Mizzou Tigers have 2 NCAA All-America wrestlers as Sinclair places 3rd, Steed 5th
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- Sinclair earned third at 184 with a 17-4 major decision.
- Steed secured fifth at 174 after a semifinal loss and consolation wins.
- Mizzou was 14th Friday with 26.5 points, 3.5 behind Arizona State.
Missouri Tigers wrestlers Cam Steed and Aeoden Sinclair placed among the top six as the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships concluded Saturday in Cleveland.
Sinclair captured third place and Steed took fifth.
On Friday, both became All-Americans but saw their national-title hopes dashed. Steed and Sinclair met the All-America requirements in their respective weight classes on day two of the three-day championship event at Rocket Arena.
Here’s how it all went down:
Aeoden Sinclair places third
Sinclair, a redshirt freshman from Wisconsin who was seeded No. 2 in his first NCAA tourney appearance, faced No. 7 Angelo Ferrari of Iowa in Friday’s 184-pound quarterfinals.
It was a rematch of Sinclair’s lone loss of the season, and Ferrari beat Sinclair again, 4-1 in OT this time. That sent the Mizzou grappler into the consolation bracket, where he overcame No. 4 James Conway of Franklin & Marshall 5-2 to become an All-American for the first time.
Sinclair then proceeded to blank No. 6 Eddie Nietenbach of Wyoming 5-0 in a rematch of their recent Big 12 title showdown. And by then he was on a roll.
Next up was an 11-3 major decision over Michigan’s Brock Mantanona that moved Sinclair into the 184-pound match for third/fourth place.
Wrestling for third, Sinclair on Saturday afternoon rang up a 17-4 major-decision victory over Caleb Campos of American University.
Cam Steed places fifth
In Friday’s quarterfinals for the 174-pound weight class, No. 7-seeded Steed — a redshirt junior from Collinsville, Oklahoma— defeated No. 15 Danny Wask of Navy 5-2 in overtime.
That advanced Steed to the semifinals and guaranteed his top-six finish. It also cemented him as a two-time All-American.
But Steed’s semifinal match, against No. 3 Christopher Minto of Nebraska, didn’t go so well: Steed lost 4-1. That sent him to the consolation bracket, where he lost 5-2 to Ohio State’s Carson Kharchla in a Saturday morning matchup for third/fourth place.
Later Saturday, however, Steed beat Danny Wask of Navy 5-3 to claim fifth place.
How other Tigers fared
Among other Mizzou entrants, No. 19 Gage Walker (133 pounds) lost in the consolation bracket, ending his first NCAA appearance.
In the 197-pound weight class, No. 25 Evan Bates won one match in the consolation bracket before losing a close 5-4 battle to No. 18 Andrew Reall (Brown).
Penn State held huge lead
Mizzou finished Friday’s wrestling with 26.5 points, ranking 14th place overall. The Tigers sat just 1.5 points ahead of Illinois of the Big Ten and 3.5 behind Arizona State of the Big 12.
Big Ten and national powerhouse Penn State maintained a commanding lead over the field entering Saturday’s evening championship sessions in Cleveland. Six Nittany Lions made the championship finals.
Penn State had already racked up 153 points, well ahead of second-place Oklahoma State (111.5). The championship finals (Session VI) were to be televised on ESPN beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT Saturday.
Copyright 2026 Columbia Missourian
This story was originally published March 21, 2026 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Mizzou Tigers have 2 NCAA All-America wrestlers as Sinclair places 3rd, Steed 5th."