COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Wrestling, ranked No. 5 in the NWCA Division I Coaches Poll, opened the 2016-17 season with its annual Black and Gold dual at the Hearnes Center on Thursday. The Gold team, led by senior 197-pounder J'den Cox (Columbia, Mo.), emerged victorious, defeating the Black team, 27-21. Cox and redshirt junior 184-pounder Willie Miklus (Altoona, Iowa) both earned wins by technical fall in the exhibition dual.
Redshirt senior 141-pounder Matt Manley (Perry, Okla.) shined in his return to the mat after suffering a knee injury near the end of last season. Manley wasted no time in his return, scoring a takedown in the first period and eventually winning his match, 5-4. Freshman 174-pounder Canten Marriott (Excelsior Springs, Mo.) put on a show in his Tiger debut with an impressive 11-2 major decision victory. The win gave the Gold team a 16-9 lead after eight matches.
Sophomore 165-pounder Connor Flynn (Dardenne Prairie, Mo.) followed Marriott with an equally dynamic 14-3 major decision victory. This was Flynn's first appearance as a Tiger after transferring from West Virginia. Flynn's major decision victory helped the black team cut into the gold team's lead with just five matches remaining.
After a victory by the gold team pushed the lead to 19-13, Miklus dominated his match, winning via technical fall, 15-0, in the third period. Miklus used a pair of second period four-point near falls to give the black team five points, cutting the lead to just one, at 19-18.
Cox, a two-time NCAA Champion, continued right where he left off a season ago, taking his match 20-5 by technical fall. Cox used a multitude of takedowns and a four-point near fall to secure the win in his first match back since winning the Olympic bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Redshirt freshman heavyweight Austin Myers (Alexandria, Ky.) secured a victory in his match by a final score of 6-2. This was Myers' first opportunity to wrestle for Mizzou after he was redshirted last season at West Virginia. The win cut the lead to 24-21, but the Gold team won the final match to secure the 27-21 dual win.
Mizzou will officially kick off the regular season with a road MAC dual against Old Dominion on Sunday, Nov. 13. The Tigers will open its home schedule against No. 2 Virginia Tech on Sunday, Nov. 20 at Jesse Auditorum.
For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouWrestling).
Match-by-Match Results
John Erneste (Gold) dec. Chase Brennan (Black): 5-2
Nick Nasenbeny (Black) dec. Kevin Kissane (Gold): 4-3
Matt Manley (Gold) dec. Alex Butler (Black): 5-4
Zach Synon (Black) dec. Will Roark (Gold): 3-1
Keegan McCormick (Black) dec. Blake Pepper (Gold): 6-3
Phyllip DeLoach (Gold) dec. Luke Fortuna (Black): 6-2
Ethan Karsten (Gold) dec. Sean Hosford (Black): 4-0
Dylan Wisman (Gold) dec. Taylor Watkins (Black): 8-4
Canten Marriott (Gold) md Jon Goerke (Black): 11-2
Connor Flynn (Black) md Matt Striegel (Gold): 14-3
Willie Miklus (Black) tf Wyatt Koelling (Gold): 15-0 (5:28)
J'den Cox (Gold) tf Jake Bohlken (Black): 20-5 (7:00)
Austin Myers (Black) dec. James Romero (Gold): 7-2
Dante Jiovenetta (Gold) dec. Rodrigo Diaz (Black): 10-5
