Mizzou falls victim to illness, injuries and Panthers in 31-6 defeat at Northern Iowa

Mizzou falls victim to illness, injuries and Panthers in 31-6 defeat at Northern Iowa

Over the past few weeks you’ve likely heard me mentioning in my recaps that something about the team or individual players felt “off.” Starting with the West Virginia dual and really ramping up during the Cornell and Oklahoma State meets, some of the styles of wrestling didn’t match what we’d seen all year and starters began to go missing from the lineup.

The issue came to a head this week, with the team putting out a statement today saying several players would be missing due to injury or illness and head coach Brian Smith saying this week there was a flu bug going around. When the starting lineup came out, only two of Mizzou’s regular starters were listed, and it showed as the Tigers fell in a 31-6 defeat to Northern Iowa.

While both regular Mizzou starters, Josh Edmond and Zach Elam, won their matches, on the whole it was not a fun night for fans of Tiger Style. To quote Mos Def’s character “Left Ear” from the 2003 remake of the movie The Italian Job, “I had a bad experience.” So, I’ll try to keep this recap a tad shorter than usual and save you all the gory details. (Editor’s note: I love that movie and that’s one of my favorite lines)

All rankings are according to the coaches poll.

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125lbs: #25 Trever Anderson (UNI), Victory by Forfeit

The Tigers didn’t have a backup to Noah Surtin tonight, so they started the meet off with a forfeit.

Mizzou: 0 – Northern Iowa: 6

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133lbs: #18 Julian Farber (UNI) over NR Drew Stanfield (MIZ), 11-1 Major Decision

Farber shot early and often in the first period, coming away with a 3-0 lead off a takedown and 57 seconds of riding time. Stanfield escaped from bottom to start period two before giving up another takedown after some nice scrambling, 6-1, as Farber again rode out the period to eclipse two and a half minutes in riding time.

Stanfield did a nice job in his turn on top to begin period three, riding all the way until Farber escaped with about 30 seconds left, 7-1. The UNI wrestler secured the major decision with a takedown off an ankle pick with about 10 seconds left, getting the 11-1 victory with the extra point for riding time. Stanfield had some nice defensive scrambling in this match but allowed Farber to get in good shoots too often.

Mizzou: 0 – Northern Iowa: 10

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141lbs: #22 Josh Edmond (MIZ) over #7 Cael Happel (UNI), 4-3 Decision

Both wrestlers attempted some shots in the first period but neither was able to make a serious go of it. Happel scored a quick escape from bottom to start period two, but then Edmond countered an attack from Happel and brought him to the mat for a takedown, 3-1. Happel again got the quick escape, 3-2, before going on the offensive for the rest of the period, shooting often and getting a stalling warning on Edmond.

Edmond scored the quick escape for a 4-2 lead before again taking the defensive, penalized again for stalling to make it 4-3 with a little over a minute remaining in the match. He became more aggressive in the final minute, but a single leg shot by Happel nearly led to a match-altering takedown in the final seconds. Edmond avoided giving up the takedown during some crazy scrambling before the buzzer, just barely surviving and earning a massive victory which should help him move up the rankings. This is the win he’s been so close to getting again and again this season, and this time he was able to finish with the victory.

Mizzou: 3 – Northern Iowa: 10

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149lbs: NR Adam Allard (UNI) over NR Joel Mylin (MIZ), 6-5 Decision

Allard worked his way into a takedown and then added on a two-point nearfall before a Mylin escape in the first period to lead 5-1, also adding 52 seconds of riding time heading into period two. Mylin escaped from bottom after about 30 seconds to start the second period and then got a takedown after some extended scrambling to tie it up at five apiece. Allard nearly scored a reversal in the final seconds of the period before Mylin scrambled to regain control, riding out the rest of the period.

Allard escaped from bottom after roughly 20 seconds to start period three, and Mylin was unable to secure a takedown on any of his shots in the final two minutes as Allard hung on for the 6-5 decision.

Mizzou: 3 – Northern Iowa: 13

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157lbs: #9 Ryder Downey (UNI) over NR James Conway (MIZ), 12-5 Decision

Conway came out aggressive in this match, scoring the first takedown on a double leg shot, 3-0. The call was challenged by Northern Iowa but it stood. Downey escaped after about 30 seconds, 3-1, and then some nice defense from Conway in the final half of the first period prevented any threatening shots from Downey.

