Mizzou wrestling will travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa, for a Big 12 dual against No. 15 Northern Iowa on Sunday, Dec. 14. The match will take place at the McLeod Center and is set to begin at 1 p.m. CT, with live streaming available on FloWrestling.
The Tigers enter the weekend ranked No. 14 in the NWCA Coaches Poll and hold a season record of 6-5. In their most recent competition at the Journeymen Duals’ Hustle in the Heartland, Missouri shut out LIU with a score of 42-0 before falling to No. 6 Nebraska, 27-10. The win over LIU marked Missouri’s first shutout against a Division I opponent since January 2024.
During that event, seven bonus-point victories were recorded by Missouri wrestlers—more than in any other Division I dual this season for the team. Redshirt senior Josh Edmond secured his fourth bonus-point win of the season at 149 pounds with a major decision over Scott Robertson of Nebraska. Evan Bates, also a redshirt senior, achieved an upset over No. 10 Camden McDanel and avenged a previous Big Ten Championship loss from when he competed for Northwestern.
Redshirt freshman Aeoden Sinclair continues to perform strongly this season after defeating No. 8 Silas Allred for his sixth win over a ranked opponent.
At the Cougar Clash on Dec. 7, nine Tigers placed in the top eight within their weight classes and accumulated a total of 135 points as a team. Easton Hilton earned an upset victory at 141 pounds over Illinois’ Danny Pucino but fell in the final to Northern Iowa’s Cory Land.
Several freshmen contributed notable performances recently; Danny Heiser won his first college dual at Hustle in the Heartland with a technical fall, while Hank Benter collected his first collegiate victory during Cougar Clash and placed eighth overall in his bracket.
Currently, Aeoden Sinclair is ranked second nationally at 184 pounds—the highest individual ranking among Missouri wrestlers this season—while Evan Bates (197) and Cam Steed (174) have each moved up one spot to No. 16 and No. 11 respectively.
Jarrett Stoner leads Mizzou in wins so far this season with fourteen; Sinclair and Bates follow closely behind with thirteen apiece.
Sunday’s matchup will mark the fortieth meeting between Missouri and Northern Iowa programs; UNI holds an overall series lead of twenty-two wins to seventeen but under Head Coach Brian Smith (1998-present), Missouri has posted twelve victories against UNI’s Panthers—including five on UNI’s home turf.
In their last meeting on November 26, 2024, Missouri lost to Northern Iowa during a conference matchup held in Hartland, Wisconsin; Mizzou picked up individual wins from Gage Walker (125 lbs), Logan Gioffre (149 lbs), and Keegan O’Toole (174 lbs).
Following Sunday’s dual meet against Northern Iowa, Missouri will break for holidays before resuming competition at Soldier Salute in Coralville, Iowa on Jan. 3-4.