Wrestling team ranked No. 5 in preseason

The squad returns three All-Americans, including junior Nick Marable.

By Nick Forrester

Published Nov. 3, 2008

Missouri wrestling coach Brian Smith said his No. 5 ranked squad is the most talented - yet unproven - squad that he's ever had here. The team returns three All-Americans but still has five spots up for grab.

This season marks the third consecutive year that MU is ranked in the preseason top 10. They follow Iowa, Ohio State, Cornell and fellow Big 12 competitor Iowa State.

Coming off a third-place finish last year at the NCAA Tournament, junior Nick Marable is ranked No. 1 in the nation in the 165-pound weight class. The last Tiger to be ranked No. 1 in the nation was 2008 Olympian Ben Askren.

"I don't consider myself the No. 1 guy in the nation until I achieve that," Marable said. "I still view myself as being the No. 3 guy in the nation. I don't really worry about what other people think, so all of the pressure doesn't really get to me."

Marable was recently invited to compete on Nov. 24 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic, which features a bout between the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked wrestlers in each weight class. Marable will wrestle Cornell's Mack Lewnes. Marable and Lewnes wrestled twice last season, with Marable winning 3-2 each time, including in the third-place match at the NCAA Tournament last March.

"I'm a pretty simple wrestler, so I think most wrestlers know what I like to do," Marable said. "I think that Lewnes is a tough competitor, so he's not too worried about what I do. He's focusing on what he can do."

Senior Raymond Jordan and junior Max Askren are the other returning All-Americans from last season. Jordan is ranked No. 4 in the nation in the 184-pound class, while Askren is ranked No. 5 at 197 pounds.

Last season's recruiting class was ranked No. 2 in the nation. All of the wrestlers in that class were red-shirted last season, but many can expect to see a spot in the starting lineup this season.

"There's going to be some contested starting spots this year, and that's a good thing," Jordan said. "There's a lot of guys who have dreams and aspirations of becoming National Champions and All-Americans but, before they can reach those goals, they have to be sure that they're going to be the starter. So that really drives up the competition in the room."

This season's schedule is tough for the wrestling team. They have bouts with all of the Big 12 opponents, four of which are in the top eight in the nation. They will also wrestle No. 4 Cornell on Jan. 25.

In this year's Beauty and the Beast event, which features the MU wrestling and gymnastics teams competing simultaneously, the wrestling team will face another tough opponent, No. 14 Central Michigan.

"We have to be prepared for everybody," Smith said. "Our guys can't afford to have let-ups."

The wrestling team begins action at 3 p.m. Saturday with its annual Black and Gold match.