No team wants to experience what it feels like to be at its low ebb, but when it happened to Missouri on Dec. 14, the Tigers soon after started and have since remained squarely in the middle of an upward trend.

Since losing to Northern Iowa two months ago, #16 Missouri (12-7 overall, 5-2 Big 12) won the Soldier Salute and have won six of seven duals, including four straight heading into Sunday’s match at Iowa State.

“It was the Northern Iowa dual where I really was disappointed — I hadn't felt that low after a dual,” Missouri coach Brian Smith said. “They just dominated us in a lot of positions. And just the energy we wrestled with, it just wasn't there.”

Smith said heart-to-heart discussions with all involved ensued. 

“Since that point, everybody's been dialed in in practice and what they're doing,” Smith said. “And even in the matches where we've lost, we’ve battled so much harder. So to be on a streak right now where we've beaten some good teams like West Virginia and Oklahoma, it's exciting to see some of the guys stepping up.”

Where Is That SEC Trophy?

When Missouri left the Big 12 in 2012 for the Mid-American Conference, which it dominated with 40 individual conference champions through 2021 when it re-entered the Big 12, it encountered problems keeping some of the Big 12 schools on the schedule.

Oklahoma State stayed with the Tigers, Smith said, and now that Oklahoma has been back on the schedule, OU and Mizzou are in two conferences together. Both are in the Southeastern Conference for all sports but wrestling because SEC teams started dropping wrestling decades ago.

“Being in the same conference as Oklahoma has kind of built a small — and I don't think it's a big deal — but we call it the SEC championship match,” Smith said. “It's kind of a saying — we just say ‘Who's going to win the SEC this year?’ 

“But it is nice to get that one over Oklahoma. When I started here a million years ago, I think we had maybe one or two wins over Oklahoma. So now that consistently we're beating them, that's important.”

From A Sooner To A Tiger

Kendrick Maple, a 2013 NCAA champion at 141 pounds for Oklahoma, is in his sixth season at Missouri and third as associate head coach.

He coached at Oklahoma, Purdue and Nebraska prior to migrating to Columbia, Missouri, and he’s 4-for-5 against his alma mater since then.

“He's excited. He's a Tiger now. So, yeah, this is the way it should be,” Smith said.

Saying Good-Bye To One-Third Of The Team

Missouri honored 10 senior wrestlers prior to the OU match, and with the new NCAA roster rules, that’s quite a chunk.

“With a 30-man roster cap, that was a third of our team walking out there,” Smith said. “As I'm standing there, I kind of looked over at Maple and said, ‘Man, we’ve got to make sure we have a full room.’”

Smith cited sixth-year senior Josh Edmond, ranked #20 at 149, and a few others.

“Bringing a kid from Detroit, who loves it here, has competed here, and this will be his fourth or fifth time competing to try and get to nationals and go to nationals and, hopefully this time, get on the podium,” Smith said. “Just doing great things for us.

“And there are guys like Joel Mylin who have been in the program and will go at any weight and fill in when somebody’s hurt and compete for us and getting some wins here and there. It’s a great group of kids who live the culture, believe in it, live it, and do the right things. So it's been fun to coach these kids. They've just been great.”

20th Dual A Big One

The Tigers’ season-ending dual, their 20th of the year, is Sunday at #4 Iowa State. It’s the 58th time the two will tangle and it’s been a special rivalry, according to Smith.

“I was coaching when Bobby (Douglas) was the coach. Then Cael (Sanderson) took over, and then it was Kevin Jackson, and now with Coach (Kevin) Dresser, we were setting up duals with them to wrestle back when he was at Virginia Tech,” Smith explained.

“As soon as he (Dresser) came in the conference, it was ‘Hey, we’ve got to get this going again.’ I think it was his second year we started wrestling again. He and (former Oklahoma State coach) John Smith were a big push to get us back into the conference. So I'll always appreciate those guys for wanting to make the conference stronger and bringing us back.”

Some of Sunday’s bigger bouts — with Missouri wrestlers listed first — include #17 Teague Travis vs. #7 Vinny Zerban at 157, #10 Cam Steed vs. #12 MJ Gaitan at 174, #3 Aeoden Sinclair vs. #11 Isaac Dean at 184 and #12 Evan Bates vs. #2 Rocky Elam, a former Tiger.

“He (Dresser) always has them ready,” Smith said. “There’s no doubt about it, it's a big dual. And we haven't had that complete match yet, really, so I'm waiting for that. I'd love to see us have that complete match where everybody wrestles their best match, and we're going to need that to pull off a win against Iowa State.”

A Healthy Tiger Team

When the Tigers head to Tulsa for the Big 12 Championships, they’ll most likely be the healthiest they've been in quite a while.

“That's exciting,” Smith said. “Just the way we're practicing and the effort they're giving and the way they're feeling … the energy they're having right now compared to the last couple seasons with injuries and sickness. That can bring a room down without even knowing it.

“It's just seeing people on bikes and not being able to practice, and we don't have anybody on the machines now, everybody's practicing. Everybody's feeling great. This team has gotten better, and they see it by results. I see it in the practice room every day. They're going to be very confident going into their conference. And that's important.”

All About Aeoden

Redshirt freshman Aeoden Sinclair, #3 at 184, a favorite for a Big 12 title and a major contender for a NCAA crown in Cleveland, is ready to go, Smith said.

“He is probably the most meticulous student-athlete that I have, just the way he treats everything in his life, but specifically wrestling,” Smith said. “I grabbed him the other day and I said ‘What are you going to work on?’ He’s got four things and he said ‘Here's the four things I'm going to work on in my wrestling,’ and he starts going into detail on all of it, and gets excited about it.

“He believes he can win it, and that's just the way he lives and trains, and he prepares himself that way.”