Last season was another successful one for the Tigers as they finished 6th with 62 points and 4 AAs. This was especially impressive considering they had 5 different starters from 2018, 3 of which were true freshmen. The Tigers actually came a hairball away from qualifying all 10 of their wrestlers. Coincidentally, Missouri finished 6th with 61.5 points and 4 AAs in 2018. This was the 5th straight year that the Tigers have finished in the top 6. So you could make a case that they are a perennial top 10 team.
Missouri had a 16-1 dual record with their only loss coming against Oklahoma State. They had wins over several ranked teams; Illinois, Virginia Tech, Lehigh, Purdue, Cornell, UNI, ASU and Iowa State. Missouri finished 2nd to tOSU at Cliff Keen and finished 1st in the MAC championships, barely scraping past 2nd place Buffalo.
Missouri loses three AAs from last season. Two are outgoing seniors, 4-time AA Daniel Lewis and 1-time AA John Erneste and one to an Olympic redshirt 3-time AA Jayden Eierman. The Tigers do have 1-time AA Grant Leeth returning, potentially a former qualifier returning (Connor Brown) and a very good freshman (Peyton Mocco) enters the lineup. They might not match last year’s performance but they could keep their top 10 streak alive. Missouri has not yet released their 19/20 schedule.
125
Dack Punke (So) <Washington, IL>
Punke qualified for the NCAA Championship by placing 4th and grabbing the last automatic allocation at the MAC Championship. He was the 27 seed and went 0-2 at the NCAA Championship and was 11-12 overall. He had some solid wins during the season including against Schwarm (UNI) and Schroder (Pur). <Bonus: 8.7%, RPI: .575>
133
Allan Hart (So) <St. Edward, OH>
Connor Brown (So) <Oak Grove, MO>
Hart went 13-6 last season backing up Erneste. He didn’t have any wins against NCAA qualifiers. His best wins were probably against Todd Small (ISU). Connor Brown returns to his home state and his third college in three seasons. He followed Bono from SDSU to Wisconsin last season. He went 11-3 at 125 with the Badgers before getting injured. Brown was a NCAA qualifier for SDSU his true freshman year in 2018.
Last season, outgoing senior John Erneste went 22-7 overall. He was a three time qualifier and finally broke through to become an AA finishing 6th from the 8 seed. If you remember from 2018, Erneste was Tariq Wilson’s first victim of the tournament and 2nd highest seed to lose in the first round. Erneste won the rematch at the NCAAs last season against Wilson in the round of 12.
141
Grant Leeth (Jr) <Kearney, MO>
Leeth is back from a third season lost due to injury and is dropping down from 149. He was 6-1 last season before getting injured. He was an AA in 2018, placing 6th at 149.
Jayden Eirman went 28-4 overall and became a 3-time AA placing 3rd from the 5 seed (4th in 2018, 5th in 2017). As reported from legitimate sources, Eierman will be taking an Olympic redshirt this season.
149
Brock Mauller (So) <Father Tolton, MO>
Mauller is looking to improve upon his impressive true freshman year. Last season he took over for an injured Grant Leeth and went 33-5 overall and finished 6th from the 4 seed. <Bonus: 31.6%, RPI: .683>
157
Jarrett Jacques (So) <Father Tolton, MO>
Another true freshman starter from last season, Jacques went 28-8 overall and 1-2 in the tournament from the 13 seed. He had several wins against other qualifiers over the course of the season with his biggest win coming against eventual AA Larry Early in the MAC championships. <Bonus: 27.0%, RPI: .608>
165
Peyton Mocco (Fr) <Nathan Hale, WI>
Mocco battling through some injuries went 9-1 in opens as a redshirt last season. He was the only wrestler to beat David Carr (ISU) last season.
