COLUMBIA, Mo. - SIUE's Ryan Yarnell needed a takedown to win his match Sunday and picked up the Cougars' points in a 35-3 dual meet loss to sixth-ranked Missouri.
"He wrestled well," said SIUE Head Coach Jeremy Spates. "He took the lead early and then got down. He needed a takedown to win and went out and got it. That was a nice win for him."
Yarnell edged Missouri's Colton Hawks 5-4 at 184 pounds in a matchup between two St. Louis area wrestlers. Yarnell went to Windsor High School while Hawks attended Wentzville Holt.
"It's always fun to wrestle someone you competed against in high school later on in college," added Spates.
Six of the matches in the dual against Missouri were decided by two or fewer points. Saul Ervin, the reigning Mid-American Conference Wrestler of the Week, was defeated in overtime by Allan Hart at 141 points. Missouri's Zach Elam topped Colton McKiernan in the heavyweight match in overtime as well.
"We came to compete," said Spates. "There was a lot of fight in a lot of the matches, but unfortunately we were fighting on the defensive end than the offensive end. And that was a difference in a lot of the matches."
SIUE finished the regular season 3-7 overall and 1-6 in the MAC. Mizzou is now 10-0 and 4-0 in the MAC.
Spates said the Cougars are in good position for the MAC Championships Feb. 26-27 in Trenton, New Jersey, where Rider will be the host institution.
"We have to work on some technical things," said Spates. "Our shape was good. We have to work on staying healthy and having the right mentality. If we have the right mentality going into the conference, we're going to really surprise some people."
Missouri 35 SIUE 3
125: Connor Brown (Missouri) over Austin Macias (SIUE), MD 8-0
133: Matt Schmitt (Missouri) won by forfeit
141: Allan Hart (Missouri) over Saul Ervin (SIUE), SV-1 4-2
149: Brock Mauller (Missouri) over Cardeionte Wilson (SIUE), Dec 2-0
157: Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) over Justin Ruffin (SIUE), Dec 4-3
165: Keegan O`Toole (Missouri) over Chase Diehl (SIUE), TF 21-6 6:33
174: Peyton Mocco (Missouri) over Kevin Gschwendtner (SIUE), Dec 9-7
184: Ryan Yarnell (SIUE) over Colton Hawks (Missouri), Dec 5-4
197: Rocky Elam (Missouri) over Austin Andres (SIUE), TF 25-10 6:37
285: Zach Elam (Missouri) over Colton McKiernan (SIUE), SV-1 6-4
125 Extra: Noah Surtin (Missouri) over Tommy Dineen (SIUE), TF 19-2 6:36
184 Extra: Sergio Villalobos (SIUE) over Jake Raschka (Missouri), TF 15-0 5:00
197 Extra: Canten Marriott (Missouri) over Austin Cooley (SIUE), MD 15-1
285 Extra: Wyatt Koelling (Missouri) over Aric Bohn (SIUE), Dec 4-0
285 Extra: Rodrigo Diaz (Missouri) over Tommy Helton (SIUE), Dec 7-1
