The Missouri wrestling team claimed seven matches, including the final three in the dual Sunday, to defeat No. 10-ranked Chattanooga, 24-10.
The Tigers, 3-0 and ranked No. 8 in the nation according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association/IntermatWrestle poll, pulled away from a close match with two decisions and a pin at the bottom of the lineup.
With Missouri ahead 12-10 after seven matches, sixth-ranked Raymond Jordan scored a 12-6 decision over UTC's Josh Edmondson at 184 pounds to push the Tigers' margin to 15-10. In the match of the day, Missouri's ninth-ranked Maxwell Askren recorded the only point in six overtime periods to pull out a 4-3 win over No. 10 Matt Koz at 197.
Twelfth-ranked Mark Ellis pinned UTC's Matt Lettner at 2:58 in the heavyweight match to provide the final margin for Missouri.
“I am disappointed, but the effort was there,” UTC Head Coach Chris Bono said. “We did a lot of things wrong. We knew it would come down to matchups at 149, 157 and 197 pounds, and we didn't win those. Missouri is the best team we have wrestled so far. We will see these guys again at the NCAA Championships.”
Each match was tight with only two being decided by bonus points. Tenth-ranked Javier Maldonado got the Mocs on the scoreboard first with a 9-7 win over No. 11 Tony Pescaglia at 125 pounds. The Tigers tied the score with a 6-1 win at 133 by No. 3 Tyler McCormick against Steve Hromada.
Cody Cleveland put the Mocs back on top, 6-3 with his 4-3 victory over Marcus Hoehn at 141. The match evened for the last time at the 149 division. No. 16 Josh Wagner posted a 10-5 decision over UTC's Joey Knox.
The 157-pound match literally came down to the last second. Missouri's 13th-ranked wrestler, Michael Chandler avoided a takedown at the buzzer by 20th-ranked Seth Garvin to hold on for a 7-5 win. Nicholas Marable, a Tennessee native, extended the Tigers' lead to 12-6 with his 11-8 win over Nick Davis at 165.
Sixteenth-ranked Lloyd Rogers got UTC back in the match with a 22-9 major decision over Joey Garrity at 174 which sliced the deficit to 12-10 with the last three matches remaining.
The loss was the first at home for UTC in its last 14 duals.
The Mocs, 5-1, return to action Dec. 29 and 30 at the prestigious Midlands Championships in Evanston, Ill.
No. 8 Missouri 24, No. 10 Chattanooga 10
125 ? No. 10 Javier Maldonado (UTC) dec. No. 11 Tony Pescaglia (UM), 9-7 0-3
133 ? No. 3 Tyler McCormick (UM) dec. Steve Hromada (UTC), 6-1 3-3
141 ? Cody Cleveland (UTC) dec. Marcus Hoehn (UM), 4-3 3-6
149 ? No. 16 Josh Wagner (UM) dec. Joey Knox (UTC), 10-5 6-6
157 ? No. 13 Michael Chandler (UM) dec. No. 20 Seth Garvin (UTC), 7-5 9-6
165 ? No. 7 Nicholas Marable (UM) dec. Nick Davis (UTC), 11-8 12-6
174 ? No. 16 Lloyd Rogers (UTC) maj. dec. Joey Garrity (UM), 22-9 12-10
184 ? No. 6 Raymond Jordan (UM) dec. Josh Edmondson (UTC), 12-6 15-10
197 ? No. 9 Maxwell Askren (UM) dec. No. 10 Matt Kox (UTC), 4-3 ot 18-10
285 ? No. 12 Mark Ellis (UM) pinned Matt Lettner (UTC), 2:58 24-10
