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TULSA, Okla. – The University of Missouri wrestling team wrapped up the first day of the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships Thursday, March 16 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. in third place with 17.5 team points. Six Tigers advanced to the quarterfinals, a program record.
Led by the most quarterfinalists the Tigers have ever yielded in the NCAA Championships, Mizzou held a top-three position after the first day for the third time since 2000 and the first time since 2021. Nine total Mizzou grapplers remain in the tournament, while Allan Hart (141), Brock Mauller (149), Keegan O’Toole (165), Peyton Mocco (174), Rocky Elam (197) and Zach Elam (285) marked the half-dozen Tigers alive in the championship bracket.
SESSION I
Eight Tigers advanced out of the first round, as Mizzou accumulated 9.0 team points to wrap up the first session tied for sixth place. For its victories, Mizzou had seven decisions along with a major decision.
The major decision belonged to O’Toole who took down No. 31 seed Wyatt Sheets of Oklahoma State five times to notch a 13-5 major decision for Mizzou’s first bonus-point win of the tournament.
Hart advanced in the 141-pound bracket with a strong effort against Carmen Ferrante, the No. 25 seed out of Penn, as he held his opponent scoreless through the first six minutes of the match to secure the victory.
Mauller started off strong in his opening round match, taking down No. 27 seed Jarod Verkleeren of Virginia by decision, scoring a pair of takedowns and a two-point near fall to gain separation late.
In the final NCAA appearance of his career, redshirt senior Jarrett Jacques (157) claimed a first-round decision against No. 16 seed Anthony Artalona of Penn. The five-time NCAA qualifier picked up takedowns early in the first and second periods while avoiding a takedown himself.
The wins kept coming for the Tigers as Mocco avoided an upset in his 174-pound opener against No. 26 seed Sal Perrine of Ohio. After a deadlocked regulation period, Mocco scored a takedown in the first sudden-victory period to advance.
In his debut match in the national tournament, sophomore Colton Hawks led the whole match against No. 11 seed Gavin Kane of North Carolina, jumping out to an early advantage with a pair of first-period takedowns and never looking back in his best win to date.
R. Elam began his quest for thee consecutive All-American placements with a decision victory over No. 30 seed Andrew Davison of Northwestern. The sophomore secured a takedown less than a minute into the match and rode out his opponent in the second period to move on.
To close out the first session, Z. Elam took an opening-round decision against No. 23 seed Jacob Bullock of Indiana by grabbing the lead with a third-period reversal and held the edge the rest of the way.
For the two Tigers who dropped into the consolation bracket, redshirt sophomore Noah Surtin could not earn a come from behind victory in his 125-pound opener against Maryland’s Braxton Brown. Redshirt senior Connor Brown could not pull out an upset against No. 7 seed Michael Colaiocco, taking the fall in his first round match of the 133-pound bracket.
SESSION II
Six of the eight remaining Tigers in the championship bracket advanced to the quarterfinal, with all of Missouri’s wrestlers taking decision victories.
In his third contest of the season against Oklahoma’s Mosha Schwartz, Hart delivered in the rubber match against the tournament’s No. 9 seed to advance to the quarterfinal. After the score was knotted at one apiece following the sudden-victory round, Hart rode out his rival in the first tiebreaker period and sealed the win by steering clear of a takedown.
Mauller moved forward in the championship bracket with a decision victory against No. 22 seed Chance Lamer of Michigan as he made his third-career NCAA quarterfinal.
A third Tiger clinched his place in the quarterfinal as O’Toole progressed in the 165-pound bracket past No. 15 seed Justin McCoy of Virginia by decision. In the next weight class, Mocco shook off an early takedown from No. 23 seed Mickey O’Malley of Drexel and scored eight unanswered points to claim a dominant decision in his second round match.
Both of the Elam brothers survived into the quarterfinal. In a rematch of a clash from the 2022 NWCA All-Star Classic, R. Elam knocked off 2022 NCAA runner-up Jacob Warner of Iowa with a wire-to-wire decision to punch his ticket to the quarterfinal. In the Tigers’ final match of the day, Z. Elam knocked off No. 7 seed Owen Trephan of North Carolina State, shutting out the ACC champion with a 4-0 decision.
Jacques and Hawks each scrapped in tough matches against top-10 competition, but ultimately suffered defeats. Jacques took a decision loss in his matchup against top-seeded Austin O’Connor of North Carolina, while Hawks could not pull off another upset against No. 6 seed Kaleb Romero from Ohio State.
In the opening match of consolation wrestling, Surtin stayed alive with an impressive bounce-back victory, pinning South Dakota State’s Tanner Jordan in the second period after dominating for the opening four minutes.
NOTES
- Six Tigers advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since the turn of the century.
- With six quarterfinalists, Mizzou has the second-most wrestlers remaining in the championship bracket, trailing just first-place Penn State (seven quarterfinalists).
