2021-22 Wrestling Roster
Elam, Zach
Zach Elam
- Class:
- Redshirt Sophomore
- Hometown:
- Kansas City, Mo.
- High School:
- Staley
Bio
| YEAR | WEIGHT | OVERALL RECORD | DI RECORD | DUAL RECORD | FALLS | TECH FALLS | MAJOR DECISIONS | CONF FINISH | NCAA FINISH |
| 2018-19 | 285 | 25-11 | 25-11 | 10-7 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 3rd | DNP |
| 2019-20* | 285 | 16-2* | 5-2* | 0-0* | 10* | 0* | 0* | N/A | N/A |
| 2020-21 | 285 | 12-6 | 12-6 | 6-3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3rd | DNP |
| 2021-22 | 285 | 18-7 | 18-7 | 11-4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3rd | DNP |
| 2022-23 | 285 | 22-6 | 22-6 | 7-2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3rd | 6th, AA |
| 2023-24 | 285 | 30-4 | 30-4 | 13-1 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 3rd | 4th, AA |
| CAREER | 107-34 | 107-34 | 47-17 | 27 | 5 | 12 |
*Redshirt seasons (before 2022-23)/ unattached matches do not count toward career records
CAREER HONORS
- Two-time NCAA All-American: 2023 (Sixth Place) and 2024 (Fourth Place)
- Five-time NCAA Qualifier: 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024
- 2023 Southern Scuffle Champion (285 pounds)
- Two-Time Tiger Style Invite Champion (285 pounds): 2023 and 2024
- Three-time Academic All-Big 12: 2022 (Second Team), 2023 (First Team) and 2024 (Second Team)
- 2024 Tiger Style Co-Most Outstanding Wrestler
- 100 Win Club Member (107)
REDSHIRT SENIOR (2023-24)
- NCAA All-American (Fourth place, 285 pounds)
- 2024 NCAA Qualifier (No. 6 seed, 285 pounds)
- Third place at Big 12 Championship (285 pounds)
- Tiger Style Invite Champion (285 pounds)
- Cougar Clash Champion (285 pounds)
- Tiger Style Co-Most Outstanding Wrestler
- Academic All-Big 12 Second Team
- Received Tiger Style's Iron Man award for wrestling the most matches during the season and the Athletic Performance Award
- Racked up 30 wins in his final season as a Tiger, including a 21-0 start
- Set a career-best 13 bonus point victories, including nine falls
- Went 13-1 in duals, marking the most dual wins in a single season in his career
- Was sixth in the NCAA in falls (seven) on Jan. 17 and ranked fourth on the NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler list on Feb. 7
- Champion at 285 pounds in both the Tiger Style Invite (Nov. 11) and Cougar Clash (Dec. 2)
- Joined the 100-Win Club with a decision over Chase Trussell of Utah Valley in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship
- Went 5-2 at the NCAA Championship, including an upset win over No. 4 seed Cohlton Schultz of Arizona State en route to his best career finish
- The first wrestler to win 30 matches in a season since Brock Mauller in 2018-19
- Finished his career with 107 wins, the most by a heavyweight in program history
REDSHIRT JUNIOR (2022-23)
- NCAA All-American (Sixth place, 285 pounds)
- 2023 NCAA Qualifier (No. 10 seed)
- Took third at Big 12 Championships (285 pounds)
- 2023 Southern Scuffle Champion (285 pounds)
- Mizzou Most Improved Wrestler Award recipient
- NWCA Scholar All-American and Academic All-Big 12 Second Team
- Finished his fifth season at Missouri with a 22-6 record, marking his best winning percentage as a starter, and just his second season with 20-or-more wins
- Earned a 7-2 record in dual competition
- Set a program record for the fastest pin, picking up a fall in the season opener against Lindenwood (Nov. 6) in 0:09 to break Rick Romeo’s record of 13 seconds, set in 1982
- Embarked on an 11-match win streak between November 2022 and February 2023
- Claimed the 285-pound title at the 2023 Southern Scuffle (Jan. 1-2), going 5-0 at the event and knocking off Binghamton’s Cory Day in the final
- Finished Big 12 Championships weekend (March 4-5) with a 3-1 record to earn third place, tying his best finish at the event
- Secured his first All-American finish at the NCAA Championships (March 16-18), finishing the weekend with a 4-3 record to earn sixth place
- Knocked off No. 7 seed Owen Trephan of North Carolina State in the second round of the NCAA Championships for his highest-ranked win of the season
REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE (2021-22)
- Finished third at the Big 12 Championships, March 5-6 (285 lbs)
- NCAA Qualifier (No. 16 seed at 285 pounds)
- Academic All-Big 12 Second Team
- Wrestled to an 18-7 record (11-4 duals), recording seven bonus-point victories
- Won five ranked matchups during the regular season, highlighted by a first-period fall (2:25) against No. 33 Luke Surber (OKST), Feb. 6
