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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – University of Missouri Head Wrestling Coach Brian Smith was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Sunday, Nov. 20. Beginning his career as Missouri's seventh head wrestling coach, Smith sat down with his team and made a list of goals that he hoped would help the 1998 squad and future Tiger teams. Over the past 24 years, he and the many men that have come through the Mizzou wrestling program have slowly but surely checked items off that original list. Individual Big 12 and MAC Conference Champions, improved grade-point averages, record-setting attendances, a No. 1 national ranking and Missouri's first-ever NCAA National Champion in wrestling were all on Smith's "to-do" list. His unique "Tiger Style" training program has molded today's team into a national powerhouse that continues to pursue the program's first team NCAA title. Since being introduced as Missouri's Head Wrestling Coach on May 5, 1998, Smith owns 21 consecutive seasons with a dual record at or above .500, beginning with the 2001-02 season, and has coached 29 All-Americans to 60 top-eight performances and six Tigers to nine national championships. The winningest coach in program history, Smith has compiled a 319-114-4 record at Missouri over his 24-plus season tenure. He became Missouri's first 300-win coach in program history, eclipsing the milestone, Jan. 8, 2021, in a 30-6 triumph over No. 21 Central Michigan. With a .737 career winning percentage, Smith holds the highest winning percentage in Mizzou wrestling history. He earned six consecutive conference Coach of the Year honors from 2012-17, including five straight awards by the MAC league office. Additionally, he has been honored as the top wrestling coach in the NCAA twice in his career, first being named the Dan Gable Coach of the Year by W.I.N. Magazine in 2007, then Smith was named the National Wrestling Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2017. Six Tiger wrestlers have reached the pinnacle of collegiate wrestling, collecting nine NCAA Championships under Smith's tenure, beginning with Ben Askren. During Askren's Tiger career, Smith guided the 174-pound grappler to the program's first back-to-back National Championship titles (2006 and 2007). On March 21, 2009, Mark Ellis became the second Missouri wrestler in program history to collect top honors. In 2010, Max Askren became the third national champion in the history of the program, as he dominated the No. 1 seed in the 184-pound weight class by a 10-3 score. After a four-year drought, true freshman J'den Cox claimed the program's fifth national title in 2013-14 after defeating Ohio State's Nick Heflin, 2-1. A year later, redshirt senior Drake Houdashelt concluded his historical Tiger Style career with a 149-pound National Championship at the 2015 NCAA's. In 2016, Cox returned to the top of the podium at Madison Square Garden, becoming the second two-time NCAA Champ in program history. Cox then became the program's first ever three-time national champion when he defended his title in 2017, to finish his incredible Tiger career. In 2022, freshman Keegan O'Toole became the Tigers' first national champion at 165 pounds while completing the fourth undefeated individual season in program history, joining B. Askren (2006-07) and Cox (2017). Additionally, Smith has helped guide two wrestlers to the Olympics. B. Askren was the first wrestler in program history to compete in the summer games with an appearance in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, followed by Cox, who won bronze at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. A native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where his father coached football, Smith was a two-time wrestling state champion in 1984 with Oviedo High School and 1985 while competing at St. Thomas Aquinas High School. The Florida native graduated from Michigan State with a degree in education and married the former Denise Dean in 1993. Brian and Denise, have three children, Quinn, Kylie and Braden. In the spring of 2009, Smith received his Master's Degree in Athletic Administration from William Woods University.

I thought you looked familiar.

I'm not certain Vito can be counted out against anyone...

Make him submit a picture and then compare it.

Apostrophe's??

Who would’ve thought that RBY and Gilman would make each other better? Or that DT and Jaime Espinal would make Nickal and Brooks and Dean better? Or Bekzod would make Nolf and Cenzo and Starocci better? Or that Varner and Snyder would make Kerkvliet better? There were 7 Olympic medalists in that room last year. Seven. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Crotalus is a genus of rattlesnakes (contains the vast majority of rattlesnake species). I'm a biologist and much of my career has been spent working with/studying rattlesnakes and other species of snakes.

