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Wrestling Opens Season with Missouri Duals at Hearnes CenterWrestling Opens Season with Missouri Duals at Hearnes Center
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Wrestling Opens Season with Missouri Duals at Hearnes Center

COLUMBIA, Mo. — No. 10 Mizzou wrestling opens the 2026-27 season with the second annual Missouri Duals on Monday, Nov. 2, inside Hearnes Center. This year's event will feature Maryville, Central Methodist, Central Missouri, Drury and Avila.

Action begins at 4:30 p.m. with the Tigers facing Central Methodist, with duals against Maryville and Central Missouri to follow at 6:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively.

Full Schedule 

Round One - 4:30 p.m.     Round Two - 6:00 p.m.    Round Three - 7:30 p.m.
Maryville vs. Avila Avila vs. Central Missouri  Avila vs. Drury
Mizzou vs. Central Methodist Mizzou vs. Maryville  Mizzou vs. Central Missouri
Central Missouri vs. Drury  Central Methodist vs. Drury  Maryville vs. Central Methodist

NEW SEASON LOADING

  • The 2026-27 campaign marks the 29th with Head Coach Brian Smith at the helm. During his tenure, Smith has led the Black and Gold to 351 dual-meet victories and 72 All-American honors.
  • This season marks the 82nd in program history for Missouri, compiling 681 dual wins in 1,121 matches.
  • The Tigers return two All-Americans from last season’s NCAA Championships: Cam Steed (5th - 174) and Aeoden Sinclair (3rd - 184).
  • Steed and Sinclair are joined by previous NCAA qualifiers Mack Mauger, Gage Walker, Zan Fugitt, J Conway, Luke Geog and Jarrett Stoner.
  • Fugitt and Geog joined Tiger Style in the off-season, transferring from Wisconsin and Ohio State, respectively.

REWIND: MISSOURI DUALS

  • The Tigers went 3-0 at the 2025 Missouri Duals, outscoring their opponents 138-3.
  • Mizzou's sole loss came to Maryville's 2025 Division II National Champion, Cole Ritter.
  • The Tigers totaled 23 bonus-point wins across the three matches, 11 of which were pins, earning a .767 bonus rate on the day.

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

RANKED AND READY

  • The Tigers enter the season ranked No. 10 in the National Wrestling Coaches' Association (NWCA) Poll.
  • Missouri is the second-highest-ranked Big 12 Conference team, only behind No. 2 Oklahoma State.
  • Individually, Mizzou has eight wrestlers ranked in their respective weight classes by FloWrestling and nine by InterMat.
  • Four wrestlers are ranked in the top-10, highlighted by No. 3 Cam Steed at 174 pounds and No. 4 Aeoden Sinclair at 184 pounds.

MOST WINS (Active, 50+)

MACK IN ACTION

  • Returning 125-pound starter Mack Mauger comes into the 2026-27 season ranked No. 18 by FloWrestling.
  • Mauger finished last season as an NCAA qualifier (No. 32 seed) with a 23-16 record.
  • The Blackfoot, Idaho native placed seventh at the Big 12 Championship to earn second team All-Big 12 honors.
  • Mauger was the 2026 Soldier Salute Champion at 125 pounds and totaled 10 bonus-point wins last season, including eight major decisions.

SET THE GAGE

  • Back for his third season in Black and Gold, Gage Walker is ranked No. 12 by FloWrestling at 133 pounds heading into a new season.
  • Walker qualified for his first NCAA Championship last season as the No. 19 seed and finished the season 19-9 overall.
  • Placing fifth at the Big 12 Championships earned the Jay, Oklahoma native second team All-Big 12 honors and the automatic bid to the national tournament.
  • Walker secured the highest-ranked win of his career against No. 11 Dominick Serrano (Northern Colorado) in sudden victory during the conference tournament, a two-time NCAA qualifier and the 2025 Big 12 Champion.

TAKING THE REINS

  • The 2026 Big 12 Champion at 174 pounds returns to the mat this season. Cam Steed is ranked No. 3 in the country by FloWrestling.
  • Along his path to the Big 12 title, Steed avenged three losses from earlier in the season. He had contested bouts with Espinoza-Owens (SDSU), Schubert (OU) and Facundo (OKST) throughout the year, with each foe claiming a past win over the returning All-American. He beat all three in the conference tournament by a combined nine points.
  • Steed closed out last season 19-7 overall and went 10-3 in dual matches.
  • The Collinsville, Oklahoma, native picked up his second podium finish, placing fifth at 174 to become a two-time All-American.
  • Steed advancing to the semifinals extended a 13-year streak for Missouri, as it has had at least one wrestler in the national tournament semifinals since 2013.

SINCLAIR IN SESSION

  • Coming off a U20 World Championship at 86 kg, Aeoden Sinclair is ranked fourth in the country at 184 pounds by FlosWrestling.
  • Sinclair totaled a 36-2 record in his first season in the starting lineup and claimed the Big 12 title at 184 pounds.
  • He held a 26-match win streak from Nov. 15 to March 20, including a stretch from Dec. 14 to March 6 where just two matches were decided by decision.
  • Sinclair secured the Soldier Salute title with a 4-0 performance that included a pin and three technical falls.
  • Overall, Sinclair totaled 14 technical falls during the 2026-27 season, a program best.
  • The Edgerton, Wisconsin, native earned his first All-America honors, placing third at the NCAA Championship at 184 pounds.

ROCK SOLID

  • Jarrett Stoner returns for his second season as the 285-pound starter and is ranked No. 23 by FloWrestling.
  • The Rockwall, Texas, native finished last season 23-16 overall and was one of five Mizzou wrestlers to reach the 20-win mark.
  • Stoner placed fifth at the Big 12 Championship, claiming his first automatic bid to the national tournament.
  • He became Tiger Style's first and Mizzou's second recipient of the NCAA's Elite Scholar-Athlete Award (Elite 90), given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA at each NCAA Championship.

ON DECK

  • Mizzou returns to action in the Tiger Style Invite, hosted by Missouri at Hearnes Center on Nov. 14. The teams competing include Purdue, Oregon State, Little Rock, South Dakota State and Morgan State, with matches beginning at 10 a.m. CT.

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).

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