Askren wins national wrestling championship
The senior became Missouri's third-ever national champion.
Published March 23, 2010
Senior Max Askren became the third wrestler in Missouri history to win a national championship Saturday with a 10-3 victory over top-seed junior Kirk Smith of Boise State. Askren joins his brother Ben Askren and teammate senior Mark Ellis as the only national champions in school history.
Askren was the sixth seed in the 184-pound bracket and won five matches on his way to his first national title. His first victory, a win by fall over redshirt junior Zack Giesen of Stanford, was the 100th of his career. Askren is the 17th Tiger to win more than 100 matches.
Askren next beat the No. 11 seed senior Dave Erwin of Penn State by fall and upset Kent State's third-seed redshirt sophomore Dustin Kilgore by an 8-5 decision.
In the semifinal match, Askren took down No. 7 seed sophomore Joe LeBlanc of Wyoming 9-7 in sudden victory overtime.
"I was buried pretty deep," Askren said in a news release. "The semifinals of the NCAA Tournament are not a time to let go, get a stalemate and try again. I had that one opportunity, and I wasn't going to give it up. I was going to make the most of it, and things worked out."
Askren's final victory over Smith was nationally televised on ESPN. Smith came into the match with a perfect 29-0 record but was taken down early in the first period by Askren and was not able to get up.
Askren quickly built a 6-0 lead with a takedown and two near falls while also building up over a minute of riding time. Smith's only points in the 10-3 loss came off an escape in the second period and a takedown in the third period.
"It feels great," Askren said. "I'm just happy I was able to do what everybody around me thought I could do."
The senior finished his Tiger career 104-16 with two Big 12 titles and 13th on Missouri's career victory list.
"There's nothing more enjoyable than the sport of wrestling, getting up in the morning, whatever day it is, and hitting the mat," Askren said. "There's no better sport, in my mind. My future plans: I hope they involve wrestling. I don't want to be done competing, but we'll see what my body has to say about it."