestling Claims 2026 Soldier Salute Title
1/4/2026 5:24:00 PM | Wrestling
The Tigers had three individual weight titles to claim the top spot
CORALVILLE, Iowa - No. 18-ranked Mizzou wrestling closed the book on the 2026 Soldier Salute in first place with 166.5 points and crowned three individual champions on Sunday, Jan. 4. Mizzou wrestlers combined to go 30-13 on the day, an impressive .698 clip. The Black and Gold tallied 15 bonus point victories, including five major decisions, four technical falls, and four falls.
Mizzou's three champions were Mack Mauger at 125 pounds, Josh Edmond at 149 pounds, and Aeoden Sinclair at 184 pounds.
SESSION III
With 10 representatives in the semifinal round, Missouri put together an impressive third session. Eight Tigers punched their tickets into the championship match, highlighted by big wins from Seth Mendoza, Josh Edmond and Aeoden Sinclair. The third session concluded with seventh-place matches, in which true freshman David Gleason and Jarrett Stoner both picked up victories. Gleason provided an exclamation point with a pin at the 0:40 mark of his final bout.
At the conclusion of the round, Mizzou had accumulated 150 points, 5.5 ahead of second-place North Carolina. With the team title race coming down to the wire, five matches in the final session consist of head-to-head matchups between the two programs.
SILVER BRACKET
Eight total Mizzou wrestlers competed in extra matches during Session III. Five competitors claimed first place in their respective silver brackets, highlighted by Jace Roller and Peyton Westpfahl, who both secured bonus point victories on the day. One Tiger claimed a second-place finish, and two more finished in third place. Missouri finished with a 13-3 record in silver bracket matches with nine bonus point wins.
SESSION IV
The final medal round opened up at 197 pounds with a ranked matchup between No. 16 Evan Bates and Wyoming's No. 5 Joey Novak. Bates ultimately fell short, but his runner-up finish did not deter the Tigers' momentum. Mauger took the mat soon after at 125 pounds, where he tallied a takedown in both the second and third period on his way to a thrilling upset over No. 13 Kysen Terukina. The Tar Heel is the highest-ranked win of Mauger's career. Both Gage Walker (133 pounds) and Mendoza (149 pounds) competed unattached over the weekend and earned second-place honors with an overload of bonus point wins.
Two Tigers made the finals at 149 pounds, with Edmond claiming victory due to a medical forfeit. The Detroit, Michigan, native collected his first gold medal at a major midseason tournament. Father Tolton graduate Teague Travis brought home a second-place finish in his first event, repping the Black and Gold, and Max Mayfield also turned in a second-place finish at 165 pounds. J Conway made it two Tigers in the top-three at 157 pounds, earning a 9-6 win in the third-place bout.
North Carolina sat at 161.5 points, 0.5 ahead of the Tigers headed into the final bout of the evening. Sinclair took to the mat at 184 pounds against North Carolina's No. 23 Jake Dailey, looking to ice the team crown. He made quick work of his foe, tallying 17 points en route to a technical fall early in the third period, ending the weekend on a high note.
MATCH NOTES
- Edmond (149 pounds) is the first in Mizzou wrestling history to make the finals of all three major holiday season tournaments. He earned a runner-up finish at the 2022 Southern Scuffle and a runner-up performance at the 2022 Midlands Championships before his championship performance this weekend.
- Missouri had eight wrestlers earn a place in the finals on Sunday night, the most of any team at the event. The second highest was runner-up North Carolina with five.
- Mauger's big victory at 125 pounds was not only the first of three championship victories for Mizzou on the night, but the first in the program's history at Soldier Salute.
- Mendoza secured a technical fall against Wyoming's No. 30 Gabe Willochell in the semifinals. The matchup was the true freshman's seventh of the season, and his third against a ranked opponent.
- Two Tigers picked up repeat wins, with 285-pounder Jarrett Stoner earning his second career victory over Minnesota's Bennett Tabor and redshirt junior Easton Hilton earning his second over South Dakota State's Tyson Peach.
- Sinclair's three technical falls across the weekend bump his total to seven on the season and eight in his career.
UP NEXT
The Tigers head west to challenge conference foes Arizona State and Utah Valley on Jan. 15 and Jan. 17, respectively. The dual in Tempe, Arizona, will begin at 7:30 p.m. CT, while the contest in Orem, Utah, will begin at 8 p.m. CT.