- Battled through the backside of the bracket at the Big 12 Championships to take third place
- Finished one win shy of an All-American finish at the NCAA Championships, March 17-19, going 3-2 overall
- Recorded two falls in Detroit, pinning No. 16 seed Taye Ghadiali (CAMP) in 5:58 and All-American No. 8 seed Matt Stencel (CMU) in a national tournament-best 32 seconds
REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE (2020-21)
- 2021 NCAA Qualifier (No. 11 seed) at HWT
- Tallied three ranked wins on the season, highlighted by beating No. 15, NDSU’s Brandon Metz by fall (4:30), Jan. 3
- Went 4-1 at the MAC Championships, including two wins by fall
- Beat Metz a second time to open the NCAA Championships, March 18-20, this time beating the Bison wrestler in an 11-0 major decision
- Finished the NCAA Championships with a 2-2 record
REDSHIRT SEASON (2019-20)
- Took a redshirt in his second year with the program to train for the Olympics and was dominant while wrestling unattached
- Went 16-2 on the year at heavyweight, all in tournament action, earning an incredible 10 pins among his 16 wins
- Posted a string of seven-straight falls from Jan. 19 through Feb. 1, pinning all four opponents faced at the Roger Denker Open (Jan. 19) followed by the first three at the Missouri Valley Open (Feb. 1)
- His only losses of the season came against Tony Cassioppi of Iowa (6-0) and Josh Hokit of Fresno State (6-4 in the second tiebreaker) at the Midlands Tournament, Dec. 29…Cassioppi was a national qualifier and finished third at the Big Ten Championships while Hokit was a 2019 All-American
- Despite redshirting, WrestleStat had him ranked as the nation’s No. 16 heavyweight following the regular season
FRESHMAN (2018-19)
- Was one of the nation’s top freshmen, taking over as Mizzou’s starting heavyweight with a 25-11 record while finishing one win shy of All-America honors at the NCAA Championships
- One of nine Mizzou qualifiers for the NCAA Championships and one of three Mizzou true freshmen on the roster to make it to the national tournament as a No. 20 seed at 285 pounds
- Posted a 10-7 mark in duals, including a 6-1 mark in MAC competition while going 15-4 in tournament action, including a combined 6-3 mark at the MAC and NCAA Tournaments
- Added six major decisions and five falls during his true freshman season
- Earned a third-place nod at his first MAC Championships, March 7-8, winning two bouts in the consolation bracket, including a third-place win over Buffalo’s Jake Gunning via a 3-0 decision
- One of his best performances of his freshman year came at the Cliff Keen Invitational, Nov. 30, where he earned third-place among a loaded heavyweight field…Lost his second bout of the tournament, a 3-2 decision against American’s Nike Camacho and then rallied to win eight-straight bouts to earn third place, piling up three pins and a major decision along the way
- At the NCAA Championships, March 21-23, he went 3-2 with a fall and two overtime wins, including a 3-1 win over Northwestern’s Conan Jennings to put him one wins away from All-American honors…Unfortunately, he dropped a tough, 1-0 decision to Wisconsin’s Trent Hillger to close his season
- Before his true freshman season, Elam claimed at Silver Medal at the 2018 World Junior Championships in September despite being a late alternate substitute in the tournament
BEFORE MIZZOU
- Ranked No. 2 at 220 pounds and No. 31 overall by FloWrestling
- A three-time Class 4 Missouri State Champion and four-time finalist, Elam chose to stay home and wrestle for Mizzou over offers from Oklahoma and Oklahoma State
- A top-50 recruit by most major ranking publications, Elam is the next big-name heavyweight prospect to join Mizzou, following the likes of Mark Ellis, Dom Bradley and Austin Myers.
- Experienced much success on the national level this past summer, claiming a National Championship at 220 pounds in the 2017 Junior Freestyle Nationals.
- Claimed a World Junior Championship Silver Medal in September 2018 at 97 kg after joining Team USA as an alternate.
- Intends to major in business at Mizzou.
Personal
- Full Name: Zachery Elam
- Son of Bryan and Cherise Elam
- Born in Kansas City, Mo.
- Majoring in Business
- Zach's brother Rocky also wrestles at Mizzou at 197 pounds
Big 12 Champion: Rocky Elam
Thursday, March 09
Wrestling Cinematic vs. Iowa State
Friday, February 17
Connor Brown Senior Video
Thursday, February 16
Mitchell Bohlken Senior Video
Wednesday, February 15
