No. 17 Missouri at No. 24 North Dakota State on Friday, November 1 – 7:00 p.m. at the Bison Sports Arena.
Coverage
All home duals will be streamed live online at www.gobison.com/allaccess, and live scoring will be provided through TrackWrestling.
Series History
This will be the third meeting between Missouri and NDSU. The teams have wrestled in each of the last two seasons, with Mizzou winning 24-9 in 2012 and 37-7 in 2013.
About Missouri
Missouri returns five starters and five NCAA qualifiers from a year ago, including No. 3 Drake Houdashelt at 149 pounds, No. 8 Kyle Bradley at 157 pounds and No. 9 Zach Toal at 165 pounds.
The Tigers won the MAC Championship in their first season in the league in 2012-13. As a team, they posted a 16-3 dual record and placed seventh at the NCAA Championships.
Probable Matchups
NDSUMissouriHunter Weber
(0-0)
RFr., Marshall, Wis.125Zach Synon / Barlow McGhee
(0-0) / (0-0)
RFr., Cary, Ill. / Fr., Rock Island, Ill.Justin Scherkenbach
(0-0)
RFr., Muskego, Wis.133Matt Manley / Eric Wilson
(0-0) / (0-0)
RFr., Perry, Okla. / Sr., Centennial, Colo.No. 18 Justin LaValle
(0-0)
Sr., West Fargo, N.D.141Lavion Mayes / Trevor Jauch
(0-0) / (0-0)
RFr., Mascoutah, Ill. / So., Crystal Lake, Ill.Tyler Diamond
(0-0)
Sr., Oroville, Calif.149No. 3 Drake Houdashelt
(0-0)
Jr., O’Fallon, Mo.Matthew Gray
(0-0)
RFr., Twin Lakes, Wis.157 No. 8 Kyle Bradley
(0-0)
Sr., St. Peters, Mo.No. 3 Steven Monk
(0-0)
Sr., Wausau, Wis.165No. 9 Zach Toal / Jordan Gagliano
(0-0) / (0-0)
Sr., Sidney, Ohio / Sr., Lake St. Louis, Mo.Hayden Zillmer
(0-0)
So., Crosby, Minn.174Cody Johnston / Mikey England
(0-0) / (0-0)
So., Warrensburg, Mo. / Jr., Centerville, IowaKurtis Julson
(0-0)
Jr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn.184No. 15 Johnny Eblen
(0-0)
Jr., Kansas City, Mo.Colt Castlebury
(0-0)
RFr., Douglass, Kan.197Justin Heberlie / J’den Cox
(0-0) / (0-0)
So., Farmington, Mo. / Fr., Columbia, Mo.No. 19 Evan Knutson
(0-0)
Jr., Wausau, Wis.285No. 16 Devin Mellon
(0-0)
Jr., Lawson, Mo.
Returning Starters
NDSU returns five starters from last season’s team that won the Western Wrestling Conference regular season title with a perfect 5-0 dual record. Josh Rodriguez (133), Hayden Zillmer (157/174), Steven Monk (165), Kurtis Julson (174) and Evan Knutson (285) all return for the Bison in 2013-14.
High Regard for Monk
Two-time NCAA qualifier Steven Monk has been ranked No. 3 in the nation by Intermat at 165 pounds entering the season. Monk went 36-4 last season and owns 72 wins over the previous two years. He posted six wins over opponents ranked in the nation’s top 15 last season.
Click Here: Fjallraven Kanken Art Spring Landscape Backpacks
Preseason Rankings
Senior 141-pounder Justin LaValle, junior heavyweight Evan Knutson and redshirt freshman 197-pounder Tyler Lehmann have all appeared in preseason rankings. LaValle, a transfer from Old Dominion where he qualified for the 2012 NCAA Championships, is ranked 18th by Intermat and 20th by Amateur Wrestling News (AWN). Knutson, a 2013 NCAA qualifier, is ranked 19th by AWN, and Lehmann was pegged 16th in the country by Intermat.
Steven Monk: On the Brink
NDSU All-Access will chronicle the season of senior 165-pounder Steven Monk with a video documentary series on GoBison.com and YouTube.com/NDSUathletics. “On the Brink” will air in monthly episodes.
Tough Schedule
The Bison schedule features 16 duals and three tournaments during the regular season, all leading up to the NCAA West Regional in Orem, Utah, on Mar. 8 and the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla., on Mar. 20-22.
“We wanted to put together a tough schedule that would challenge our guys and help them prepare for the postseason,” said Kish. “Our goal is to have the guys wrestle some tough opponents during the year and ultimately have them ready to perform at the NCAA Championships.”
“We’re confident that this schedule will allow our guys to be physically and mentally prepared going into the NCAA Tournament,” said Kish.
NDSU opens the season with a stiff test, hosting Missouri for a dual in the Bison Sports Arena on Nov. 1. Missouri has qualified wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in all 10 weight classes for two straight seasons, and the Tigers were ranked as high as No. 4 as a team in the 2012-13 season.
Gray’s Golden Summer
North Dakota State redshirt freshman Matthew Gray claimed a gold medal in the 74-kilogram (163 lbs.) freestyle division at the Pan American Junior Championships in Santiago, Chile, on July 14. Gray also earned a bronze medal with a third-place finish in the 74-kilogram Greco-Roman division over the weekend.
Gray (Twin Lakes, Wis./Wilmot HS) did not compete for the Bison in the 2012-13 wrestling season, serving a redshirt year as a true freshman. He went 85-2 over his final two seasons at Wilmot High School in Wisconsin.