CLEVELAND, Ohio - Mizzou wrestling earned top honors in the team preseason rankings by the conference coaches, as announced today by the Mid-American Conference (MAC). Based on the individual rankings, two-time defending MAC Champion Missouri Tigers (27 points) were tabbed first in the conference.
Each of the nine MAC schools were ranked based on the number of first through fourth-place votes that were earned in the individual voting system. A first-place vote was worth four team points; a second-place vote earned three team points; third-seeded votes were worth two team points, while a fourth-place tally earned one point in the team ranking system.
The Tigers edged out Old Dominion (18 points) and Northern Iowa (15.5 points) for the top spot in the preseason team rankings. Kent State (13.5 points), Ohio (12 points), Central Michigan (6 points), Northern Illinois (4 points), Eastern Michigan (3 points), and Buffalo (0 points) round out this year's coaches' preseason ballots.
Nine individual grapplers from Mizzou wrestling were also recognized by the MAC coaches in the 2014-15 preseason weight class rankings.
Redshirt senior Alan Waters (1st), redshirt sophomore Matt Manley (4th), redshirt sophomore Lavion Mayes (3rd), redshirt senior Drake Houdashelt (1st), sophomore Joey Lavallee (3rd), redshirt senior Mikey England (2nd), redshirt senior Johnny Eblen (2nd), sophomore J'den Cox (1st), and redshirt senior Devin Mellon (1st) were all voted in the top four of their respective weight classes.
For the complete 2014-15 MAC preseason wrestling rankings, click here.
The 2015 MAC Wrestling Championships will be held March 7-8 and hosted by Mizzou wrestling in Columbia, Mo.
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