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GOLD BRACKET RESULTS
125 | [28] Mack Mauger, First Place (2-0)
Semifinal: Win by decision over Sebastian Degennaro (OU), 2-1
Final: Win by decision over [13] Kysen Terukina (UNC), 7-2
133 | Gage Walker (Unattached), Second Place (1-1)
Semifinal: Win by decision over Matthew Botello (UNC), 5-1
Final: Loss by decision to [17] Ethan Oakley (UNC), 4-2
141 | [23] Zeke Seltzer, Eighth Place (0-1)
Seventh Place Match: Loss by decision to Max Brady (UNI), 12-11
149 | [15] Josh Edmond, First Place (2-0)
Semifinal: Win by major decision over Patrick Jordon (VMI), 13-5
Final: Win by medical forfeit over Seth Mendoza (MIZ)
149 | Seth Mendoza (Unattached), Second Place (1-1)
Semifinal: Win by technical fall over [30] Gabe Willochell (WYO), 17-2 (2:27)
Final: Loss by medical forfeit to [15] Josh Edmond (MIZ)
157 | Teague Travis, Second Place (1-1)
Semifinal: Win by decision over Laird Root (UNC), 6-3
Final: Loss by decision to [12] Jordan Williams (IOWA), 7-3
157 | [21] J Conway, Third Place (2-1)
Semifinal: Loss by decision to [12] Jordan Williams (IOWA), 8-2
Consolation Semifinal: Win by decision over Victor Voinovich (IOWA), 7-3
Third Place Match: Win by decision over Laird Root (UNC), 9-6
157 | David Gleason, Seventh Place (1-0)
Seventh Place Match: Win by fall over Steven Villalobos (BELL), 0:40
165 | [24] Max Mayfield, Second Place (1-1)
Semifinal: Win by decision over Jack Thomsen (UNI), 5-4
Final: Loss by injury default to [17] Bryce Hepner (UNC), 3:20
165 | Dominic Bambinelli, Fifth Place (1-1)
Consolation Semifinal: Loss by decision to Jack Thomsen (UNI), 5-1
Fifth Place Match: Win by fall over Sloan Swan (WYO), 4:02
184 | [2] Aeoden Sinclair, First Place (2-0)
Semifinal: Win by technical fall over Waylon Cressell (Unattached), 21-6 (3:57)
Final: Win by technical fall over [23] Jake Dailey (UNC), 17-2 (5:34)
184 | Logan Cole, Fifth Place (1-2)
Semifinal: Loss by decision to [23] Jake Dailey (UNC), 8-3
Consolation Semifinal: Loss by decision to Nash Banko (Army Prep), 10-8
5th Place Match: Win by medical forfeit over Waylon Cressell (Unattached)
197 | [16] Evan Bates, Second Place (1-1)
Semifinal: Win by decision over Zyan Hall (NAVY), 8-1
Final: Loss by fall to [5] Joey Novak (WYO), 6:46
285 | [26] Jarrett Stoner, Seventh Place (1-0)
Seventh Place Match: Win by decision over Bennett Tabor (MINN), 4-1 SV1
SILVER BRACKET RESULTS
125A | Hank Benter, First Place (2-0)
Semifinal: Win by decision over Nick Treaster (NAVY), 6-4
Final: Win by major decision over Ostin Blanchard (NDSU), 14-3
141A | Owen Uhls, Third Place (1-1)
Semifinal: Loss by fall to John Alden (WYO), 5:35
Third Place Match: Win by fall over Lawson Eller (NDSU), 1:45
141B | Easton Hilton, First Place (2-0)
Semifinal: Win by decision over Tyson Peach (SDSU), 8-3
Final: Win by major decision over Peyton Moore (NDSU), 12-0
141C | Jace Roller, First Place (2-0)
Semifinal: Win by fall over David Saenz (WYO), 0:43
Final: Win by fall over Logan Swensen (SDSU), 2:13
165B | Joel Mylin, Second Place (1-1)
Semifinal: Win by major decision over Davis Park (NAVY), 11-1
Final: Loss by major decision to Manny Rojas (ISU), 12-4
174A | Kolten Oborny, Third Place (1-1)
Semifinal: Loss by decision to Jacob Helgeson (ISU), 6-4
Third Place Match: Win by major decision over Paulo Ciatto (Unattached), 8-0
174B | Peyton Westpfahl, First Place (2-0)
Semifinal: Win by technical fall over Luke Hoag (NDSU), 25-9 (5:53)
Final: Win by fall over Ethan DeLeon (NEB), 1:20
285A | Sampson Stillwell, First Place (2-0)
Round 1: Win by decision over Jacob Levy (UNC), 10-3
Round 2: Win by decision over Cameron Guether (UNI), 8-4
*Rankings via InterMat
Players Mentioned
