Tiger Style Notebook: Recapping Arizona State and Utah Valley Victories

Signs of high-quality wrestling programs are upset ability and handling business against unranked teams. N0. 18 Mizzou wrestling has lacked in the former this season, but its ability to put away the programs it’s supposed to has been a constant strength.

After finishing first in their final regular season tournament, the Soldier Salute, the Tigers had the rest of the conference slate ahead of them. They left their dual against Arizona State on Jan. 15 with a 22-17 win and their dual against Utah Valley on Jan. 17 with a convincing 31-9 rout. Both victories were on the road and pushed Mizzou to a 2-1 record in Big 12 play and an 8-6 record on the season.

In place of a traditional recap, I’m going to do a rundown detailing the highlights and lowlights through each matchup for every Tiger competitor.

All rankings are according to InterMat.

125

No. 25 Mack Mauger over Damian Moreno (ASU) by a 7-2 decision

• The score was tied 0-0 with under 10 seconds to go in the first period as Mauger took a successful shot that led to a buzzer-beating takedown.
• Mauger found success from all three positions, gaining an escape point when he was down, a takedown when he was top and a takedown when they were neutral.

No. 25 Mack Mauger over Bridger Ricks (UVU) by an 8-2 decision

• The redshirt freshman made a successful single-leg sweep shot, and after around 30 seconds of tie-up, he made the takedown to take a 3-0 lead in the first period.
• Mauger now holds a 15-8 record on the season, and has been a weapon for Mizzou in traditional duals that start from the 125lbs division.

133

No. 6 Kyler Larkin (ASU) over Gage Walker by a 9-3 decision

• Walker’s redshirt was pulled ahead of his match with Larkin, meaning that No. 27 Kade Moore could be out for an extended period of time.
• The sophomore displayed good defensive instincts against a wrestler who was clearly more skilled. He got taken to the mat numerous times, but stayed on his stomach to avoid takedowns.

Gage Walker over Geronimo Rivera (UVU) by a 4-1 SV decision

• Bout went scoreless through the first period. Rivera kept his hand on Walker’s head to keep him at bay and control the tempo of the match.
• Walker scored an escape point in the third period to tie things going into overtime. He got Rivera in throw position and rolled him over for the winning takedown 45 seconds into the sudden-death period.

141

No. 29 Pierson Manville (ASU) over Zeke Seltzer by tech fall 21-5

• Seltzer’s confidence from his early season breakout seems all but vanished now. He let up several strike attempts from Manville.
• The bout was played largely on the mat with Manville controlling Seltzer in an offensive masterclass.

No. 21 Haiden Drury (UVU) over Owen Uhls by a 1-0 decision

• Uhls had good hand positioning, grabbing Drury’s hips and getting leg sweeps, but he wasn’t creating enough space for any takedowns.
• Drury earned the deciding escape point in the second period with 30 seconds remaining, and Uhls couldn’t respond from down position in the third period.

149

No. 18 Joshua Edmond over Daniel Miranda (ASU) by a 9-1 major decision

• After a lot of the first period being on foot, Edmond took Miranda to his back for the takedown, but had a great bridge to avoid the pin.
• The dual was finished off at 149lbs and Edmond did his job to seal the Tigers’ win. He’s 15-3 on the season after both duals.

No. 15 David Evans (UVU) over No. 18 Joshua Edmond by a 5-4 decision

• Edmond showed skill in his low-level shots and fakes, but both wrestlers kept their distance through the first period.
• The redshirt senior earned an escape point after starting on bottom in the second period. Evans made a takedown in the final 15 seconds of the second period, leading to his eventual win in the third period.

157

No. 2 Kaleb Larkin (ASU) over No. 15 Teague Travis by a 5-1 decision

• Travis received his first start in a dual for the Tigers at 157lbs, taking the place of J Conway.
• Multiple head-to-head shots in the first period before Larkin took a successful shot to take down Travis.

