No. 16 Wrestling Faces Challenges: A 1-2 Nail-Biter at the Journeymen Collegiate Duals

NASHVILLE – The No. 16 University of Missouri wrestling squad concluded the day with a record of 1-2 at the Journeymen Collegiate Duals held in Nashville, Tennessee, on Sunday, Dec. 22. The Tigers secured a victory against Binghamton while facing defeats in ranked matches against No. 20 Little Rock and No. 1 Penn State.

Mizzou secured triumphs in 11 out of the 30 contested matches throughout the day. The spotlight featured a notable win for Keegan O’Toole against Penn State’s Levi Haines, finishing at 4-1.

Match One: No. 20 Little Rock 

The Tigers suffered their initial dual defeat of the day against Little Rock, ending with a score of 24-19. Mizzou claimed five out of 10 matches, gaining bonus points in two of those victories.

Freshman Gage Walker commenced the dual with an impressive technical fall over Little Rock’s Tyson Roach, granting the Tigers an early advantage. The 141-pounder Josh Edmond achieved a takedown and back points in sudden victory, marking his seventh win of the season. The Trojans managed to secure 3 victories, leading 12-8 at halftime.

Keegan O’Toole returned to the mat, scoring a ranked victory via technical fall to put the Tigers back on the scoreboard. Returning National qualifier, Colton Hawks, added the Tigers’ second consecutive ranked victory by defeating Brock DelSignore of Little Rock. Heavyweight Jarrett Stoner concluded the dual on a positive note, capitalizing on a significant third-period takedown.

Match Notes

• The Tigers’ all-time record against Little Rock shifts to 0-0-1 after their inaugural match.
• Walker’s bonus-point victory at 125 pounds represented his second career win over Tyson Roach, with the first occurring at the Tiger Style Invite in November.
• Kade Moore, at 133 pounds, fell to 0-2 in his career against Nasir Bailey in a contest between returning National qualifiers.
• O’Toole’s technical fall marked his fourth ranked win of the season, maintaining his streak of earning bonus points in every match this year.
• Stoner obtained his first-ever dual victory in his debut start, winning by a 7-4 decision. This victory also marked Stoner’s second win over Miley this season.

Match Two: Binghamton

Mizzou bounced back with a 19-15 dual victory over Binghamton. The Tigers triumphed in five of the 10 matches in this dual, with the difference in scores coming from bonus points in three of those wins.

At 125 pounds, Walker secured an upset victory against Binghamton’s 33rd-ranked Carson Wagner. Edmond maintained the momentum at 141 pounds, achieving his first bonus-point victory of the day through a major decision. Redshirt sophomore James Conway capped off the first half of the dual with a strong technical fall, granting the Tigers a six-point advantage.

Recent MU graduate Joel Mylin made his dual debut, stepping in at 165 pounds. O’Toole continued his impressive start to the season, securing yet another major decision win. At 184 pounds, Hawks kept the momentum flowing with a ranked victory, further contributing to the score.

Match Notes

• Mizzou’s all-time record against Binghamton improves to 3-0-0 with this win. The Tigers last faced the Bearcats in 2021 during the Collegiate Duals.
• Walker achieved the second upset of his freshman season, with his first victory being over UNI’s 31st-ranked Kyle Gollhofer.
• Edmond’s major decision was his third bonus-point victory of the season, adding to his two prior technical falls.
• O’Toole and Hawks, competing at 174 and 184 respectively, secured their second ranked wins of the day against Binghamton.

Match Three: No. 1 Penn State

In the concluding dual of the evening, the Tigers faced a challenging 41-3 defeat against the reigning National Champions and top-ranked Penn State. The Nittany Lions secured victories in nine out of ten matches, with seven of those being bonus-point wins. Mizzou managed to clinch a significant victory at 174 pounds among national title contenders.

Walker made a strong impression at the start of the dual before narrowly losing a decision in a match between highly regarded freshmen at 125 pounds. Redshirt junior Josh Edmond fought valiantly, taking a returning national finalist into sudden victory, where he ultimately conceded the decisive takedown.

Two-time national champion Keegan O’Toole clinched a sudden-victory win in the highlight match of the night. An overtime scramble led him to victory over 2024 157-pound National Champion Levi Haines from Penn State. This marked the Tigers’ first victory of the dual. Hawks put up a good fight at 184 pounds against four-time national champion Carter Starocci, but ultimately fell in that match.

The dual showcased an additional match at the end, featuring Mizzou’s Luqman Masud against Penn State’s Kurt McHenry. McHenry emerged victorious in the exhibition bout.

