OUTLOOK: A three year fixture in Missouri's lineup at 197 pounds, senior Maxwell Askren will close out his Tiger career down one weight class. Competing at his more natural weight, Askren looks to become Missouri's fifth Tiger wrestler to earn All-America honors in more than one weight class. Askren enters his final year of eligibility with 84 career victories and could potentially become the 17th Tiger grappler to record 100 or more wins in his career.
"I'm excited to see Max compete this year at 184 pounds," Missouri Head Coach Brian Smith said. "His technique is some of the best in the country. By moving down one weight class, Max should be able to use his strength and leverage that will allow him to score more bonus points for us."
2008-09: Askren collected his second All-America honor in three years after finishing the three-day National Championship in fifth place at 197 pounds. The Tiger grappler entered the tournament as the No. 5 seed and rattled off three straight wins before falling to second ranked Jake Varner of Iowa State. Askren won his fifth-place match, 3-0, over sixth-ranked Brent Chriswell of Boise State. Competing at the 13th annual Big 12 Championships, March 7, Askren suffered an opening round loss to league MVP and second-ranked Craig Brester of Nebraska. Askren managed back-to-back wins, 9-7, over Oklahoma's No. 11 Eric Lapotsky and 7-2 over No. 8 Clayton Foster of Oklahoma State, to finish the day in third. Over the course of his junior year, Askren managed a 16-match win streak that included wins over then No. 17 Joe Fagiano of Hofstra as well as then-No. 2 Hudson Taylor of Maryland and No. 11 Riley Orozco of Bakersfield. Askren finished fourth at the highly competitive Midlands Tournament with a 4-2 record.
2007-08: Entering the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships with only two losses on the season, both to top-10 ranked wrestlers, Askren finished the three-day event with a 4-2 record, good enough for a seventh-place finish in the 197-pound weight class and his first career All-America accolade. Askren, seeded fifth, opened the tournament with back-to-back wins by major decision over Joe Fagiano of Indiana (15-5) and Daren Burns of UNC-Greensboro (15-5). Askren's seventh-place win came over Big 12 opponent Craig Bertolino, 11-9, in overtime. Askren managed a 15-match win streak that began Dec. 16 with his 4-3 win over then-No. 10 Matt Koz of UTC and ended at the NCAA Championships, March 21, in a one-point loss. Askren became only the fourth wrestler in program history to earn two conference titles, doing so March 8 in Stillwater, Okla., with his 8-3 win over Nebraska's Craig Brester. Askren opened the tournament with a 6-3 win in the semifinals over ISU's Bertolino. In tournament competition, Askren was one of four Tigers to claim a Missouri Open Title, and took second at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. In Askren's first 10 matches of the season, five came by fall, the fastest clocked at 2:24 over David Crowell of Pittsburgh, Nov. 30.
2006-07: Making his first NCAA appearance as the No. 1 seed at 197 pounds, Askren suffered back-to-back losses, only his second and third on the season, to fall from All-America contention. Suffering a one-point loss to Brandon Halsey of Cal-Bakersfield, 5-4, in the opening round Askren was unable to rebound and fell to Eric Lapotsky of Bucknell, 5-2, in his first wrestle-back attempt. Prior to the National event, Askren held a 28-1 record on the season owning a 25-match win streak before falling to then No. 7 Kurt Backes of Iowa State in 3:51. Askren owned the best Missouri freshman record in over 10 years and won seven of his bouts by fall and two by technical fall. Earning his first Big 12 title at 197 pounds, March 3 in Columbia, Mo., Askren won back-to-back matches over Backes, 8-7, and Nebraska's Craig Brester, 3-2. With the title, Askren became the first redshirt freshman Tiger since older brother Ben to win a Big 12 title in his first year of collegiate competition. Askren won his first collegiate match as a member of the Tiger starting lineup Nov. 16, dropping All-American J.D. Bergman of Ohio State, 8-4. Three days later, Askren took down his second top-five opponent, Joel Flaggert of Oklahoma, 2-1 at the Missouri Open, eventually claiming the tournament title. Winner of the 197 pound Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational individual title as well as the Missouri Open and Southern Scuffle, Askren was named Big 12 Wrestler of the Month in November. Askren won two of his league bouts by major decision (Craig Brester of Nebraska and Jared Shelton of Oklahoma State) and one by fall (Jared Shelton of Oklahoma State at the National Wrestling Coaches Association, NWCA, Cliff Keen Duals).
2005-06: Redshirting his first year of collegiate wrestling, Askren competed in eight tournaments finishing first in four and among the top four in the remaining four. Askren opened his career with a nine-match win streak including his first win of the season, a pin of Humberto De La Osa of Waubonesee Community College in 2:40. Dominating at the Lindenwood and Central Missouri State University (CMSU) Open, Askren claimed back-to-back tournament titles before finishing third at the Missouri Open, Nov. 20. 3-1 on the day, Askren's only loss came to then-11th-ranked Tyrone Byrd of Illinois. Finishing second at the Oklahoma Open, third at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) Open and fourth at the Southern Scuffle Dec. 30 in Greensboro, N.C., Askren capped off his season with back-to-back first place finishes at the Dan Gable Open and Missouri Valley Open. Askren was 3-2 in his meeting with ranked opponents, besting All-American and then No. 2 Joel Flaggert of Oklahoma in a 7-3 decision Nov. 13 at the CMSU Open. Of his 29 wins on the season, 14 came by fall with one by technical fall. Askren's fastest pin of the season was clocked at 38 seconds against Jim Gibson of Edinboro, Nov. 20.
Over the summer, Askren competed in and finished first at the FILA Junior World Team Trials in Colorado Springs, Colo., June 9. Wrestling at 211.5 pounds, Askren held off Cavalier Wrestling Club grappler Brent Jones, in the best-of-three series to claim the title and an opportunity to compete at the FILA Junior World Championships, Aug. 29-Sept. 3, in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Winning the series against University of Virginia incoming recruit Brent Jones by scores of 5-4, 4-0 in the first match and 5-4, 6-0 in the second bout, Askren wore down Jones and advanced to the championship bout after pinning Corey Morrison (Ohio International/Ohio State) in 1:13. Earlier in the day, Askren won by technical fall over Thor Moen (Sunkist), 6-0 and 7-1.
HIGH SCHOOL: The second Askren coached by John Mesenbrink at Arrowhead High School, the Warhawks took home the 2005 Division 1 Wisconsin State Championship Title at 189 pounds. Askren also helped lead his team to a second-place state finish. As a junior (2004), Askren placed third at state, but achieved a second-place finish at the Junior National Championships after finishing fourth as a sophomore (2003). Recruited by Iowa and Iowa State, Askren finished his career with a 168-10 record and was named Wrestler of the Year by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as a senior. Competing on the national level, Askren finished seventh at the 2005 FILA Junior Nationals.
PERSONAL: Max is the second son of Chuck and Michele Askren to join the Missouri wrestling program, following in older brother Ben's (25) footsteps. Born Sept. 9, 1986, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Askren is a linguistics major at Missouri.