Downey quickly escaped from bottom to start the second period, 3-2. Downey scored his first takedown following an extended scramble which started with a double leg shot from Conway, he eventually got the better position and converted the takedown for a 5-3 lead. Downey went to work on top, scoring a four-point nearfall to open up a comfortable 9-3 lead. Conway escaped in the final five second of the period to make it 9-4 heading into the last period. Downey added on one final takedown and Conway had one more escape to finish up the 12-5 decision.

Mizzou: 3 – Northern Iowa: 16

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165lbs: NR Jack Thomsen (UNI) over NR Jeremy Jakowitsch (MIZ), 14-4 Major Decision

Thomsen took a 6-2 lead with 1:36 in riding time at the end of the first period. Jakowitsch escaped from bottom to start the second period before another takedown from Thomsen, who rode out the period for a 9-3 advantage while bringing his riding time total to over two and a half minutes. Thomsen’s final takedown came off a double leg shot in the third period as he came out on top with a 14-4 major decision, earning the extra point with over three minutes of riding time.

Mizzou: 3 – Northern Iowa: 20

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174lbs: NR Jared Simma (UNI) over NR Ellis Pfleger (MIZ), 10-4 Decision

Pfleger scored the first takedown of the match after a very long scramble starting with a shot from Simma before he rode out the first period, taking a 3-0 lead and 1:01 of riding time into period two. Pfleger escaped from bottom after a little under a minute to start the second period, 4-0. Simma scored his first points with an ankle pick leading to a takedown in the final one to two seconds of the period, making it 4-3.

Simma scored a reversal after about 25 seconds in the third period, taking a 5-4 lead before going to work on top and adding a four-point nearfall. He rode out the period to get an extra point for riding time, dominating the second half of this match and finishing with a 10-4 decision.

Mizzou: 3 – Northern Iowa: 23

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184lbs: #1 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) over NR Colton Hawks (MIZ), 12-2 Major Decision

Keckeisen kicked off the scoring with a takedown of Hawks mere inches away from the edge, converting for the points just in time. Hawks got a quick escape on the restart (they went out of bounds shortly after the takedown), 3-1, with limited action taking place the rest of the period. Keckeisen, starting on top in period two, got Hawks on his back for a second before he escaped, 3-2. Keckeisen got behind Hawks with a shot for a takedown in the final minute of the period, riding the remaining seconds out for a 6-2 lead heading into the last two minutes. Keckeisen got a quick escape from bottom in the third period, also adding on a point as Hawks was called for stalling, 8-2. The top-ranked wrestler got his final takedown off a single leg shot, finishing with a 12-2 major decision after adding the extra point for riding time.

Mizzou: 3 – Northern Iowa: 27

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197lbs: #24 Wyatt Voelker (UNI) over NR Jesse Cassatt (MIZ), 14-3 Major Decision

Voelker took control from the start, scoring two takedowns and riding out the first period for a 6-1 lead with 48 seconds of riding time. He almost immediately escaped from bottom to begin period two, adding on another takedown before again riding out the period to cross the minute mark in riding time and lead 10-1.

Voelker let Cassatt up to start the third period in order to hunt for a tech fall, 10-2. He would only add one more takedown, however, finishing with the 14-3 major decision and earning the extra point for riding time.

Mizzou: 3 – Northern Iowa: 31

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285lbs: #4 Zach Elam (MIZ) over #19 Tyrell Gordon (UNI), 4-1 Decision (TB-1)

There was limited action in the first period of this match, with the only true moment of excitement coming when Gordon lifted Elam up and drove him out of bounds. Elam rode hard to start the second period but Gordon escaped after a little over 50 seconds. Elam responded in the third period with an escape of his own, tying the match at one and sending them to overtime.

Gordon got in a single leg shot that was caught by Elam during the first overtime period, with Gordon then having two under hooks on Elam but being unable to do anything with them. Elam was on top to start the second overtime period, and as Gordon tried to roll out for a quick escape Elam got him on his back for a two-point nearfall before riding out the period, taking a 3-1 lead into the final 30-second period. Gordon got a good single leg shot on Elam, which he just barely caught before a stalemate. Elam did everything he could to avoid re-engaging in the final 10 seconds, holding on for the victory. It might not be pretty, but Elam sure knows how to win these low-scoring matches.

Mizzou: 6 – Northern Iowa: 31

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It feels strange to consider losing 31-6 a positive. However, Mizzou won both of its matches tonight which will have any relevance whatsoever when it comes to the conference and national championships. Elam added on another top-25 victory to his name while Josh Edmond earned a breakthrough victory against a top-10 wrestler. Expecting any more heading into this meet would have been folly. Now Tigers fans must wait to see if the illness/injury situation gets any better in time for their dual on Sunday at Iowa State.