Mizzou Central

Every Missouri Tiger Wrestler Who is Ranked in Intermat's Top 25

No. 13 Missouri is 1-1 at the beginning of the season and is looking to improve with both new and returning wrestlers.

Izabelle Cool

Missouri's Rocky Elam has his hand raised after his match at 197 pounds in the quarterfinals during the third session of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Friday, March 17, 2023, at BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. 230317 Ncaa S3 Wr 050 Jpg
Missouri's Rocky Elam has his hand raised after his match at 197 pounds in the quarterfinals during the third session of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Friday, March 17, 2023, at BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. 230317 Ncaa S3 Wr 050 Jpg / Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

No. 13 Missouri is 1-1 in the 2024-25 season. The team stays in thirteenth place in the InterMat rankings after falling to Virginia Tech 23-10 on Nov. 15. Many of the Tiger's starting 10 are new faces for fans, some new to the team and others just becoming starters.

Missouri finished the 2023-24 season 10-4 with a 6-3 record in the Big 12 Conference. The Tigers placed fourth at the 2024 Big 12 Wrestling Championship, snapping their 12-straight conference win streak, and 11th at the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships.

InterMat also updated individual wrestling rankings after duals finished for the week on Sunday, and nine Tigers were ranked in their respective weight classes.

This article will provide a comprehensive guide to the wrestlers and their achievements before and during their time so far with Missouri.

"We're young. We're like half and half team. We have a lot of young guys starting and yet a lot of experience with the other half of the team."

- Head coach Brian Smith

125 pounds

No. 11 Noah Surtin
Redshirt senior Surtin has yet to compete in his sixth season with the Tigers as he continues to care for an injury that happened before the season. Freshman Gage Walker will continue to be Missouri's starter at 125 pounds until Surtin is fully healed. Surtin placed sixth in the 2024 Big 12 Wrestling Championship at 125 pounds after medically forfeiting during Session III.

Surtin has been an NCAA Wrestling Championships qualifier every season with Missouri except his redshirt season. During his redshirt sophomore season, he was second in the Big 12 Wrestling Championship at 125 pounds. He also received the Ben Askren Most Fall Award and led the Tigers with 14 bonus-point victories, including four major decisions, three technical falls and seven falls.

Surtin has not won the Big 12 Wrestling Championship or NCAA individual titles during his time with the Tigers but looks to change that this season.

133 pounds

No. 30 Kade Moore
Redshirt sophomore Moore is 2-3 in the 2024-25 season. He finished his redshirt freshman season as the 133-pound starter with an 11-7 record and a 6-1 record in duals. He was a 2024 NCAA Qualifier after receiving a bid after the conclusion of the 2024 Big 12 Wrestling Championship.

During his high school career, he became the fastest wrestler to get a pin at the Texas State Finals. He was also a two-time Texas State Champion with a 139-16 overall record during his senior season.

141 pounds

No. 18 Josh Edmond
Redshirt junior Edmond is 3-2 on the season and was previously ranked at No. 13 before dropping his match to No. 18 Virginia Tech graduate Sam Latona, 4-2. Edmond finished last season 18-10 and placed third at the 2024 Big 12 Wrestling Championship but did not place at the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships.

He received the Tiger Style Most Improved Wrestler Award last season and registered his first career victory by fall at the Big 12 Championship, pinning Darren Green of Cal Baptist in 3:29.

149 pounds

No. 24 Logan Gioffre
Redshirt junior Gioffre is 4-2 in the 2024-25 season. He has been with the Tigers since transferring from Cal Poly in 2021 but only became a starter during the 2023-24 season. He became a first-time NCAA Qualifier after placing sixth at the 2024 Big 12 Championship.

165 pounds

No. 15 Cam Steed
Redshirt sophomore Steed is 5-0 this season after going 7-1 last season. Because of his offense, he became a dominant Missouri wrestler known for his quick feet and hands against opponents. Before coming to Missouri, he was a four-time Oklahoma State Champion and the Tulsa World Wrestler of the Year at 152 pounds.

174 pounds

No. 1 Keegan O'Toole
Senior O'Toole is in his first season wrestling at 174 pounds for the Tigers and is 6-0 this season. He has been at the 165 pound weight class for the last four years, where he took home first at the 2021,2022, and 2024 Big 12 Wrestling Championships. He also placed first at the 2022 and 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships. He is a four-time NCAA All-American and qualifier.

O'Toole is one of four Tigers to have at least three wins by fall in the NCAA Tournament, joining Ben Askren, Daniel Lewis and Matt Pell. He also joined Askren as the only two wrestlers in program history to finish in the top three in four consecutive NCAA Championship appearances.

184 pounds

No. 11 Colton Hawks
Redshirt junior Hawks is 5-0 this season and was named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week on Nov. 20 after his upset win, 8-2, over No. 5 Virginia Tech redshirt sophomore TJ Stewart Jr. Hawks placed fifth at the 2024 Big 12 Wrestling Championship and was an NCAA Qualifier in 2023 and 2024 but did not place at either. His most notable win of the 2023-24 season was over 2024 Big Ten Champion and NCAA All-American Isaiah Salazar of Minnesota, 11-5 at the Cougar Clash.

197 pounds

No. 4 Rocky Elam
Senior Elam, like Surtin, has not competed this season as he continues to recover from a previous injury. He is a four-time NCAA All-American and has placed in each NCAA Wrestling Championship he attended: fifth in 2021, fourth in 2022, third in 2023, and sixth in 2024.

He finished the 2023-24 season 14-6 and placed second at the 2024 Big 12 Wrestling Championship. In 2021, he was the MAC Champion at 197 pounds; in 2023, he was the Big 12 Champion at 197 pounds. In the summer of 2021, he qualified for the UWW Junior World Championships at 92 kg and became the 92 kg champion in his freshman year.

285 pounds

No. 21 Seth Nitzel
Redshirt junior Nitzel is starting his first season for Missouri at 285 pounds and currently has a record of 3-2. During his redshirt season (2023-24), he won championships at both the Bongo Bayly Open and the Missouri Valley Open, securing four wins by pinfall in those tournaments. In his junior season, he had a 12-6 record and triumphed in the Lindenwood Open and UNI Open, with perfect records of 3-0 at both. At the UNI Open, he won all three matches by major decision.

"Noah will be back in a couple of weeks, for sure. He just started wrestling back in the room, and Rocky is drilling again but hasn't gone live yet, so they'll both be back. I look at it in our sport; it's important to have them healthy at the end of the year. So we got to get them to where they're feeling good and ready to rock."

- Head coach Brian Smith on injuries

Up Next

The Tigers will head to No. 16 Illinois on Thursday, Nov. 21. The dual will begin at 7 p.m. and be streamed on Big 10+.

Published
Izabelle Cool
IZABELLE COOL

Izabelle is a senior at the University of Missouri studying Sports Broadcast Journalism and Sociology. She's from Kansas City, Mo., and has covered wrestling for MizzouCentral since 2023. Previously, she covered wrestling, soccer, and tennis for the student newspaper The Maneater.

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