By Peter Terpstra 

Missouri 125-pound wrestler Alan Waters torques the knee of his Oklahoma opponent Kyle Garcia. Waters lead off the dual with a 6-3 decision over Garcia giving the Tigers the early team lead. The Missouri wrestler ranks second in the nation.

You could say two matches hold the most pressure in a wrestling dual, the first match and the last match.

For No. 5 Missouri’s dual with No. 22 Oklahoma on Saturday, the Tigers started with an elite wrestler and finished with one. Missouri won eight of 10 bouts making the final score, 26-8.

Missouri’s match-up began at 125 pounds with Tigers’ second-ranked Alan Waters. Waters beat freshman Kyle Garcia 6-3.

The Tigers would rattle off victories in seven of the next nine matches including wins at 149 and 157 pounds by Drake Houdashelt (149) and Kyle Bradley (157).

Missouri led 23-8 heading into the final match between the Tigers’ No. 1 heavyweight Dom Bradley and Oklahoma’s Keldrick Hall. Dom Bradley did not wrestle in Missouri’s dual with the Oklahoma State Cowboys just one day before, but he beat his opponent 10-4.

Dom Bradley and Waters both remain unbeaten on the season.

Results (bold indicates Missouri wrestler):

125 – No. 2 Alan Waters (19-0) decision 6-3 over Kyle Garcia (10-12)

133 – No. 6 Nathan McCormick (25-2) decision 5-2 over No. 8 Cody Brewer (18-5)

141 – No. 1 Kendrick Maple (22-0) technical fall 23-8 over Nicholas Hucke (7-9)

149 – No. 13 Drake Houdashelt (21-7) decision 3-0 over No. 11 Nick Lester (13-8)

157 – No. 20 Kyle Bradley (20-9) decision 3-2 over No. 16 Matt Lester (13-7)

165 – No. 4 Bubby Graham (19-2) decision 3-1 over No. 14 Zach Toal (18-11)

174 – No. 14 Todd Porter (24-6) major decision 10-2 over Matt Reed (12-13)

184 – No. 8 Mike Larson (22-7) major decision 9-0 over Nolan McBryde (3-8)

197 – No. 10 Brent Haynes (25-4) decision 11-5 over Brad Johnson (11-14)

HWT – No. 1 Dom Bradley (27-0) decision 10-4 over Keldrick Hall (9-13)