"I was pleased to see our freshmen wrestle so well," Missouri Head Coach Brian Smith said. "There were lots of tough matches out there today and I think overall we did a great job. This tournament was really a good gage of where each of our wrestlers stand in terms of skills and conditioning. We can learn from this tournament and head back to the practice room ready to work hard."
Improving to 8-0 on the season, senior captain Michael Chandler (High Ridge, Mo.), ranked as high as seventh in the nation, finished the day with a spotless 3-0 record. Seeded No. 1 in the Open Division 157 pound bracket, Chandler scored five points in each of his three matches, and held his opponents to escapes. Chandler's title win came in the form of a 5-1 decision over third-seeded and 17th ranked Chase Pami of Cal Poly.
"I think I wrestled well today," Chandler said. "I made adjustments in all of my matches and I felt good about the wins."
Also earning top honors in his weight class was senior All-American Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) at 174 pounds. Jordan met with Hofstra's Alton Lucas for the second time in two days and handed The Pride grappler a 5-3 loss. Jordan won last night's bout with Lucas, 3-1, in overtime. With the win, Jordan is now one of three Missouri starters with to keep their perfect record in tact.
Senior Mark Ellis (Peculiar, Mo.) stands at 8-1 on the season with six of his eight wins marked as falls. Fifth-ranked Ellis pinned his opening round opponent, Zak Adomanis of McKendree in 1:37 and went on to stick Lenny Romero of Cal Poly in two minutes flat. Ellis battled with teammate, sophomore Tyler Perry (Hannibal, Mo.), in the semi-final round and won, 3-1. Perry went on to finish the day in sixth place, while Ellis captured a one point, 4-3, win over Illinois' sixth-ranked John Wise. Also competing in the heavyweight bracket, redshirt freshman Dominique Bradley (Blue Springs, Mo.) finished the tournament in third place. Bradley fell to Wise, 1-0, to drop to the consolation bracket but managed back-to-back wins to take third.
Competing in the Freshman/Sophomore Division, newcomer Taylor Crane (Columbia, Mo.) held off teammate Nathan McCormick (Leawood, Kan.), 5-3, in the title round of the 133 pound weight class. Crane was 5-0 on the day, outscoring his opponents 30-10.
Nick Hucke of Pewaukee, Wis., finished first in the 141 pound weight class while North Carolina product Nick Gregoris (Mebane), took first at 157 pounds. Gregoris also finished with a 5-0 mark, earning bonus point victories in his first three matches.
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