Wresting sweeps state of Oklahoma

The No. 2 Missouri wrestling team has record of 10-1 after league victories.

By Ryan Huber

Published Feb. 6, 2007

The No. 2 Missouri wrestling team ran its record to 10-1 and 3-0 in Big 12 competition with two victories against league rivals Oklahoma (24-14) and Oklahoma State (17-16), the defending national champion.

For the first time in Missouri wrestling history, the Tigers swept the state of Oklahoma during away meets and beat Oklahoma State for just the third time in 36 meetings.

MU grappled for the lead early on and held strong late in the dual to claim a one-point victory in front of 3,125 fans.

"Oklahoma State wrestled a really smart match tonight," Missouri coach Brian Smith said. "It's not often that the Cowboys get beat at home and that was one of our goals this week. We wanted to come down to Oklahoma and beat both OSU and OU at home."

The Tigers received strong contributions from junior Josh Wagner, redshirt freshman Nicholas Marable, the Askren brothers and sophomore Raymond Jordan.

Defending national champion 174-pounder Ben Askren kept his perfect record intact with a 9-6 victory and sat down to watch his younger brother, redshirt freshman Max Askren, do the same as he improved his record to 24-0.

"I have to give credit to (Oklahoma State coach) John Smith and his program," Brian Smith said. "They wrestled really well and gave us quite the challenge. We managed to hang on for a couple of key wins at 149 and 197 pounds and that proved the difference in the night."

MU won seven of its 10 matches against the Oklahoma Sooners on Sunday in a 24-14 bout.

Junior All-American Tyler McCormick racked up a 6-2 win in his return to the line-up.

Fellow junior 149-pounder Wagner, who wrestled well against Nebraska, pulled out a 10-4 upset against Oklahoma's second-ranked Matt Storniolo.