When I was a young carpenter I was sent to the home of a well to do, grumpy, old goat. When he answered the door I introduced myself and he responded, "so you're the nail bender they sent me, huh?". I'd never heard the term before and it stuck with me. He repeated my last name and then proceeded to tell me that he knew my grandfather and that in not so many words, that my grandfather was an idiot. I bit my tongue and did my work but it really bothered me the way he'd disparaged my grandfather. I didn't say anything and that ate me up all the more. That evening I told my father of this and he laughed and laughed. The more I explained how mad I was, the harder he laughed. I didn't get it. Age has helped me to see why it didn't bother my father to hear the opinion of someone he didn't respect. I also think he was proud that I kept my cool. That old grump is long dead and I'm still bending nails.

Alright, all you "Rick Steeves" of the South Central USA..... What should we know about Tulsa? Places to hit, places to avoid, food, bars, transportation, neighborhoods, suggestions, weather in March etc, etc. What do ya got for us who will be coming into town in March?

Will the matches won or lost at the of the five dates allowed for redshirting freshmen count towards the career record?

I agree: 'When you are plumb tuckered out, plumb is used as an intensifier, and tuckered out has been around in American vernacular since at least 1839, when the phrase was published in a newspaper — the Wisconsin Enquirer — “I reckoned to have got to the tavern by sundown, but I haven’t, as I’m prodigiously tuckered out.” And this from the more polished Atlantic Monthly, founded in 1857: “She then informed me that the first time she had mounted the colt he had nearly bucked her to pieces; he had jumped and jounced till she was plum(b) tuckered out before he had given up.”' Seems some Wisconsin and Atlantic coast history so a Wisconsin vs Cornell match, sure there could be some plumb tuckering.

You may act like you’re a peach schnapps but we all know you’re much closer to a fancy hazelnut

Well deserved! His success has been consistent; across the careers of many wrestlers, assistant coaches and even different conferences. The teams' recruiting has gotten better over the years as the success of his teams have made Mizzou a more attractive alternative. Brian Smith recruits very good wrestlers, but typically they aren't the top tier recruits that go to Penn State and other historically great programs. But,... once those recruits arrive at Mizzou, Brian Smith and his coaching staff develops them into the best wrestlers and students they can be. Mizzou fans, as well as all wrestling fans should be proud of what Brian Smith has accomplished.

I mean, I don't want to tell you you've been wasting your life, but..... you've certainly been missing out.

Maybe if you have an underclassman narrowly beating out a fifth-year senior, but you redshirt the underclassman so as not to waste the senior's final year of eligibility.

Well I know that we didn’t have a World Cup in 2020, and 2021. I also know that in 2019 we didn’t send our number 1 guys, however we were still able to take 3rd place. I know that in 2019 the World Cup was being held in mid March so I don’t know if our number one guys weren’t available or there was something else going on. Anyway I am looking forward to this event and it should be a lot of fun I got lucky and got to go see three World Cups in a row 2014, 2015, and 2016, when they were being held at the Forum in Inglewood, (Los Angeles). I saw a ton of super great matches at those events. One of my favorites was Brent Metcalf coming back to defeat Nasiri (Iran ) after being down a ton. It’s always fun rooting for Team USA, at these events especially when there are large spirited contingents of other fans especially the very vocal Iranians.

Maybe he always wears a jacket:

Against The Wind Well those drifter's days are past me now I've got so much more to think about Deadlines and commitments What to leave in, what to leave out

Favorite song of the late Jeff Reese. It was played at his memorial. He was a good kid.

I saw them twice. I'd have liked to seen them a couple hundred times, but you know... deadlines and commitments, back then. "To hear Richard Betts pickin' on that red guitar"

We can bet on Van Ness vs Murin if you’d like

My wheelhouse. Betts one the best. Seen them a bunch going back to the eighties.

this is MUCH better

@AnklePicker- that was freaking sweet!!!

One of the biggest surprises was Dom Bradley getting handled by a guy that looked half his size.

A racer with a track record. Nice.

Money.

Of course the best want to be together - that’s a no brainer and we’ll documented on the benefits of being at PSU. That doesn’t mean it is affordable which is my question. A great wrestler whose parents are middle class and out of state could not afford to attend PSU just because it is a good room. There has to be something helping the numbers work.

Irish whiskey aged in Spanish oak. You're boujee...

Well for the sake of some of these lower tiered teams, hopefully they can have success so they have something to build on and maybe attract some wrestlers that they might not otherwise get. I like to see schools that usually don’t do well, get an AA, or some other type of success so it energizes the program.

