The Missouri wrestling team set out this season to be the top non-Big 10 team in the country. After the NCAA-emblazoned mats were cleared out of Madison Square Garden, Missouri Tigers fell short of that goal.
As the No. 6 team in the country and nine wrestlers in the national tournament, expectations were high. Two days of wrestling left the team with one national champion and four All-Americans.
Their 74.5 team points gave the Tigers a sixth place overall finish in the team standings, two spots lower than last season. While there were some bright spots for the Tigers, five of the Missouri’s wrestlers suffered a loss at the national tournament to opponents they beat this season
####Riding High
J’den Cox, the Tigers’ 197-pounder, contributed the most points for Missouri, scoring 25 points en route to his second national title. Penn State’s Zain Retherford was the only other wrestler in the entire tournament to score more team points than Cox, scoring 28.5.
Cox wasn’t nominated for the Hodge Trophy, an award given to the best collegiate wrestler. He was disqualified earlier this season against Ohio’s Phil Wellington after driving him into a media table. All four nominees for the award were undefeated national champions this season.
Cox, a junior, is already looking toward next year and setting goals for his senior season.
“Next year I want to dominate the NCAAs and win the Hodge Award,” he said after winning the title. “Be a part of of something special and be recognized as the best.”
Redshirt sophomore and 184-pounder Willie Miklus went on a run in the tournament. Starting at the 14th seed, Miklus finished sixth and took home All-American honors for the second time in his college career. Miklus reached the semifinals, but fell to Nebraska’s Tim Dudley, whom he’d beaten twice before.
Redshirt freshman Daniel Lewis became Mizzou’s third straight freshman to reach All-America status. Lewis was seeded fourth at 165 pounds, and finished fourth. Lewis was defeated in the semifinals by three-time national champion Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State.
Lavion Mayes was one of two wrestlers on the Tigers’ roster who entered the tournament seeded third.
In Mayes’ match and at the NCAA’s, reviews played a key role. Two of those takedowns occurred in the final seconds of Mayes’ quarterfinal match and if the takedowns had been awarded, both wrestlers would have won their matches.
The redshirt junior finished in the same place at 149 pounds and earned All-American honors. Mayes was knocked out of championship contention by Oklahoma State’s Anthony Collica. Mayes beat Collica later on to win third.
####Sinking Low
Junior Zach Synon, junior Matt Manley and senior Le’Roy Barnes contributed zero points for the Tigers. Synon went 0–2 at 133 pounds and ended his season with four straight losses.
Manley entered as the No. 5 seed at 141 pounds, but he was limited by a lingering injury from the MAC tournament. He exited the tournament after two consecutive defeats. He’ll have surgery to repair ligaments in his right knee and is expected to be back for the Tigers next year at 141 pounds.
Barnes lost two consecutive matches to bring a quick end to his NCAA tournament experience.
Senior Blaise Butler, a 174-pounder, was upset at the start of the tournament, but he wrestled his way back to have a shot at the podium. Butler fell to Ohio’s Cody Walters, whom he defeated twice this season.
McGhee was seeded eighth at 125 pounds and was defeated by UNI’s Dylan Peters 3-2. McGhee dominated Peters in the MAC conference finals, yet Peters finished sixth at this year’s national tournament. McGhee, a sophomore, will return next season at 125 pounds for the Tigers.
“We have some work to do for next year, setting the bar even higher than this year,” Lewis said after his match. “This tournament was a grind the whole way through, as a team, we want to be right up there on top next year, receiving a team trophy.”