Missouri leads MAC Championships after day one

Photo courtesy of Rider University/Pete Borg

TRENTON, N.J. – Mizzou Wrestling leads the MAC Wrestling Championships after the first day with 161.5 points. The Tigers lead second-place Central Michigan by 65.5 points. Eight Tigers have qualified for the finals in their respective weight classes, with two other Tigers competing in third place matches. Seven Tigers have already secured their spots at the NCAA Championships, while the other three can all secure their spots with wins tomorrow.
Below are the Tigers in the finals:
• Sophomore Noah Surtin – 125 Pounds
• Redshirt junior Matt Schmitt – 133 Pounds
• Junior Brock Mauller – 149 Pounds
• Junior Jarrett Jacques – 157 Pounds
• Freshman Keegan O’Toole – 165 Pounds
• Redshirt sophomore Peyton Mocco – 174 Pounds
• Redshirt sophomore Jeremiah Kent – 184 Pounds
• Freshman Rocky Elam – 197 Pounds
Below are the Tigers in third-place matches:
• Redshirt junior Allan Hart – 141 Pounds
• Redshirt sophomore Zach Elam – 285 Pounds
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Mizzou -- 161.5
2. Central Michigan – 96.5
3. Rider – 96.0
4. Cleveland State – 56.5
5. Northern Illinois – 54.0
6. Edinboro – 49.0
7. Kent State – 43.0
8. Clarion – 37.0
9. SIU-Edwardsville – 31.0
10. George Mason – 30.5
11. Ohio – 26.5
12. Buffalo – 25.5
13. Bloomsburg – 22.0
14. Lock Haven – 9.5
HEAR FROM HEAD COACH SMITH
On Friday’s matches…

“We won 35 matches, That’s a positive, but as a coach I’m thinking of the two we lost, some heartbreakers, Allan Hart getting caught in a six point move right out of the gate and battles all the way back by a point or two and Zach Elam lost a touch one at heavyweight with two nationally ranked kids going at it. When I think of Noah Surtin and how he wrestled and Matt Schmitt and the energy he brought to the mat, Brock Mauller is on fire right now and just really wrestling at a high level. All the way through, Jeremiah Kent getting back and wrestling again and just broke a kid in the semifinal match with pressure and pressure and scoring points.”
On the team this season…
“This team all season has gotten after it when they’ve stepped on the mat. There’s not one instance where this team showed up and a Missouri fan could say ‘well the wrestling team didn’t look good today’. This team has shown up every day and competed. As a coach you’re grateful to coach a team like that.”
On tomorrow’s championship matches…
“Looking forward to having eight finalists tomorrow and having our two guys, Allan Hart and Zach Elam, on the backside. They’ve got to come back and take third. We’ll finish with hopefully eight champions and get after it.”
Finals Matchups
125: Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan) vs Noah Surtin (Missouri)
133: Matt Schmitt (Missouri) vs Richie Koehler (Rider)
141: McKenzie Bell (Rider) vs Dresden Simon (Central Michigan)
149: Brock Mauller (Missouri) vs Marcus Robinson (Cleveland State)
157: Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider) vs Jarrett Jacques (Missouri)
165: Keegan O`Toole (Missouri) vs Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois)
174: Andrew McNally (Kent State) vs Peyton Mocco (Missouri)
184: Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois) vs Jeremiah Kent (Missouri)
197: Ben Smith (Cleveland State) vs Rocky Elam (Missouri)
285: Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) vs Ethan Laird (Rider)
Semifinal Results
125
Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan) won by decision over Jonathan Tropea (Rider) Dec 3-2
Noah Surtin (Missouri) won by decision over Jake Ferri (Kent State) Dec 7-0
133
Matt Schmitt (Missouri) won by decision over Mario Guillen (Ohio) Dec 6-0
Richie Koehler (Rider) won by fall over Cole Rhone (Bloomsburg) Fall 6:05
141
McKenzie Bell (Rider) won by decision over Allan Hart (Missouri) Dec 8-6
Dresden Simon (Central Michigan) won by decision over Saul Ervin (SIU Edwardsville) Dec 8-4
149
Brock Mauller (Missouri) won by fall over Kody Komara (Kent State) Fall 6:23
Marcus Robinson (Cleveland State) won by decision over Anthony Cheloni (Northern Illinois) Dec 5-1
157
Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider) won by fall over Peter Pappas (Edinboro) Fall 4:44
Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) won by major decision over Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan) Maj 14-4
165
Keegan O`Toole (Missouri) won by major decision over Alex Cramer (Central Michigan) Maj 13-2
Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois) won by decision over Riley Smucker (Cleveland State) Dec 9-3
174
Andrew McNally (Kent State) won by major decision over Paul Pierce (George Mason) Maj 12-2
Peyton Mocco (Missouri) won by major decision over Jacob Oliver (Edinboro) Maj 15-5
184
Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois) won by major decision over DeAndre Nassar (Cleveland State) Maj 12-3
Jeremiah Kent (Missouri) won by decision over George Walton (Rider) Dec 6-5
197
Ben Smith (Cleveland State) won by decision over Greg Bulsak (Clarion) Dec 12-5
Rocky Elam (Missouri) won by major decision over Jake Walker (Ohio) Maj 12-2
285
Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) won by decision over Jon Spaulding (Edinboro) Dec 2-0
Ethan Laird (Rider) won by decision over Zach Elam (Missouri) Dec 3-2