COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri wrestling will travel to the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., for the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships beginning Thursday. The Tigers and the Kansas City Sports Commission are the hosts of this year's tournament.
The team placed fifth at the tournament last year with 64.5 points, a feat only accomplished three times before in program history. It was also Mizzou's eighth consecutive season placing in the top 10.
After the 2024 Big 12 Wrestling Championships, nine wrestlers claimed automatic bids to the championship, and a few days after the championship concluded, 133-pound redshirt freshman Kade Moore received an at-large bid. This is Missouri's fourth season producing nine or more qualifiers for the NCAA Championships.
The Elam brothers are from Kansas City, Mo., and with the Tigers hosting the tournament this year, more of their friends and family can support the team.
"I'm really excited for it," Rocky Elam said. "I know there's going to be a lot of people that are close to me out there, and that's the reason [why] I wrestle, for the people surrounding me."
However, he says the focus of this year's tournament is to ensure that the team stays present on the mat rather than getting wrapped up by the support in the stands.
"[We have to stay] focused for the days that we have," Elam said. "I'm going to have so much time to spend with my family and friends after the event, so [I have to stay] locked in for the 72 hours of the tournament."
Many wrestlers will face past opponents, including Colton Hawks, who has wrestled Iowa State senior Will Feldkamp multiple times in the past few months.
"I know that when I'm wrestling somebody specifically multiple times, it's going to be different every time," Hawks said. "They're going to be changing what they're coming out with…I just [stick] to what I do and keep going."
While Hawks attended his first national championship in 2023, he has an advantage in helping pass along advice and being a leader in the room.
"The number one takeaway I have going into a big tournament like this is every match starts 0-0," he said. "It's another wrestling mat; every mat is the exact same. There's always upsets. You [have to] look to be the best wrestler that day."
Head coach Brian Smith says that to prepare for championships with larger crowds during the season, he tells the wrestlers that every dual is a big deal. That way, when they get to the end of the season, they are not focused on the crowds, noise and the lights.
"They get to a point where they know this is how I [have] to do it," Smith said. "What I'm going to listen to, who I want to room with, who I want to warm up with. All of those things, you think, are small, but they're really important."
Smith emphasizes that having a routine is vital for the wrestlers to continue wrestling at that high level.
"We want them feeling positive and good about what they do," he said. "They write down what their identity is, what their moves are and how they need to wrestle."
Smith is looking forward to hosting the championship again because of the environment that occurs when a national tournament comes to a team's home state.
"People are best of friends, no matter what color shirt they're wearing," he said. "It's a really neat environment because it's a niche sport where these kids and families have grown up going to national tournaments.
"It's like a family reunion."
As Smith prepares for the tournament, he wants the wrestlers to focus on their abilities rather than their opponents.
He tells them, "Don't worry about what your seed is. Just take it [one] opponent at a time."
As for the medical forfeits and health of the team, Smith says that he will not be focusing on that going into the tournament.
"They know that now it's, 'You're going to wrestle if your knee's falling off,'" he said. "[They] can have pain and surgery after [the season ends.] It sounds kind of crazy warrior like, but it is at this point to go into the national tournament. Everybody from this long season has [some injury.]"
Smith is proud of what this year's team has accomplished and looks forward to what this year's national tournament has in store for each of them.
"It's not an easy thing to get ten guys to the national tournament," Smith said. "We've done it multiple times now. When I think of all the injuries and problems we've had this year to get to the point where we have 10, it's almost like, okay, that hard time paid off. Now we have an opportunity to do some great things in Kansas City."
First-Round Match-Ups
- 125 - No. 13 Noah Surtin vs. No. 20 Stevo Poulin (Northern Colorado)
- 133 - No. 26 Kade Moore vs. No. 7 Nasir Bailey (Little Rock)
- 141 - No. 21 Josh Edmond vs. No. 12 Wyatt Henson (Lock Haven)
- 149 - No. 28 Logan Gioffre vs. No. 5 Ty Watters (West Virginia)
- 157 - No. 17 Brock Mauller vs. No. 16 Teague Travis (Oklahoma State)
- 165 - No. 1 Keegan O'Toole vs. the winner of No. 33 Jack Thomsen (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 32 Jake Logan (Lehigh)
- 174 - No. 22 Peyton Mocco vs. No. 11 Austin Murphy (Campbell)
- 184 - No. 11 Colton Hawks vs. No. 22 Gavin Kane (North Carolina)
- 197 - No. 12 R. Elam vs. No. 21 Mac Stout (Pitt)
- 285 - No. 6 Zach Elam vs. No. 27 Josiah Hill (Little Rock)
Schedule
All times Central Standard Time
- Session 1 - Thursday, March 21 at 11 a.m
- Session 2 - Thursday, March 21 at 6 p.m.
- Session 3 - Friday, March 22 at 11 a.m.
- Session 4 - Friday, March 22 at 7 p.m.
- Session 5 - Saturday, March 23 at 10 a.m.
- Session 6 - Saturday, March 23 at 6 p.m.
- Visit the NCAA's website for the rest of the weekend's events.
How to Watch
All sessions will be broadcast on ESPN+. ESPN will provide 'MATCAST' on ESPN+ to show multi-boxes of each mat and have the option to stream single shots on specific mats.
More must-reads: