No. 12 Mizzou wrestling stages thrilling comeback to beat No. 10 Oklahoma State
Down 12-0 Sunday afternoon, the 12th-ranked Missouri wrestling team was in danger of getting shut out by No. 10 Oklahoma State at the Hearnes Center.
The next eight matches set up a thrilling comeback, one that gives the Tigers (9-3, 8-1 Big 12 Conference) a chance to battle for a top-three spot in the league.
Missouri came from behind to stun the Cowboys 21-20.
After losing the first three matches, the Tigers won six of the next seven. Missouri's Noah Surtin capped the comeback with a win by fall over the Cowboys' Alexander Yokubaitis at 125 pounds.
"There were no seniors on the lineup," said head coach Brian Smith. "That's just a sign of what's going on in the practice room. Kids are believing and getting takedowns, scoring, and finding ways to pin, so it's fun."
That win by fall earned Missouri six points and put the Tigers up 21-15.
Just before Surtin's win, MU's Zach Elam beat OSU's Luke Surber at 285 pounds by fall. That tied the match at 15.
The final match pitted Oklahoma State's Daton Fix against Missouri's Trey Crawford at 133 pounds. Crawford lost, but Fix only won by technical fall. That gave OSU five points instead of six.
That sealed the 21-20 win for Missouri, the Tigers' first over Oklahoma State since 2018.
Keegan O'Toole, Sean Harman and Rocky Elam each earned Missouri three points on Sunday with wins by decision.
The emphatic win over Oklahoma State sets up a battle atop the Big 12 standings on Feb. 16, as the Tigers host Iowa State at the Hearnes Center.
"It's what we train for," Harman said. "We don't train to wrestle the kind of good guys; we train to wrestle the best and Oklahoma State's one of those teams. It felt really good to go out there and not just get a win but also watch my teammates go win."
The Cyclones are 12-0 overall, 5-0 in the Big 12 and ranked No. 5 overall in the nation. A win over ISU would mean the Tigers would finish no less than second in the Big 12 in their first season back in the conference.
Missouri's lone Big 12 loss came Jan. 22 against South Dakota State at the Hearnes Center. That gives the Jackrabbits the conference tiebreaker.
However, South Dakota State still has matches scheduled against Oklahoma and North Dakota State. Losing those two conference matchups before the end of the regular season would set up a way for the Tigers to clinch the Big 12 with a win over Iowa State.
"We'll enjoy it tonight and get back to work tomorrow," Smith said. "We got to get the kids back to Earth and get them ready to work again and ready for a tough Arizona State team."
Chris Kwiecinski is the sports editor for the Columbia Daily Tribune, overseeing University of Missouri and Boone County sports coverage. Follow him on Twitter @OchoK_ and contact him at CKwiecinsk@gannett.com or 435-414-3261.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: No. 12 Mizzou wrestling stages comeback, beats No. 10 Oklahoma State
