Top heavyweights wrestle for starting spot

Bradley has filled in while Ellis is out on injury.

By Nick Forrester

Published Feb. 5, 2009

The Missouri wrestling team seems to have just one major problem this season.

Heavyweights junior Mark Ellis and redshirt freshman Dominique Bradley are two of the best in the country, but the team has only one spot for them.

Coach Brian Smith dealt with this problem by entering both Ellis and Bradley in several tournaments.

Having All-American teammates, such as juniors Nick Marable and Max Askren and senior Raymond Jordan, has put Ellis somewhat in a shadow, but a new No. 1 ranking for Ellis in the heavyweight weight class changes that.

"Ellis is kind of in the shadow of them because there are three returning All-Americans," Smith said. "Right now he is ranked No. 1, but this is a big weekend for him. His only loss this season is to (Oklahoma State heavyweight junior Jared) Rosholt, and he's got a rematch with him this weekend."

The Big 12 is stacked right now in the heavyweight weight class, with Ellis at No. 1, Iowa State junior David Zabriskie at No. 2 and Rosholt at No. 3.

"I haven't beaten Rosholt or Zabriskie yet in my career, so I'm not too excited about the No. 1 ranking," Ellis said.

Despite being ranked No. 1 in the country, Ellis has no security of even starting on Missouri's roster. Ellis and Bradley go back and forth in their matches, each winning about half. In the two tournaments Smith has entered both wrestlers into, Ellis won the Missouri Open and the Midlands Tournament, and Bradley took third and fourth respectively.

"They make each other better," Smith said. "The intensity with those two is just amazing. They are battling, and really, no other room has that where you have two great heavyweights battling it out every day. They're such fierce competitors, but they are good team people. It's a tough situation, but they're making the most of it. Competition has brought out the best in these two."

Over the past several weeks, Ellis has been battling an injury, so Bradley filled in for him. Bradley has not disappointed, upsetting several of the nation's top-ranked wrestlers.

At the Midlands Tournament in December, Bradley upset No. 2-ranked Zabriskie. In the team's upset over No. 2 Cornell on Jan. 25, the dual came down to the final match, between Bradley and No. 13 Zach Hammond. Bradley was able to pull off a 1-0 upset. If Hammond defeated Bradley, then MU would have lost the entire match. Against Nebraska last weekend, Bradley added No. 16 Tucker Lane to his list of upset victims, defeating Lane 3-2.

"Not many people can say that they have the opportunity to go against the No. 1 guy in the country and it's helped me upset all of these guys," Bradley said.