Mizzou wrestling enters the 2023-24 campaign coming off its 20th straight winning season, eighth consecutive top-10 finish, second straight Big 12 title and a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championship tournament with 64.5 points.
Last season, five Tigers finished with All-American honors led by now two-time 165-pound national champion Keegan O’Toole.
The others included Rocky Elam (197 pounds), Brock Mauller (149), Peyton Mocco (174) and Zach Elam (285).
All five of these Tigers will return for the 2023-24 season, and this is a group that Mizzou coaches feel is destined to have a great season.
“They're a direct reflection of the culture and the culture that Coach Smith has built here," associate head coach Kendric Maple said. "This culture produces these kinds of champions, and I think it's going to be reflected, you can see it in the character of these guys."
While there is more than enough excitement surrounding the accomplished veterans on the team. The coaching staff is proud of the young talent that they have this year and look forward to seeing how they perform this season.
“We had an amazing summer and just to see some of these younger guys that are going to be in the lineup [and] how they perform when the lights are on,” Maple said.
Maple noted that the team has a “growth” mindset and is working to get better each and every day to improve on the little things. This mindset is one that O’Toole takes into his early preparation for the season.
“Just try to put money in the bank is what I say every single day. Get a little bit of work in every single day, and definitely reflect as much as I can, looking back at where I made mistakes and going forward," O'Toole said. "How can I fix them? And how can I be better? I think just the expectation of getting better each and every day. And being grateful for the opportunities that we have. We have great facilities (and) great people around us.”
O’Toole is coming off of winning back-to-back 165-pound national championships, which has inspired some of his teammates.
“My goals for the team and myself are pretty similar. (For) myself (it) is to be a national champ," Mocco said. "Being roommates with Keegan and seeing him do it twice is definitely making me more eager to want to do that myself. And then for the team, it's also to win the national title as a team, something that's never been done here for Mizzou wrestling.”
Mizzou has crowned 34 All-Americans in the past 10 seasons while maintaining a .854-win percentage in duals over that period of time.
Winning is the culture when it comes to Mizzou wrestling and the athletes know this.
“Being a Mizzou Tiger is a big part of my identity and who I am now," Mocco said. "I love representing this university and going out on the mat and kind of just giving it my all to support the Zou and giving the Zou fans the best experience that they can have.”
The Tigers enter the season with high expectations and will put them to the test this winter, beginning the season with the Tiger Invite in Kansas City on Nov. 11.
“I think expectations from an accomplishment standpoint as we want to win a national title in Kansas City, which would be awesome," O’Toole said. "But expectations every single day are we want to enjoy our time here.”
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