By Mike Finn, W.I.N. Editor

There were tears in the eyes of Ben Askren shortly after the Missouri senior won his second NCAA championship, March 17, in Auburn Hills, Mich.

But they were not tears of joy.

The native of Hartland, Wisc., was not happy that he had to rally to beat Pittsburgh’s Keith Gavin, 8-2. He also was still upset that his younger brother, freshman Max Askren, the No. 1 seed at 197 pounds, lost both of this matches in The Palace.

“He should be up there,” said Ben with his voice cracking as he pointed to the television in the interview room that was airing the 197-pound championship match between American’s Josh Glenn and Iowa State’s Kurt Backes. “The whole family was upset about it. We know that Max deserves (the championship).

“Max always seems to take things better than I did. I’m taking it hard right now and I know Max has gotten over it already. That’s the kind of kid he is. He’s going to keep working hard. He will come back hard and I expect him to win it next year.”

Ben Askren’s emotional side, a sharp contrast to the smiles he usually displays during his Tiger career — especially the past two years when he won 87 consecutive matches — is nothing new to his coach Brian Smith, who sat matside for the last time when the older Askren scored a funky takedown and three-point near fall with 1:28 left to preserve his second NCAA title.

“He has this out-going personality and is fun-loving but he’s also very emotional and caring,” said Smith. “Fans don’t always see that side of Ben.

“He is very emotional. I had to sit with him in the hallways for an hour and a half, when the kid just balled in losing two matches his freshman and sophomore seasons (to former Oklahoma State national champ Chris Pendleton). It just broke his heart. The kid never thinks he should lose.

“I saw him break down two nights ago when his brother lost. I was worried because I know how emotional Ben is. I’ve seen him cry in the room at times when he was younger because he would get so frustrated if he wasn’t winning. He’s so competitive and I know how hurt he feels for his teammates like Raymond Jordan, his brother and guys he has been working with.”

For the most part, Ben Askren ended his career as he hoped with a 153-8 record, 91 pins — after flattening UT-Chattanooga’s Lloyd Rogers, Minnesota’s Gabe Dretsch and Columbia’s Matt Palmer in Auburn Hills — and four appearances in the national championship match.
“I expected to be a four-time national champ and won two, but I can’t look back and say, ‘I had any regrets,’ except maybe tonight,” said Askren, who was not happy that he fell behind Gavin, 2-0, when the Panther caught him on an inside trip in the first period.

But even then, neither Askren nor his coach was worried.

“He looked over to me and said, ‘I’m O.K.,” said Smith.

“I know I have a big gas tank and if I don’t score big early I can always fall back on my conditioning,” Askren said. “I heard (Gavin) starting to breathe really hard and I knew I was going to get him sooner or later.”

That happened after he first shot for Gavin’s left leg, rolled around with the Panther for about 20 seconds and eventually came out on top while Gavin laid on his back.

“What happened is I got into a high crotch, tried changing off and what he tried to do is catch my leg,” Askren said. “It’s kind of an original kind of funk when it came about in the past. It’s the most basic and everyone thinks it’s easily countered now.  It’s not done by a lot of people because they don’t know it.”

So how does Askren, who learned he was awarded the Dan Hodge Trophy a second time after the match, want to be remembered.

“Hopefully, people will remember me and inspire others to do what I did,” he said. “Go out there and do their best and have fun. That’s what it’s all about. If you spend all your time worried about winning and losing and the little things, that’s no fun.”

Ben Askren’s college career at Missouri sure was.

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