3 Missouri wrestlers earn All-American honors at NCAA Wrestling Championships
Keegan O’Toole’s bid for a third straight national title fell a couple places short.
The Missouri wrestling star, who won both of the past two national titles at 165 pounds, lost an 8-6 decision to Iowa State’s David Carr, the No. 4 seed, in the semifinals of the NCAA Wrestling Championships on Friday night in Kansas City, ending O’Toole’s bid to become the first MU wrestler to win three national titles since Hickman High star J’den Cox.
O’Toole rebounded with a pair of wins in the consolation bracket Saturday to take third place and earn All-American honors. He is joined as an All-American by teammates Rocky and Zach Elam, who are brothers from Kansas City. Missouri was in 11th place in the team standings after Saturday morning’s action ended, with the title bouts still to come.
O’Toole, the top seed at 165, earned a technical fall win over No. 20 Hunter Garvin (Stanford) to open his Saturday matches, then defeated No. 6 Mike Caliendo (Iowa) in a 12-8 decision to take bronze.
Zach Elam, the No. 6 seed in the 285-pound bracket, was bounced from national title contention in the quarterfinals by No. 3-seeded Air Force wrestler Wyatt Hendrickson in a 8-1 decision, but defeated No. 4 Cohlton Schultz 2-0 in the consolation semifinals to advance to the third-place match. He met Hendrickson again in the consolation final, and fell in a 14-2 decision.
No. 12 Rocky Elam, like O’Toole, advanced to the 197-pound semifinals before moving to the consolation bracket after a 17-2 technical fall result against top-seeded Penn State wrestler Aaron Brooks. The Missouri wrestler also fell in the consolation semifinals with a 7-0 decision loss to South Dakota State No. 3 seed Tanner Sloan.
O’Toole and Rocky Elam are juniors and could return to Missouri next season. Zach Elam is out of eligibility.
More: How self-fulfillment made Missouri football's Eli Drinkwitz 'obsessed' to reach potential
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: 3 Missouri wrestlers earn All-American honors at NCAA Wrestling Championships
