CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State University wrestling team opens up a three-match road trip with a pair of duals in the Central time zone this weekend.
The Vikings will travel to SIU Edwardsville Friday, Jan. 24, before facing Missouri Saturday, Jan. 25. Friday's dual will begin at 7:00 p.m. Eastern and can be viewed on ESPN+. Saturday's dual will begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of Missouri's dual with Northern Illinois, which will commence at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. The dual against the Tigers will be available to watch on ESPN3.
The Vikings are in the midst of a stretch of seven consecutive Mid-American Conference duals that started last weekend. CSU dropped a tight 19-13 matchup to Ohio last weekend, where the Vikings would have won the dual if they had flipped either one of a pair of one-point losses.
Redshirt senior Evan Cheek claimed a big win in the dual against the Bobcats, topping a top-15 foe by a 10-3 decision at 141 pounds. In doing so, Cheek claimed his team-leading 27th win of the season and moved up into the top 15 in Intermat's weekly rankings this week.
True freshman Logan Heil (125), redshirt senior Justin Patrick (133) and redshirt freshman Riley Smucker (165) added wins against the Bobcats, with Patrick's being of the major decision variety. Heil and Smucker remain tied for third on the team in wins with 17, two behind 197-pounder Ben Smith.
SIUE owns a 1-8 record on the season and an 0-5 mark in MAC duals with their lone win coming against West Liberty. The Cougars were most recently in action last weekend when they dropped a 25-15 decision to Central Michigan, who has received votes in the national polls this season. Sophomore Colton McKiernan was listed third in the most recent MAC rankings at heavyweight. Sophomore Justin Ruffin leads the team with 17 wins at 157 pounds and, along with redshirt senior Tyshawn Williams at 149, was listed fifth in the most recent conference rankings.
Cleveland State is 3-1 all-time against SIUE with the Vikings dropping the most recent meeting by the slimmest of margins, 21-20, in December 2017. All four meetings between the schools have taken place on neutral ground. However, CSU did compete in the Cougar Clash, a tournament hosted by SIUE, last season. Senior Collin Kelly is the only active Viking to own a win against the Cougars in dual action.
Missouri is 8-5 in dual action and 5-0 in MAC action as the seven-time defending MAC champions are listed among the nation's top-25. The Tigers have wrestlers listed in the MAC rankings in nine of the 10 weight classes. Sophomore Brock Mauller headlines the list as a returning All-American at 149 pounds while sophomore Jarrett Jacques (157) and redshirt senior Dylan Wisman (184) are both defending MAC champions. Cheek is also likely to face another top foe as Missouri's Grant Leeth is within the top 20 in multiple publications.
This will be the first-ever dual meeting between Cleveland State and Missouri.
Cleveland State will conclude their road trip next weekend by making the short trip to Kent State before returning home Sunday, Feb. 2, to welcome Central Michigan.
