COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou wrestling sophomore J'den Cox and redshirt senior Alan Waters travel to Philadelphia, Pa. Saturday to compete in the 2014 NWCA All-Star Classic. Cox, the defending NCAA Champion at 197 pounds takes on Minnesota's Scott Schiller while Waters competes at 125 pounds against Virginia Tech's Joey Dance.
Cox and Waters mark the seventh and eighth all-time nominations for Mizzou wrestling at the NWCA All-Star Classic. The current duo join former Tigers Dom Bradley (2012), Max Askren (2009), Mark Ellis (2009), Nick Marable (2008), Tyler McCormick (2007), and Ben Askren (2004) as Mizzou grapplers to be named to the annual event.
The All-Star Classic will feature many of the nation's top Division I wrestlers who will participate in a dual meet format. Saturday's matches will be held at The Palestra on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. The event will be streamed live by the NWCA's live streaming partner, Flowrestling.
Cox is one of four returning National Champions set to compete at Saturday's premier event. The Columbia, Mo. native joins Northwestern's Jason Tsirtsis, Oklahoma State's Alex Dieringer and N.C. State's Nick Gwiazdowski as the returning champions. Cox became the youngest National Champion in Mizzou wrestling history last season after compiling an impressive 38-2 record.
Saturday marks the first ever meeting between Cox and Minnesota's Schiller. Schiller is a two-time NCAA All-American for the Gophers, and placed third at 197 pounds at last year's NCAA Championships. Over the past two seasons, Schiller is 53-11 including a 15-1 record in Big Ten duals.
Waters is a two-time conference champion and 2013 NCAA All-American for the Tigers. The Kansas City, Mo. native has reached NCAA Nationals in all three years of competition and is a member of Mizzou wrestling's exclusive 100-win club.
Saturday also marks the first ever showdown between Waters and Virginia Tech's Dance. Dance finished 29-10 last season for the Hokies as a true freshman.
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