Missouri
Iowa State
No. 14 Wrestling Drops Season Finale at No. 4 Iowa State
2/22/2026 5:00:00 PM | Wrestling
AMES, Iowa. – No. 14 Mizzou wrestling drops its season finale to No. 4 Iowa State 20-14 at Hilton Coliseum on Sunday, Feb. 22. Mizzou wrestlers won four of the 10 matches. Missouri's record for the season ends up at 12-8 (5-3 Big 12), while Iowa State closes out at 12-2 (8-1 Big 12).
The dual began at 197 pounds, and Iowa State got off to a hot start, picking up wins at the first five weights. At 141 pounds, redshirt junior Easton Hilton gave third-ranked Anthony Echemendia all he could handle, but ultimately could not stop the Cyclones' momentum, falling 3-2. Iowa State led 17-0 halfway through.
True freshman Seth Mendoza opened up the final five bouts of the day at 149 pounds, knocking off No. 10 Jacob Frost. Mendoza scored takedowns in both the first and second periods en route to knocking off the returning All-American. Max Mayfield made a triumphant return to the mat, picking up the Tigers' second upset win of the dual, this time over No. 13 Connor Euton. The Lincoln, Nebraska, native tallied his second win of the season over a ranked foe as well. Cam Steed made it three ranked wins for the Tigers, securing a late third-period takedown to clinch a 4-3 win, good for his third against a ranked opponent. No. 3 Aeoden Sinclair closed it out on a high note for Mizzou, scoring over 20 points in the first period to secure a sub-three-minute technical fall. Missouri won four out of five in the back half, with the score settling at 20-14.
MATCH NOTES
- Missouri's all-time record against Iowa State moves to 12-48. Under head coach Brian Smith, the tally is 11-13.
- At the conclusion of his 28th season at the helm, Smith has 353 total dual wins, good for a tie for second amongst active head coaches. He is currently tied with Ohio State's Tom Ryan, and they both sit behind Rob Koll, currently of North Carolina, with 357.
- Tiger Style concludes the 2025-26 regular season with a 12-8 dual meet record, its first winning season since 2023-24. The program now has 44 winning seasons all-time, 23 of which have come under coach Smith.
- The season ends with the Tigers on a 473 dual streak of not conceding a shutout, dating back to 1999. Mizzou's last dual shutout loss came to Oklahoma State on February 13, 1999.
- This marks the fifth consecutive season in which the meeting between the Tigers and Cyclones has been the final regular-season dual for Mizzou, dating back to the 2021-22 season.
- Mendoza's big win is his first victory over a top-10 opponent, as well as his first against an All-American. Frost earned All-American honors by finishing in seventh place at last season's national tournament.
- Mendoza made his fifth appearance competing attached for the Tigers, picking up four wins in attached duals. He also competed unattached at the Soldier Salute, where he finished in second place, and the Cyclone Open, where he finished in first place.
- Mayfield made his first appearance at 165 pounds in the Tiger lineup since sustaining an injury against North Carolina's Bryce Hepner at the Soldier Salute on Jan. 3. His last dual appearance was Dec. 14, 2025, against Northern Iowa.
- Steed picked up his third-ranked win of the season, with today's being the second to come by decision (5-3 win over Michigan's Beau Mantanona at the National Duals Invitational).
- Steed moves to 6-0 in his career against wrestlers from Iowa State, with two of those wins coming with bonus points.
- Sinclair leads the country in total takedowns on the season with 103, according to TrackWrestling. The point-scoring machine put up his 11th technical fall of the season.
UP NEXT
The Black and Gold will head home to prepare for the upcoming Big 12 Championship beginning on Friday, March 6, at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. All sessions will be available to stream on ESPN+.
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).
FULL RESULTS
No. 14 Missouri, 14 | No. 4 Iowa State, 20
197 | [2] Rocky Elam (ISU) over [8] Evan Bates (MIZ) by decision, 7-3
285 | [1] Yonger Bastida (ISU) over Sampson Stillwell (MIZ) by technical fall, 22-6 (5:43)
125 | [11] Stevo Poulin (ISU) over [22] Mack Mauger (MIZ) by decision, 9-4
133 | Garrett Grice (ISU) over [26] Gage Walker (MIZ) by decision, 7-3
141 | [3] Anthony Echemendia (ISU) over Easton Hilton (MIZ) by decision, 3-2
149 | Seth Mendoza (MIZ) over [9] Jacob Frost (ISU) by decision, 8-2
157 | [7] Vinny Zerban (ISU) over [30] Teague Travis (MIZ) by decision, 5-3
165 | Max Mayfield (MIZ) over [13] Connor Euton (ISU) by decision, 8-6
174 | [10] Cam Steed (MIZ) over [12] MJ Gaitan (ISU) by decision, 4-3
184 | [3] Aeoden Sinclair (MIZ) over Jacob Helgeson (ISU) by technical fall, 21-5 (2:55)
*Rankings via NCAA Coaches' Rankings
Players Mentioned
