COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Wrestling picked up its 25th consecutive dual win, a streak that dates back to the 2016-17 season, and its 11th straight Mid-American Conference dual as it defeated Buffalo, 30-8, Sunday afternoon (Dec. 16) at the Hearnes Center. RS senior Daniel Lewis picked up his 100th career win with his 42nd career pin at 174 pounds and Mizzou won the dual with five freshmen in the starting lineup, including three true freshmen.
"It didn't start off as a good day, our young guys went out there and just didn't look good," Coach Smith said. "From there, we went with Eierman and he and some of the more experienced guys got it rolling. Jarrett Jacques beat a really good kid and won a hard-fought match and wins in overtime. Brock Mauller came out of his redshirt and found a way to dominate the match. Same thing with Zach Elam. Really impressed with those guys."
Mizzou lost the first two bouts before rallying to win the final eight, including two exciting sudden-victory wins. After losing the first two bouts at 125 and 131, junior Jaydin Eierman flipped things back in Mizzou's favor with a 24-9 technical fall. He led 6-2 after the first thanks to a late-period takedown and he was dominant from there. Ranked third nationally, Eierman improved to 9-1 on the year with the technical fall.
True freshman Brock Mauller then made his debut in the starting lineup at 149 pounds and earned an 8-2 decision with 2:12 of riding time over Jason Estevez. That cut Buffalo's lead to 9-8 as the dual moved to 157 pounds. Mauller improved to 15-1 on the year but Sunday's win was his first dual win.
Coach Smith sent another true freshman to the mat in the next bout as Jarrett Jacques and Buffalo's Alex Smythe wrestled in one of the day's most exciting bouts. The two were knotted at 4-4 at the end of the third, and Jacques did a great job during the first sudden victory period to earn a takedown with 19 seconds remaining, earning the 6-4 decision as Mizzou gained an 11-9 lead at intermission. He improved to 13-4 during his true freshman season.
Following intermission, No. 13 Connor Flynn was part of another exciting bout, escaping with a 7-6 win thanks to a third-period take down and 1:48 of riding time, which turned out to be the winning point. That extended Mizzou's lead to 14-8.
Lewis then picked up bonus points while earning a first-period fall over Jake Lanning, with just one second remaining in the initial frame. He is the 28th Mizzou wrestler to enter the 100-win club. That extended Mizzou's lead to 20-8 and Lewis moved to 10-1 on the year.
At 184, reigning MAC Wrestler of the Week extended his personal winning streak to seven straight bouts as he downed Logan Rill, 10-0, earning bonus points for the sixth time during his seven-bout win streak.
Wyatt Koelling tallied a takedown 13 seconds into the sudden victory period to earn a 3-1 win over Brett Perry at 197, extending Mizzou's lead to 27-8.
At heavyweight, Zach Elam tallied a huge third-period to earn a 3-1 win, improving to 14-1 during his true freshman season.
Below are the complete scores for the dual.
- 125 – Cameron Valdiviez (8-3) vs. Kyle Akins – L, Fall (3:36) – 0-6
- 133 – Allan Hart (8-3) vs. Derek Spann – L, Decision, 6-2 – 0-9
- 141 – No. 3 Jaydin Eierman (9-1) vs. Kyle Todrank – W, Technical Fall, 24-9 – 5-9
- 149 – Brock Mauller (15-1) vs. Jason Estevez – W, 8-2 (2:12 riding time) – 8-9
- 157 – Jarrett Jacques (13-4) vs. Alex Smythe – W, 6-4 (SV-1) – 11-9
- 165 – No. 13 Connor Flynn (9-3) vs. Troy Keller – W, 7-6 (1:48 riding time) – 14-8 (lost one team point for unsportsmanlike behavior from the bench)
- 174 – No. 4 Daniel Lewis (10-1) vs Jake Lanning – W, Fall (2:59) – 20-8
- 184 – Dylan Wisman (9-4) vs. Logan Rill – W, Major Decision, 10-0 – 24-8
- 197 – Wyatt Koelling (9-5) vs. Brett Perry - W, Decision, 3-1 (SV-1) – 27-8
- 285 – No. 11 Zach Elam (14-1) vs. Jake Gunning – W, Decision, 3-1 – 30-8
Mizzou will be back in action Thursday in Kansas City as it will take on Virginia at Park Hill High School.