Match Notes

• The defeat advances the Tigers’ all-time record against Penn State to 2-4-1.
• Walker held the fourth position in the final High School rankings for 2023-24 in the 126-pound category, while Penn State’s Luke Lilledahl was ranked first.
• In the 141-pound match, Edmond recorded his third overtime match of the season, marking his fourth bout against a former NCAA All-American.
• The faceoff between O’Toole and Haines at 174 pounds featured two national champions. O’Toole secured national titles in 2022 and 2023 at 165 pounds, and Haines at 157 pounds in 2024.
• Haines and O’Toole previously competed at the 2024 World Team Trials, where Haines emerged victorious in Freestyle competition.
• Masud marked his first dual experience in his exhibition bout against McHenry.

UP NEXT

The Tigers will return home to host Cornell at the Beauty and the Beast event.

event along with Gymnastics scheduled for Jan. 3, 2025. This occasion will occur at the Hearnes Center, with activities commencing at 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here.

FOLLOW THE TIGERS

Check out MUTigers.com for the most recent updates on everything Mizzou Wrestling. You may also connect with the Tigers on social platforms by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter and Instagram.

Complete List of Results

No. 16 Missouri 19, No. 20 Little Rock 24

125 | Gage Walker (MIZ) defeated Tyson Roach (Little Rock) by technical fall, 17-2 (6:31)

133 | (5) Nasir Bailey (Little Rock) defeated Kade Moore (MIZ) by major decision, 11-2

141 | (16) Josh Edmond (MIZ) defeated Jayden Gomez (Little Rock) by decision, 8-1 SV1

149 | (16) Jordan Williams defeated Zeke Seltzer (MIZ) (Little Rock) by technical fall, 20-5 (7:00)

157 | (20) Matt Bianchi (Little Rock) defeated (32) James Conway (MIZ) by decision, 5-2

165 | (21) Joey Bianchi (Little Rock) defeated (19) Cam Steed (MIZ) by injury default, (1:29)

174 | (1) Keegan O’Toole (MIZ) defeated (33) Tyler Brennan (Little Rock) by technical fall, 19-3 (7:00)

184 | (10) Colton Hawks (MIZ) defeated (16) Brock DelSignore (Little Rock) by decision, 7-3

197 | (5) Stephen Little (Little Rock) defeated Jesse Cassatt (MIZ) by fall, (1:18)

285 | Jarrett Stoner (MIZ) defeated Keith Miley (Little Rock) by decision, 7-4

Rankings per InterMat

No. 16 Missouri 19, Binghamton 15

125 | Gage Walker (MIZ) defeated (33) Carson Wagner (Binghamton) by decision, 8-2

133 | Micah Roes (Binghamton) defeated Kade Moore (MIZ) by decision, 7-4

141 | (16) Josh Edmond (MIZ) defeated Nate Lucier (Binghamton) by major decision, 11-3

149 | Ivan Garcia (Binghamton) defeated Zeke Seltzer (MIZ) by decision, 9-5

157 | (32) James Conway (MIZ) defeated Jordan Brown (Binghamton) by technical fall, 19-4 (7:00)

165 | Carter Baer (Binghamton) defeated Joel Mylin (MIZ) by decision, 8-2

174 | (1) Keegan O’Toole (MIZ) defeated (12) Brevin Cassella (Binghamton) by major decision, 21-8

184 | (10) Colton Hawks (MIZ) defeated (23) Will Ebert (Binghamton) by decision, 3-1

197 | Cayden Bevis (Binghamton) defeated Jesse Cassatt (MIZ) by decision, 4-1

285 | (17) Cory Day (Binghamton) defeated Jarrett Stoner (MIZ) by decision, 11-6

Rankings per InterMat

No. 16 Missouri 3, No. 1 Penn State 41

125 | (12) Luke Lilledahl (PSU) defeated Gage Walker (MIZ) by decision, 5-4

133 | (10) Braeden Davis (PSU) defeated Kade Moore (MIZ) by major decision, 14-3

141 | (3) Beau Bartlett (PSU) defeated (16) Josh Edmond (MIZ) by decision, 4-1 SV1

149 | (2) Shayne Van Ness (PSU) defeated Zeke Seltzer (MIZ) by fall, (1:57)

157 | (4) Tyler Kasak (PSU) defeated (32) James Conway (MIZ) by major decision, 11-3

165 | (1) Mitchell Messenbrink (PSU) won against Open (MIZ) by forfeit

174 | (1) Keegan O’Toole (MIZ) defeated (2) Levi Haines (PSU) by decision, 4-1 SV1

184 | (1) Carter Starocci (PSU) defeated (10) Colton Hawks (MIZ) by major decision, 10-1

197 | (7) Josh Barr (PSU) defeated Jesse Cassatt (MIZ) by fall, (1:45)

285 | (2) Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) defeated Jarrett Stoner (MIZ) by technical fall, 15-0 (5:57)

*125 | Kurt McHenry (PSU) defeated Luqman Masud (MIZ) by technical fall, 18-1 (5:43)

Rankings per InterMat

*Exhibition match not counted in final dual outcome