Cox Named USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week
4/12/2016 3:04:00 PM | Wrestling
Cox earned spot on Team USA with Olympic Team Trials Championship on Sunday
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After qualifying for Team USA following a U.S. Olympic Team Trials Championships, junior J'den Cox (Columbia, Mo.) was named USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week, announced by the organization on Tuesday. The award is the second time Cox has been named National Athlete of the Week after being given the honor on Feb. 25, 2015 after at 3-0 record at the 2015 National Duals.
Cox won the 86 kg weight class championship as the No. 9 seed on Sunday in Iowa City, Iowa, to qualify for the national team, outlasting former Cornell standout and four-time NCAA Champion Kyle Dake in the best-two-out-of-three finals. The hometown Tiger knocked off No. 1 seed and 2012 Olympian Jake Herbert in the quarterfinals and 2013 U.S. World Team member Keith Gavin en route to his finals berth.
In three seasons as a member of #TigerStyle, Cox has established himself as one of the most decorated wrestlers in program history. Earlier this season, Cox captured his second NCAA Title, joining Ben Askren as the only two-time NCAA Champion's in program history. Cox became the 24th member of the 100-Win Club on Feb. 21, becoming the faster wrestler to 100 wins in program history, doing so in just 105 matches. For his career, the Tiger junior is 108-5, owns the best win-percentage of any wrestler over 100 wins (.955), and has 14 technical falls, fourth-most in school history.
Cox will travel to Ulbaanbaatar, Mongolia next week to compete in the "Last-Chance" World Olympic Games Qualification Tournament April 22-24 in attempt to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
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