174
Connor Flynn (Sr) <Francis Howell, MO>
Flynn moves up to 174 this season. Last season he went 21-9 overall and 1-2 in the NCAA Championship from the 15 seed. As if the 165 weight class wasn’t a meat grinder enough, Flynn had a pretty tough draw with Vincenzo Joseph in the 2nd round and then Joe Smith (Ok St) in the wrestlebacks. Fun fact: Flynn is one of two wrestlers who has beaten Mekhi Lewis. <Bonus: 40.0%, RPI: .621>
At 174 last season, Daniel Lewis finished his great career with the Tigers as a 4-time AA (4,6,4,4). He had a 28-3 record overall and finished 4th from the 2 seed this year. Not too many people can say that they pinned the eventual champion. And Lewis is just one of two wrestlers who has beaten Zahid Valencia. Fun fact: the top 4 @174 last season was identical to 2018.
184
Dylan Wisman (Sr) <Millbrook, VA>
Wisman will be attempting to reach the podium for the first time. Last season he
went 17-9 overall and 1-2 from the 14 seed at his first NCAA Championship. Like Connor Flynn, Wisman also had several wins over other qualifiers over the course of the season with his biggest coming against eventual runner-up, Max Dean. <Bonus 42.3%, RPI: .639>
197
Wyatt Koelling (Jr) <Davis, UT>
Koelling went 22-10 last season but it wasn’t enough to qualify for the NCAA Championship as he placed 3rd at the MAC Championship (1 allocation). He did have a couple of wins against qualifiers, Brunner (Pur) and Perry (Buf). <Bonus: 21.9%, RPI: .578>
Heavy
Zach Elam (So) <Staley, MO>
Another true freshman starter for the Tigers last season, Elam went 25-11 overall and made it the round of 12 from the 20 seed. <Bonus: 33.3%, RPI: .607>
New Faces
Missouri is bringing in three wrestlers ranked in the top 20 of their weight classes. (Also, their 20/21 recruiting class is already looking pretty strong.)
Noah Surtin <Edwardsville, IL>
Surtin placed 2nd at 120 in the Illinois state championship (3A) after winning the championship at 113 in 2018. He was also the 2017 Cadet Freestyle national champion at 113. Surtin is ranked #7 at 120 by InterMat.
Sean Harman <West Linn, OR>
Harman is a three-time Oregon state champion (6A). He’s ranked #15 at 170 by InterMat.
Jace Punke <Washington, IL>
Jace, the much larger younger brother of Dack, was the Illinois 2A state champion at 195 in 2019. He also won the state championship as a very undersized 285 in 2018. Punke is ranked #5 at 195 by InterMat.
Missouri had a 16-1 dual record with their only loss coming against Oklahoma State. They had wins over several ranked teams; Illinois, Virginia Tech, Lehigh, Purdue, Cornell, UNI, ASU and Iowa State. Missouri finished 2nd to tOSU at Cliff Keen and finished 1st in the MAC championships, barely scraping past 2nd place Buffalo.
Missouri loses three AAs from last season. Two are outgoing seniors, 4-time AA Daniel Lewis and 1-time AA John Erneste and one to an Olympic redshirt 3-time AA Jayden Eierman. The Tigers do have 1-time AA Grant Leeth returning, potentially a former qualifier returning (Connor Brown) and a very good freshman (Peyton Mocco) enters the lineup. They might not match last year’s performance but they could keep their top 10 streak alive. Missouri has not yet released their 19/20 schedule.
125
Dack Punke (So) <Washington, IL>
Punke qualified for the NCAA Championship by placing 4th and grabbing the last automatic allocation at the MAC Championship. He was the 27 seed and went 0-2 at the NCAA Championship and was 11-12 overall. He had some solid wins during the season including against Schwarm (UNI) and Schroder (Pur). <Bonus: 8.7%, RPI: .575>
133
Allan Hart (So) <St. Edward, OH>
Connor Brown (So) <Oak Grove, MO>
Hart went 13-6 last season backing up Erneste. He didn’t have any wins against NCAA qualifiers. His best wins were probably against Todd Small (ISU). Connor Brown returns to his home state and his third college in three seasons. He followed Bono from SDSU to Wisconsin last season. He went 11-3 at 125 with the Badgers before getting injured. Brown was a NCAA qualifier for SDSU his true freshman year in 2018.
