No. 2 Mizzou Wrestling Marches Through No. 20 West Virginia
The Tigers defeated the Mountaineers 30-6 in a high-energy Big 12 Wrestling match on Friday, Jan. 26. The win improved the Tigers' Big 12 record to 4-0.
No. 6 redshirt junior Noah Surtin (125) came onto the mat strong against West Virginia redshirt sophomore Jace Schafer. Surtin ended the first period 6-0 and wrestled through the second period with 2:30 of riding time. Surtin defeated Schafer by a technical fall with a bonus point, 17-2.
No. 24 redshirt freshman Kade Moore (133) has been explosive this season for Missouri as he continues to dominate the 133-pound weight class. In the first period, Moore defeated West Virginia redshirt freshman Davin Rhoads by pin at 2:56. The win is Moore's fifth by bonus points this season and his sixth straight dual win.
No. 10 West Virginia's redshirt sophomore Jordan Titus defeated No. 20 redshirt sophomore Josh Edmond (141) after an even matchup that ended in Titus winning due to riding time. Following Edmond, No. 11 redshirt junior Logan Gioffre was defeated by No. 7 West Virginia freshman Ty Watters 6-1.
After the two losses, No. 5 redshirt senior Brock Mauller (149) bested West Virginia's fifth-year Alex Hornfeck 15-4 to help the Tigers widen the score margin. Mauller stayed on both offense and defense to successfully get multiple takedowns and falls for the night.
Mauller is currently the 16th all-time winningest wrestler at Missouri, with 113 wins. After Friday's victory, he is one win away from passing Brent Hayes (113) to take 15th on the list. He currently has the most wins of active wrestlers on the team.
In the most anticipated bout of the night at 165 pounds, junior Keegan O'Toole (1) took on West Virginia senior Peyton Hall (9). Hall came out explosively to get the three-point takedown against O'Toole. Heading into the second, it looked like O'Toole might have met his match for the season, but Hall's lead was quickly shortened to 6-5 at the end.
O'Toole secured the win against Hall with a takedown with a minute left in the period. However, West Virginia head coach Tim Flynn challenged the win for a possible escape by Hall. After the challenge, it was called that O’Toole defeated Hall 8-7.
O’Toole’s record improved to 12-0, and the match was only O'Toole's second time this season not winning by Major Decision.
No. 4 Peyton Mocco (174) kept the ball rolling and defeated West Virginia senior Jack Blumer 5-1. Mocco started slowly but returned in the second to hold Blumer to the escape point.
Following Mocco, No. 9 redshirt freshman Clayton Whiting (184) and redshirt sophomore Colton Hawks (197) won their respective matches 9-6 and 2-1.
In the last bout of the night, No. 4 redshirt senior Zach Elam (HWT) held onto Missouri's lead against No. 31 West Virginia redshirt senior Michael Wolfgram. Elam came out strong with a takedown into a near fall and finished the match 7-0.
Next, the Tigers will travel to Ithaca, NY, to face No. 14 Cornell on Sunday, Jan. 28, at Noon CST. Viewers at home can watch the dual on ESPN+.
*Rankings according to FloWrestling
