The weekend of Feb. 19 was quite a busy one for Missouri athletics. Every team from baseball to swimming and diving made headlines, so here are five quick thoughts on the weekend:
**1.** A lot can be said about the current state of the Mizzou wrestling team — which pulled off a nice finish to beat Nebraska on Sunday — but what about J’Den Cox? The junior from Hickman High School became the fastest Mizzou wrestler to ever grab 100 victories. Only 24 have done it and it’s something that speaks to what he can ultimately accomplish under coach Brian Smith.
**2.** Another big No. 100 milestone happened this weekend, when the Missouri women’s basketball team traveled down south to Auburn in hopes of leading coach Robin Pingeton to her 100th victory. Missouri won handily, and in the process, junior forward Jordan Frericks became the 33rd member of the team to join the 1,000-point club.
Can we talk about the Mizzou women’s basketball team for a second? Right now, Mizzou is 21-6, and they’ve won eight games in conference play — the most since joining the SEC and the most since winning 10 in the 2005-06 season. Freshman guard Sophie Cunningham scored 24 on Sunday and leads the team in scoring. With her play and the experience around her, this team will certainly be a threat come March.
**3.** Y’all know that Florida swimmer Caeleb Dressel set two American world records at Mizzou’s pool Saturday night, right? In a preliminary round, Dressel swam the 50-yard freestyle in 18.23. Then, Saturday night, in the 100-yard freestyle final of the Southeastern Conference Championships hosted here at MizzouRec, Dressel snuck under American record at 41.07.
Tonight, @FloridaGators' Caeleb Dressel set the SEC & USA 100 Free record with a time of 41.07. #SECSD16https://t.co/SYVlWYiptH
— SEC (@SEC) February 21, 2016
Both Mizzou teams finished fifth in the SEC Championships, a place coach Greg Rhodenbaugh was happy with. But another thing that was cool were the turnouts. Fans flocked to the recreation center to watch the high-diving competitions, and with TV trucks outside and the buzz inside, the championships were a great thing for the university.
**4.** In baseball news, Reggie McClain took the mound on opening day for the Missouri baseball team, and the Tigers opened up the season beating Seton Hall 7-0. But though there were some positive signs over the weekend, a 2-2 split with Seton Hall isn’t what Mizzou was looking for.
After missing the tournament last year, coach Tim Jamieson and his Tigers need to get things together as they head into this season and the gauntlet that is the SEC.
**5.** Then, in Arkansas, the Missouri men’s basketball team looked to maintain their two-game win streak — something that seemed unfeasible weeks ago. Mizzou lost to Arkansas, but let’s talk about Ryan Rosburg. The 6-foot-10 senior center from Marquette High School in St. Louis has shot 67 percent from the floor over the last five games, including a 5-7 outing Saturday.
In the same sense that Kobe Bryant and Derek Jeter did victory tours during their retirement, that’s what this is for Rosburg. Four years — four long years — and with only four games left in his college career, he’s trying to make the most of it.
**Other notes**
—Missouri softball opened the season 6-0 after coach Ehren Earleywine was suspended the opening game for a third-degree NCAA violation.
—Missouri’s women’s tennis team went 4-0 this weekend beating Savannah State, Mercer, Furman and South Carolina Upstate. They begin conference play March 3 at South Carolina.