April 30, 2014

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Mid-American Conference announced its 2014 Academic All-MAC Wrestling team Wednesday, as voted by faculty athletic representatives at MAC institutions. Missouri's junior-captain Johnny Eblen is just the second wrestler in program history to receive Academic All-MAC honors after Mizzou Wrestling alum Nathan McCormick picked up the honor last year in Mizzou's first year as an affiliate member of the Conference. A total of 10 student-athletes were named to this year's Academic All-MAC team.

Eblen posted a 3.53 GPA this past season and will be graduating this semester with a Health Sciences degree and a Psychology minor. He was nominated for the MAC President's Award - The Presidential Award recognizes graduating student-athletes who have achieved a 3.5 minimum accumulative grade-point average. It may only be awarded once in the career of a student-athlete. He was also nominated for MAC Honor Roll. A Kansas City-native, Eblen plans on staying in Missouri and receiving his master's degree from Mizzou in Positive Coaching beginning in Fall 2014.

On the mat, Eblen fought through an injury-riddled season in his first year as a starter for the Tigers. Mizzou's junior-captain had a solid 2014, as his 20-7 record and 6-1 mark in dual play kept him in the top-15 nationally at 184 pounds for most of the season. After injuries knocked him out of postseason action this year, Eblen looks to qualify for the NCAA Wrestling Championships for the first time in his career next year in St. Louis.

The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport. First-year students and junior college transfers in their first year of residence are not eligible for the award. Outstanding academic and athletic accomplishments for the current season are only considered.