(MARSHALL, Mo.) — The Central Missouri Mules wrestling team placed three wrestlers at the Missouri Valley Invitational on Saturday in Marshall, Mo. Hunter Neighbors (133) and Eric Mateo (141) both placed third, while Brennan Johnson (157) took fifth. As a team they placed seventh out of eighteen.
Neighbors started the day with a rematch against Truman’s Rafel Lopez, Neighbors pinned Lopez in 4:55. Neighbors then fell to Angelo Crinzi of Grand View University in a 6-2 decision. In his third match of the evening, Neighbors pinned Nathan Garcia from Baker, in 1:38, followed by a 13-0 major decision win over Clifford Ikenberry Briar Cliff University.
Neighbors won his final two matches of the evening, first with a win by fall in 1:26 over Andrew Tillman of the Unversity of the Cumberland and then with a 9-0 major decision win in his second match against Crinzi.
Mateo won his first match with a 10-3 decision over James Landoll of Oklahoma City University, and then fell in a 2-0 decision to Brian Bitney of Missouri Valley. Mateo then had back-to-back pins over Mark Smith from Truman and Keygan Foster of Maryville University in 2:03 and 2:00 respectively. He beat Joao Vicente of William Patterson University with a 6-4 decision, before finishing out the day with a 12-4 major decision win over Walker Marshall from Grand View University.
Johnson won by injury default, and then got a forfeit. He was defeated in back-to-back matches by Dallas Houchins from Grand View University with a 4-0 decision, and Colton Schmitz from Truman with a 9-2 decision. Johnson finished the day with a 5-3 decision over Christia Loges.
The Mules have three duals next week. First they will host Lindenwood in Warrensburg at the UCM Multipurpose Building beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday the team will travel to Little Rock, Ark. for a dual against Arkansas Baptist, and Saturday they will take on Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia, Ark.