Secret Sauce = Cael Sanderson simple answer

There was a time when the World Cup was a bigger deal than it is now. I don't say that because of our lineup. No issues with who's wrestling. I didn't expect Gilman, Dake or Taylor to be there.

Alternative theory: the best want to be with the best. Best coaches, best training partners, best RTC. It becomes a virtuous cycle.

As long as I have my whiskey tonight, I may only want dry toast in the morning.

I wish you were right. Unfortunately the high school wrestling room I had in the early to mid 1980s was better than what Michigan State currently has.

Wkn will be allowed only dry toast tomorrow, no butter or jam.

I thought Ungar looked very good in a riding time point loss. I thought Vito looked great. Cornella did what he had to do to get a W. Yianni had no offense for Gomez. Gomez matched Yianni funk for funk and even got a TD and back points on a counter to one funk. Yianni wanted no part of Gomez up top in neutral position, of course. Yianni seemed to give up half a minute into period 3. Model/Handlovic was a snoozer won by Model. Hamiti/Ramirez was a good match for 2 minutes. Hamiti is relentless. The thing I don't understand is how has Hamiti wrestled so much and still look like a young Tom Brady. If the wrestling thing doesn't work out, he could star in a soap opera. Foca looked pretty good in winning 6-3, but I don't know the level of competition here. Loew looked good. Used his height and reach advantage well, just missing a major. I think Darmstadt would be proud. Cardenas could not get in on Amos and didn't want to go up top from neutral. Not a lot of action. Amos 2-0. Hilger outmuscled Fernandes to win 5-2. Wisconsin 19-13. Bono and Reader had their boys ready to go. They were not in the least psyched by the noise in Friedman for the start to the end. Not the result I hoped for, but for the most part a competitive, exciting match.

Contacting me via my personal FB profile (and not one of the mediums I have readily available on the web for contact - e-mail, Twitter, IG or the Mat Talk FB page) and then inquiring about being banned on the board while I'm actively working the World Championships is enough for me to never want to interact with him again. I make the mistake of trying to educate when I see a confused question on the board. But then the egg is on my face because I didn't realize it was another alias and when I present facts, my factual evidence is questioned with "if true" - sorry, not sorry he's not here.

uh.....we have consistency.........consistently BAD non calls for stalling. "back in the day" stalling was actually called when it occurred. which wasn't all that often because wrestlers knew they would be called.

does Ridge Lovett come out of redshirt now?

Make him use his actual face as his profile picture.

I would think someone would be embarrassed. Yet here we are. The same train wreck as yesterday.

the rule book says you must continue to try "to improve your position" a great example of refs not doing their job............. wrestler A shoots....wrestler B spralls.....wrestler A locks hands and waits for the ref to call a stalemate with NO effort to "improve" his position. That is freaking STALLING! I got ahold of that leg a LOT.......... I would never have thought to not continue to improve from that position. The refs have the absolute responsibility to call what they KNOW is stalling. I know a college ref very well who actually calls stalling. He has many times told me how refs will tell him they will stop a match when they know a guy is going to end up backing off the mat. That way they don't have to call it. Refs not calling stalling is HUGE problem for our sport.

Savadkouhi is decent, was seconds away from beating Burroughs at Yasar Dogu. Granted it was a terrible match and nothing happened. I think he lost over a caution due to singlet pull or not engaging in the last few seconds. He would likely do about the same as Nokhodi if he were to be sent to senior worlds (silver or bronze). I wouldn't put too much into it. A lot of Iranian wrestlers have beat superior Russians in the league over the years going back to Gatsalov losing in it and Olympic champ Tedeev losing to Hassan Yazdani's coach who never made a world team, lol. Gedeuv lost in it too the year after his olympic silver. Has to be tough for Sidakov, though. Back to back to back world/olympic champ and now he has nothing to train for. All these top Russian guys need to switch country quick if possible because I don't see Russia being allowed back in for 2024.

i know. i just like to give you a hard time.

Nah, man. Iowa is a huge underdog this year without something really weird happening, thus has no effect on my enjoyment of the season, lol. I'm just not judging Van Ness off this match. And for the record, if you scratch my avi, it smells like cheap liqueur. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

omg i can't believe you guys fell for that.

It sometimes takes a bit, but we get there...

Old fraternity nickname just before year 2000... had to do with trees... sheep... y2k... alcohol...

Dad didn’t want me to be cursed with his name (Grover) so this is what we got. I was in a movie with Rip and Dan Gable.