No. 7 Cyclone Wrestlers Fall to No. 10 Missouri, 16-15

AMES, Iowa - Former Big 12 champion Jeff Foust scored a takedown with nine seconds left in the day's final match to beat upset-minded Joe Curran, 8-7 in their 197-pound match to give No. 10 Missouri a 16-15 win over No. 7 Iowa State Sunday afternoon in Hilton Coliseum. The Tigers (10-4-1, 2-2) defeated the Cyclones (11-6, 1-2) for just the fourth time in 46 meetings and the second time this season.

"We came close but Joe has made a world of progress," head coach Bobby Douglas said. "In the third period he could have stalled his way through the match but got countered while taking another shot. That is the only way you can get better in the long run."

Curran, who last won by fall at the Virginia Tech dual, was aggressive as the freshman opened the third period with an escape and takedown.

"I wanted to be aggressive," said Curran, who built a 6-3 lead midway through the third period. "I wanted to get another takedown and I had one for just a moment. But (Foust) countered it and got the big points."

Heavyweight Richard Schopf opened up the dual with a 4-2 decision over freshman Sean Connole. Schopf, who blanked Connole in January, 11-0, moves to 4-12 on the season.

After dropping 125 and 133 pounds, the Cyclones won three consecutive weight classes beginning with 141 pounds. Top-ranked Nate Gallick moved into a tie for 28th place with former Iowa State two-time NCAA champion Eric Voelker in ISU's career win list (101) with an 8-2 decision over Chris McCormick. Gallick (27-0) was on the offensive as McCormick was tagged for stalling four times.

"I was working to score more points," Gallick said. "You can't go out and try to hang on for a win, you must be aggressive."

Jason Knipp, who scored an upset against Penn State's 11th ranked James Woodall at 149 pounds last weekend, picked up his 16th win of the season with a 5-1 victory over Marcus Hoehn at 149 pounds. Knipp scored a second-period three-point nearfall to clinch the match.

Third-ranked Trent Paulson improved to 21-1 on the season with a 10-3 decision over Michael Chandler at 157 pounds. The pair exchanged reversals in the second period but Paulson posted two third-period takedowns. Paulson defeated Chandler at National Duals in January, 5-2.

In a battle of two wrestlers ranked in the top-10 at 165 pounds, Missouri's All-American Matt Pell prevailed over ISU's All-American Travis Paulson. Pell, who has defeated 10 nationally ranked opponents and only lost to Michigan's Ryan Churella and Oklahoma State's Johny Hendricks, scored an early first-period takedown and another takedown as time expired in the match to win, 6-2.

After earning Big 12 Wrestler of the Week honors for the first time in his career following a major decision over top-ranked Eric Bradley from Penn State, All-American Kurt Backes decisioned Missouri's No. 15 Raymond Jordan at 184 pounds, 2-0. The 2005 Big 12 champion moved to 3-0 against conference competition and 17-5 overall.

The Cyclones conclude the Big 12 schedule by hosting fourth-ranked Nebraska next Sunday. The match will be contested simultaneously in Hilton Coliseum with the ISU-Nebraska gymnastics meet.

HWT - Richard Schopf (ISU) dec. Sean Connole, 4-2
125 - Austin DeVoe dec. Ben Hanisch (ISU), 1-0
133 - Tyler McCormick dec. Jesse Sundell (ISU), 7-3
141 - Nate Gallick (ISU) dec. Chris McCormick, 8-2
149 - Jason Knipp (ISU) dec. Marcus Hoehn, 5-1
157 - Trent Paulson (ISU) dec. Michael Chandler, 10-3
165 - Matt Pell dec. Travis Paulson (ISU), 6-2
174 - Ben Askren maj. dec. David Bertolino (ISU), 16-5
184 - Kurt Backes (ISU) dec. Raymond Jordan, 2-0
197 - Jeff Foust dec. Joe Curran (ISU), 8-7

No. 7 Cyclone Wrestlers Fall to No. 10 Missouri, 16-15

Players Mentioned

Kurt Backes

David Bertolino

Joe Curran

Ben Hanisch

Travis Paulson

Trent Paulson

Richard Schopf

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics

No. 7 Cyclone Wrestlers Fall to No. 10 Missouri, 16-15

Players Mentioned

Kurt Backes

David Bertolino

Joe Curran

Ben Hanisch

Travis Paulson

Trent Paulson

Richard Schopf

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