No. 15 Teague Travis over Alex Emmer (UVU) by a tech fall 19-4

• The redshirt senior only held a 3-0 lead after the first period, but it was pure dominance from the start in riding time.
• Travis controlled the second period to a 13-2 lead by getting takedown after takedown. He had full power over Emmer when they were both on their feet.

165

No. 14 Nicco Ruiz (ASU) over J Conway by an 8-1 decision

• With Travis taking over as the starter at 157lbs, Conway made the move up in weight class with No. 25 Max Mayfield still out due to a lower body injury.
• The Sun Devils started their dual with the Tigers at 165lbs instead of the traditional ascending order of bouts from 125lbs.
• Conway showed good explosiveness, but Ruiz was more athletic himself and didn’t allow Conway to get any successful shots off.

J Conway over Zyon Trujillo (UVU) by fall

• The redshirt junior earned his first takedown within the first 10 seconds before getting the pin down the stretch of the first period.
• Conway threw good fakes to get Trujillo down on the mat, where he capitalized.

174

No. 11 Cam Steed over Leo Tukhlynovych (ASU) by fall

• Steed returned to the mat for the first time since the National Duals Invitational was hunting a fall.
• The redshirt junior successfully threw down Tukhlynovych on his back, leading to the pin in the first period.

No. 11 Cam Steed over Hudson Rogers (UVU) by tech fall 17-2

• The run from Steed to Evan Bates to Aeoden Sinclair looks to be one of the best in the nation.
• Steed only held a 3-0 lead after the first period, but he methodically made takedown after takedown to tech Rogers in the second period.

184

No. 2 Aeoden Sinclair over No. 30 Shay Addison (ASU) by fall

• The redshirt freshman went to the cow catcher to secure the pin.
• Sinclair used multiple underhooks to get Addison in front headlocks, leading to his first two takedowns of the match.

No. 2 Aeoden Sinclair over Caleb Uhlenhopp (UVU) by tech fall 19-3

• Uhlenhopp’s length gave Sinclair some struggle at the start of the bout, but Sinclair went to the underhooks again to create offense.
• Sinclair held a 16-3 lead at the end of the first period and made the tech win six seconds into the second period.

197

No. 16 Evan Bates over Colton Hawks (ASU) by a 7-3 decision

• Hawks was formerly a four-year starter and three-time national qualifier for Mizzou before transferring to Mizzou this past offseason.
• Hawks battled Bates closely until the current Tiger made the winning takedown in the third period.

No. 16 Evan Bates over Kael Bennie (UVU) by a 12-1 major decision

• Bates received his first takedown of the match over a minute into the first period before giving up Bennie’s lone escape point after a tie-up.
• Bennie actually took more shots than Bates, but he was successful in scrambling to get Bennie on his back. He controlled the riding time to end the third period after earning three takedowns earlier in the match.

285

No. 18 David Szuba (ASU) over No. 25 Jarrett Stoner by a 7-3 decision

• Stoner’s level seemed to be his main issue against Szuba. The higher-ranked opponent managed to get underneath Stoner on multiple occasions to control the pace of the match.
• Szuba executed a drag into a single-leg takedown that helped him overtake Stoner in the ladder stages of their bout.

Jack Forbes (UVU) over No. 25 Jarrett Stoner by a 13-8 decision

• Forbes got on top of Stoner early in the first period, and he struggled to escape.
• Stoner took a couple of shots, but Forbes had good hips to avoid getting put on the mat.
• It was an exciting match with escapes, reversals and takedowns, but Stoner struggled against a more athletic heavyweight.

This season will only get more interesting as we get deeper into Big 12 play. With the addition of Travis, the return of Steed and other rotation changes, Mizzou’s contenders are starting to become clear.

Next up for the Tigers is a homecoming to the Hearnes Center on Jan. 23 against the No. 5-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys. It will be a huge test for Brian Smith’s squad to see how much they’ve grown since the Illinois dual in November.