COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou wrestling continues to garner preseason recognition, as the team was ranked No. 6 overall according to FloWrestling. This marks the second top-10 preseason rankings by major NCAA wrestling media outlets, following a No. 7 team ranking according to Wrestling Insider News Magazine (WIN).
The Tigers have claimed three consecutive conference championships, and return three All-Americans and seven overall NCAA qualifiers from a year ago.
Alan Waters (3rd), Lavion Mayes (17th), Drake Houdashelt (4th), Joey Lavallee (16th), Johnny Eblen (14th), J'den Cox (1st), and Devin Mellon (19th) were also recognized individually in FloWrestling's top-20 weight class rankings.
In the overall pound-for-pound (P4P) FloWrestling rankings, sophomore J'den Cox was tabbed as the No. 6 wrestler in the country.
Waters, a redshirt senior, is a three-time NCAA Nationals qualifier and received All-American honors in 2013 after finishing fourth at 125 pounds. The Kansas City, Mo. native is also a two-time conference champion with titles at the 2012 Big 12 Championship and 2013 MAC Championship.
Mayes, a redshirt sophomore, received an automatic bid to last year's NCAA Nationals after placing fourth at the 2014 MAC Championships. The Mascoutah, Ill. native recorded a 2-2 record at the 2014 NCAAs.
Houdashelt, a redshirt senior, enters his final collegiate season with an array of wrestling accolades. The O'Fallon, Mo. native is a three-time conference champion and three-time NCAA Nationals qualifier. In both 2013 and 2014, Houdashelt claimed All-American honors at 149 pounds with a fifth and sixth place respectively.
Lavallee, a sophomore from Reno, Nev., earned the most pins out of all Mizzou wrestlers last season and qualified for 2014 NCAAs after a third place finish at the 2014 MAC Championships. After winning three-of-five matches at Nationals last year, Lavallee looks to capture All-American status in 2015.
Eblen, a redshirt senior, held the starting spot at 184 pounds much of last year for the Tigers before suffering a season ending injury. The Kansas City, Mo. native earned seven dual starts and finished with a 20-7 overall record a year ago.
Cox, a sophomore from Columbia, Mo., became Mizzou wrestling's youngest National Champion after claiming top honors at 197 pounds last year. The 2014 MAC Freshman of the Year and MAC Wrestler of the Year is the fifth all-time National Champion in program history and looks to join Ben Askren as the only Tiger to claim multiple national titles.
Mellon, a redshirt senior, is a two-time NCAAs qualifier after claiming bids in 2012 and 2014. The Lawson, Mo. native started at the heavyweight spot in every 2014 dual meet for Mizzou and finished in second place at the 2014 MAC Championships.
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