Mizzou holds off Virginia Tech 23-19 in battle of top-10 teams

Mizzou freshman Jaydin Eierman celebrates a win by fall over Virginia Tech's Dominic Latona. Photo: Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Wrestling in Jesse Auditorium for the third time in four years, No. 5 Mizzou Wrestling defeated No. 6 Virginia Tech, 23-19, on Sunday afternoon. In front of an announced crowd of 1,479, three Tigers recorded bonus points as Mizzou won six of ten bouts in the top-10 showdown.


After a Virginia Tech win at 125 pounds to open the dual, Mizzou rattled off five straight victories to open a 20-3 lead. Beginning the run for the Tigers was redshirt freshman 133-pounder Jaydin Eierman (Columbia, Mo.), who made his presence known in his dual debut, posting a first-period pin over Dominic Latona at 2:55. After scoring a takedown and near-fall in the first minute of the opening period, Eierman came close to scoring the fall on numerous occasions before getting the six points right before the end of the period.


Redshirt senior 141-pounder Zach Synon (Cary, Ill.) followed next, recording a 2-0 decision win over Dennis Gustafson. Synon started the second period in the top position and didn’t allow an escape the entire period, amassing two minutes of riding time in the period. An escape to start the third period and riding time yielded the 2-0 decision. At 149 pounds, redshirt senior 149-pounder Lavion Mayes (Mascoutah, Ill.) matched up against No. 6 Solomon Chishko. The two returning All-Americans were deadlocked, 2-2, heading into the third period before Mayes score a takedown to create separation. Riding time gave him the match, 6-3.


Redshirt junior 157-pounder Joey Lavallee (Reno, Nev.) jumped out to a 10-2 lead after the first period, helping him earn his second straight major decision to open the year, 15-5, over No. 17 Sal Mastriani. The win gave Mizzou a 16-3 lead at intermission. After the break, redshirt sophomore 165-pounder Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.) recorded his second major decision of the year as well, defeating Mike Ciavarro, 13-0. In two matches this season, Lewis has yet to give up a point, winning 8-0 over No. 11 Seldon Wright (Old Dominion) on Nov. 13 and 13-0 today.


Senior 197-pounder J’den Cox (Columbia, Mo.) rounded out the scoring for the Tigers, defeating No. 3 Jared Haught, 2-0. The win was Cox’s second win over a ranked opponent this season after defeating No. 9 Kevin Beazley (Old Dominion) to open the season.


Mizzou will next be in action on December 3 at the UNI Open in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Mizzou’s next dual will be Dec. 8 when the Tigers travel to Columbus, Ohio to face No. 4 Ohio State.


For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouWrestling).

No. 5 Mizzou 23, No. 6 Virginia Tech 19

125: No. 3 Joey Dance (VT) DEC. Aaron Assad (MIZZ), 8-4

133: No. 11 Jaydin Eierman (MIZZ) FALL Dominic Latona (VT), 2:55

141: Zach Synon (MIZZ) DEC. Dennis Gustafson (VT), 2-0.

149: No. 4 Lavion Mayes (MIZZ) DEC. No. 6 Solomon Chishko (VT), 6-2.

157: No. 10 Joey Lavallee (MIZZ) MD Sal Mastriani (VT), 15-5.

165: No. 3 Daniel Lewis (MIZZ) MD Mike Ciavarro (VT), 13-0

174: No. 2 Zach Epperly (VT) FALL Dylan Wisman (MIZZ), 4:51

184: No. 9 Zack Zavatsky (VT) DEF. No. 11 Willie Milkus (MIZZ) - injury default

197: No. 1 J'Den Cox (MIZZ) DEC. No. 3 Jared Haught (VT), 2-0

HWT: No. 3 Ty Walz (VT) MD Austin Myers (MIZZ), 18-6