No. 1 Ranked Tiger Wrestlers Lasso No. 4 Oklahoma State

...Missouri Advances to Title Bout of National Duals...

Cedar Falls, Iowa - For only the second time in the history of the Missouri wrestling program, the No. 1 ranked Tigers defeated fourth-ranked Oklahoma State, 27-15, to advance to the championship finals of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Cliff Keen National Duals in the UNI Dome on the campus of Northern Iowa. Missouri will take on second-ranked Minnesota at 3 p.m. (CT) in the title bout. With Missouri's win over OSU, the Tigers improved to 7-0 on the season and 32-2 all-time against Oklahoma State.

After suffering a hard-fought overtime loss at 125 pounds, junior All-American Tyler McCormick (Leawood, Kan.), ranked 15th in the nation at 133 pounds, knocked off third-ranked Coleman Scott with a 3-2 decision. Scoreless through the first period, Scott chose down to start the second and managed to escape in 22 seconds. With McCormick down to start the third, the co-captain scored a reversal with 26 seconds remaining on the clock to pull out the upset and tie the dual at three. The win was McCormick's 60th career victory.

Ranked 15th in the nation at 141 pounds, true freshman Ashtin Primus (South Connelsville, Penn.) was able to avoid a loss by major decision scoring three points in the third period to keep the match within four points. The loss, although disappointing, kept the Tigers within three points of OSU's team lead.

An intense match at 149 pounds, 15th-ranked junior Josh Wagner (Milton, Wis.) helped the Tigers to their second lead of the dual with a fall in 6:59 over B.J. Jackson. One of five duals that went scoreless through the first period, Wagner pounced first with a reversal seven seconds into the second. With both wrestlers scrambling in the third, Wagner took advantage of a Jackson mishap and flattened the Cowboy with one second remaining on the clock.

Feeding off of Wagner's win, sophomore Michael Chandler (High Ridge, Mo.) won his 157 pound bout with Newly McSpadden, 4-2, in overtime. Chandler took the early lead in the match with a reversal in the second period, but McSpadden returned in the third with a reversal of his own. Tied at two, the grapplers went through the first one minute period of overtime and Chandler chose down to start the first 30 second tiebreaker. Scoring a reversal in 15 seconds, Chandler was able to ride McSpadden out in the second 30 second tiebreaker period to take the win by decision.

Senior Matt Pell (Luxemburg, Wis.) kept his bout with No. 1 ranked Johny Hendricks close, but fell short of the win when Hendricks managed a takedown and escape to Pell's single escape (3-1).

The Askren brothers, senior Ben and redshirt freshman Maxwell (Hartland, Wis.) recorded Missouri's final two falls of the day. Both wrestlers are ranked No. 1 in the nation in their respective weight class and clocked their falls within one second of one another. Ben Askren, the defending national champion at 174 pounds, stuck 16th-ranked Brandon Mason in 1:16, while Maxwell pinned Jared Shelton in 1:17.

After collecting his 50th career victory yesterday against 14th-ranked Penn, sophomore Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) tallied No. 51 after winning a 4-3 victory over Jack Jenson. Jordan scored his first two points on a double leg takedown with 41 seconds left in the first period, managed an escape in the second period for the one point advantage and with 1:07 of riding time, closed the door on the match.

Missouri's trip to the final round of the National Duals is its second in three appearances. The Tigers lost their last championship match, 24-12 in 2004, to then No. 1 Oklahoma State. The 3 p.m. (CT) dual with Minnesota is Missouri's first of the season, although the two teams saw a lot of each other at the Southern Scuffle, Dec. 29-30. Missouri won the team-scored tournament, 179.5 to Minnesota's 176 points. In the all-time series, Minnesota leads, 6-2.