Mizzou Dominates Quad Meet

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 15 Missouri wrestling team improved to 11-2 on the season, as they swept the quad meet hosted by Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. The Tigers scored victory against Eastern Michigan, SIUE and Truman State, shutting out the latter two opponents and winning 28 of the 30 matches on the day.

Missouri opened up the afternoon with a 25-6 victory over Eastern Michigan. No. 3 Alan Waters got the Tigers off on the right foot with a 15-4 major decision over Jared Germaine, which was followed by a 6-2 win by No. 10 Nathan McCormick against Andrew Novak. It was McCormick’s first action since Dec. 18, as he put the Tigers up 7-0 after two.

Eastern Michigan got on the board with a 7-4 win by Corey Phillips against Mizzou’s Nicholas Hucke, but the Tigers would go on to win the next three contests by decision, extending their lead to 16-3. Kyle Bradley and Drake Houdashelt picked up shutout victories, winning 5-0 and 2-0, respectively, while Zach Toal knocked off Lester France, 6-2. The Eagles scored a win at 174 pounds to make it 16-6, but Mizzou would win the last three matches to close out the dual.

Junior Mike Larson returned to action with a 5-4 victory over Mike Curby. Larson trailed 4-1 early in the first but hit a reversal late in the period to cut the lead to 4-3. Larson escaped in the second and rode out Curby in the third to gain the riding time point and give him the win. No. 11 Brent Haynes defeated Nick Whitenburg by a 10-3 final, while heavyweight Devin Mellon defeated Wes Schroeder by a 6-4 final. Mellon reversed Schroeder in the second period to take a 2-0 lead and hit a pair of third period takedowns to clinch the match.

Against SIU-Edwardsville, Mizzou scored bonus points in seven of the 10 matches, shutting out the Cougars by a 42-0 final. After a forfeit at 125, McCormick defeated Brendan Murphy, 9-4. Hucke then earned his first dual win of the season, shutting out Dillon Pousson by a 2-0 score. Bradley scored a major decision, while Houdashelt won by a technical fall in the second period, putting Mizzou up 21-0 halfway through the match.

Toal made it 25-0 after a major decision victory, and senior Dorian Henderson defeated Deshoun White, 8-6, at 174 pounds. Larson then picked up a major decision of his own, defeating Cole Brandt by a 16-5 margin. Junior Clarence Neely stepped in at 197 and defeated Cole Rogers, 16-7, for his first dual win of the year, making it 36-0. The Cougars forfeited at heavyweight to close out the match.

Missouri kept it going against Truman State, scoring bonus point wins in all 10 contests on their way to a 52-0 victory. The win is the fourth-highest margin of victory in program history and is the eighth time ever that a Tiger squad has scored more than 50 points in a single dual.

The Tigers got wins by fall by McCormick at 133 and Neely at 197. Waters, Toal, Henderson and Mellon all scored technical falls, while Bradley and Houadshelt each defeated their opponents by major decision. Hucke and Larson won their matches by forfeit.

Mizzou returns home next weekend for a pair of Big 12 duals, starting with No. 1 Oklahoma State on Saturday, Feb. 4 at Noon CT. Admission to the matchup between the Tigers and Cowboys is free to the public and the first two fans will receive gold rally towels. On Sunday, Missouri will go up against No. 11 Oklahoma. Action gets underway at 1 p.m. Stay tuned to mutigers.com for more information.