Last season, outgoing senior John Erneste went 22-7 overall. He was a three time qualifier and finally broke through to become an AA finishing 6th from the 8 seed. If you remember from 2018, Erneste was Tariq Wilson’s first victim of the tournament and 2nd highest seed to lose in the first round. Erneste won the rematch at the NCAAs last season against Wilson in the round of 12.
141
Grant Leeth (Jr) <Kearney, MO>
Leeth is back from a third season lost due to injury and is dropping down from 149. He was 6-1 last season before getting injured. He was an AA in 2018, placing 6th at 149.
Jayden Eirman went 28-4 overall and became a 3-time AA placing 3rd from the 5 seed (4th in 2018, 5th in 2017). As reported from legitimate sources, Eierman will be taking an Olympic redshirt this season.
149
Brock Mauller (So) <Father Tolton, MO>
Mauller is looking to improve upon his impressive true freshman year. Last season he took over for an injured Grant Leeth and went 33-5 overall and finished 6th from the 4 seed. <Bonus: 31.6%, RPI: .683>
157
Jarrett Jacques (So) <Father Tolton, MO>
Another true freshman starter from last season, Jacques went 28-8 overall and 1-2 in the tournament from the 13 seed. He had several wins against other qualifiers over the course of the season with his biggest win coming against eventual AA Larry Early in the MAC championships. <Bonus: 27.0%, RPI: .608>
165
Peyton Mocco (Fr) <Nathan Hale, WI>
Mocco battling through some injuries went 9-1 in opens as a redshirt last season. He was the only wrestler to beat David Carr (ISU) last season.
174
Connor Flynn (Sr) <Francis Howell, MO>
Flynn moves up to 174 this season. Last season he went 21-9 overall and 1-2 in the NCAA Championship from the 15 seed. As if the 165 weight class wasn’t a meat grinder enough, Flynn had a pretty tough draw with Vincenzo Joseph in the 2nd round and then Joe Smith (Ok St) in the wrestlebacks. Fun fact: Flynn is one of two wrestlers who has beaten Mekhi Lewis. <Bonus: 40.0%, RPI: .621>
At 174 last season, Daniel Lewis finished his great career with the Tigers as a 4-time AA (4,6,4,4). He had a 28-3 record overall and finished 4th from the 2 seed this year. Not too many people can say that they pinned the eventual champion. And Lewis is just one of two wrestlers who has beaten Zahid Valencia. Fun fact: the top 4 @174 last season was identical to 2018.
184
Dylan Wisman (Sr) <Millbrook, VA>
Wisman will be attempting to reach the podium for the first time. Last season he
went 17-9 overall and 1-2 from the 14 seed at his first NCAA Championship. Like Connor Flynn, Wisman also had several wins over other qualifiers over the course of the season with his biggest coming against eventual runner-up, Max Dean. <Bonus 42.3%, RPI: .639>
197
Wyatt Koelling (Jr) <Davis, UT>
Koelling went 22-10 last season but it wasn’t enough to qualify for the NCAA Championship as he placed 3rd at the MAC Championship (1 allocation). He did have a couple of wins against qualifiers, Brunner (Pur) and Perry (Buf). <Bonus: 21.9%, RPI: .578>
Heavy
Zach Elam (So) <Staley, MO>
Another true freshman starter for the Tigers last season, Elam went 25-11 overall and made it the round of 12 from the 20 seed. <Bonus: 33.3%, RPI: .607>
New Faces
Missouri is bringing in three wrestlers ranked in the top 20 of their weight classes. (Also, their 20/21 recruiting class is already looking pretty strong.)
Noah Surtin <Edwardsville, IL>
Surtin placed 2nd at 120 in the Illinois state championship (3A) after winning the championship at 113 in 2018. He was also the 2017 Cadet Freestyle national champion at 113. Surtin is ranked #7 at 120 by InterMat.
Sean Harman <West Linn, OR>
Harman is a three-time Oregon state champion (6A). He’s ranked #15 at 170 by InterMat.
Jace Punke <Washington, IL>
Jace, the much larger younger brother of Dack, was the Illinois 2A state champion at 195 in 2019. He also won the state championship as a very undersized 285 in 2018. Punke is ranked #5 at 195 by InterMat.
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