- Missouri sent eight wrestlers to the second round of the championship bracket, marking the most Tigers to win in the opening round at the NCAA Championships under Head Coach Brian Smith.
- With 11 points in his first-round victory, Brock Mauller scored double-digit points in a match for the first time in nine matches dating back to a 15-4 major decision against Air Force on Jan. 13.
- With a major decision against Wyatt Sheets, Keegan O’Toole swept the season series against his Big 12 rival with both wins coming by major decision.
- In his debut match at NCAAs, Colton Hawks knocked off Gavin Kane for his second ranked opponent of the season. Kane, the No. 11 seed in the tournament and a top-10 and the No. 8 wrestler at 184 pounds, was Hawks’ highest-ranked win to date.
- Hawks’ first-round win as the No. 22 seed is Mizzou’s biggest opening-round upset at the NCAA Championships since 2015, when unseeded Willie Milkus took down No. 10 seed Lorenzo Thomas of Penn in the 184-pound bracket.
- With Z. Elam winning his first two championship-bracket matches, the redshirt junior advanced to the NCAA quarterfinal for the first time in his four-career trips to the national tournament.
- Z. Elam knocked off No. 7 seed Owen Trephan of North Carolina State, constituting his highest-ranked win of the year.
UP NEXT
Sessions III and IV of the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships will take place in Tulsa at the BOK Center tomorrow, March 17. Session III will begin at 11 a.m. CT and will feature quarterfinal matches in the championship bracket along with the second and third rounds of wrestle-backs. Session IV will begin at 7 p.m. CT and consist of the blood round to determine which wrestlers will compete for All-American positions, the consolation fourth round and the championship semifinals. The third session will air on ESPNU, while the fourth session will be broadcast on ESPN.
MISSOURI RESULTS (Through Sessions I and II)
125 – Noah Surtin (#14 Seed), 1-1
• First Round: #19 Braxton Brown (UMD) over #14 Noah Surtin by Dec. 8-6
• Consolation First Round: #14 Noah Surtin over #32 Tanner Jordan (SDST) by Fall (4:26)
133 – Connor Brown (#26 Seed), 0-2
• First Round: #7 Michael Colaiocco (PENN) over #26 Connor Brown by Fall (0:38)
• Consolation First Round: #23 Brody Teske (IOWA) over #26 Connor Brown by Dec. 11-5
141 – Allan Hart (#8 Seed), 2-0
• First Round: #8 Allan Hart over #25 Carmen Ferrante (PENN) by Dec. 7-4
• Second Round: #8 Allan Hart over #9 Mosha Schwartz (OU) by TB-2 (RT) 2-2
149 – Brock Mauller (#6 Seed), 2-0
• First Round: #6 Brock Mauller over #27 Jarod Verkleeren (UVA) by Dec. 11-5
• Second Round: #6 Brock Mauller over #22 Chance Lamer (MICH) by Dec. 4-1
157 – Jarrett Jacques (#17 Seed), 1-1
• First Round: #17 Jarrett Jacques over #16 Anthony Artalona (PENN) by Dec. 5-4
• Second Round: #1 Austin O’ Connor (UNC) over #17 Jarrett Jacques by Dec. 4-1
165 – Keegan O’Toole (#2 Seed), 2-0
• First Round: #2 Keegan O’Toole over #31 Wyatt Sheets (OKST) by MD 13-5
• Second Round: #2 Keegan O’Toole over #15 Justin McCoy (UVA) by Dec. 5-2
174 – Peyton Mocco (#7 Seed), 2-0
• First Round: #7 Peyton Mocco over #26 Sal Perrine (OHIO) by SV-1 3-1
• Second Round: #7 Peyton Mocco over #23 Mickey O’Malley by Dec. 8-2
184 – Colton Hawks (#22 Seed), 1-1
• First Round: #22 Colton Hawks over #11 Gavin Kane (UNC) by Dec. 6-2
• Second Round: #6 Kaleb Romero (OSU) over #22 Colton Hawks by Dec. 5-3
197 – Rocky Elam (#3 Seed), 2-0
• First Round: #3 Rocky Elam over #30 Andrew Davison (NU) by Dec. 4-1
• Second Round: #3 Rocky Elam over #14 Jacob Warner (IOWA) by Dec. 6-2
285 – Zach Elam (#10 Seed), 2-0
• First Round: #10 Zach Elam over #23 Jacob Bullock (IND) by Dec. 4-1
• Second Round: #10 Zach Elam over #7 Owen Trephan (NCST) by Dec. 4-0
TEAM RESULTS
- Penn State – 26.0 Points
- Iowa – 21.5 Points
- Missouri – 17.5 Points
- Minnesota – 16.5 Points
- NC State – 16.5 Points
- Cornell – 15.5 Points
- Nebraska – 15.5 Points
- Michigan – 14.5 Points
- Arizona State – 13.0 Points
- Virginia Tech – 13.0 Points
- Wisconsin – 13.0 Points
