University of Missouri
MAC Championships Day 1
Wrestling Sits in Second After Day One of MAC Championships
3/8/2014 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 8, 2014
KENT, Ohio - After a full day of wrestling at the 2014 MAC Championships, the ninth-ranked Missouri Tigers sit in second place with 89.5 team points. Northern Iowa leads all nine MAC programs with 97 points, with Ohio holding the third spot with 81 points.
Mizzou will send three grapplers to the finals tomorrow with action kicking off at 11 a.m. Junior Drake Houdashelt (149), true freshman J'den Cox (197) and junior heavyweight Devin Mellon all have punched their tickets to this year's NCAAs by making the finals. The Tigers are the only squad to still have all 10 starters still alive in the tournament.
"It was a frustrating start for us today. We lost a couple of close matches late, which can't happen in tournaments like this," said Head Coach Brian Smith. "But the good news is we finished strong and still have all 10 guys alive."
Houdashelt will meet Old Dominion's Alex Richardson in the 149-pound finals Sunday as he searches for his third-consecutive conference title. Richardson and Houdashelt have met twice in 2014, with Houdashelt topping his counterpart twice, both times by decision.
The 197-pound Cox continues to solidify his spot as one of the nation's elite, cruising through the quarters and semifinals with a technical fall over Jackson Lewis (CMU) and a major decision over NIU's Shawn Scott. Cox will get a crack at redemption against Ohio's Phil Wellington in the finals. Wellington handed Cox his first collegiate loss back in December 6-4.
Devin Mellon rounds out the Tiger finalists after a couple of close decisions Saturday afternoon. Mellon topped Mimmo Lytle (KSU) in tiebreaker 1 after keeping riding him out in the second 30-second overtime period, 3-2. In the semifinals, Mellon squeaked past ODU's Matt Tourdot 4-1. He will face off with top-seeded Jeremy Johnson of Ohio in tomorrow's finals. Johnson and Mellon have had a couple of tough matches this season, with Johnson taking both bouts.
The remaining seven Tigers will vie for NCAA allocations tomorrow in the consolation semifinals and third place matches. Northern Iowa leads the Tigers by 7.5 team points but only have eight guys remaining in the Championships.
Last year at the Mid-American Conference tournament, the Missouri Wrestling program dominated the eight-team field on their way to being crowned MAC Champions in their first year as an affiliate member of the conference. The Tigers dethroned Central Michigan, who had been MAC Champions for 11-straight seasons. Mizzou shattered the previously held team score high at the Championships, posting 136.0 points while crowning four individual champions.
Standing on top of the podium this weekend would make three consecutive conference championships for Missouri after winning the Big 12 Conference Championship two years ago and its first-ever MAC Championship last year.
Action gets going Sunday at 11 a.m. with the consolation semifinal rounds. The finals will begin at 12:20 p.m.
Flowrestling will be streaming the entire tournament live for a one-time payment of $20. For more information on how to access Flo's live video stream, visit http://livecoverage.flowrestling.org/account/login?id=122. Kent State is also providing a radio feed for this year's Championships on their iHeartRadio station (Golden Flashes Radio). For in-match updates, follow the squad on Twitter, @MizzouWrestling. Fans can also join in the conversation throughout the weekend by using TigerStyle and MACtion on Twitter.
TEAM SCORES
1. Northern Iowa ................97
2. Missouri .........................89.5
3. Ohio ...............................81
4. Old Dominion ................79
5. Central Michigan ...........65.5
6. Eastern Michigan ...........50
7. Kent State ......................48
8. Northern Illinois .............31.5
9. Buffalo ...........................10.5
RESULTS
125 - Barlow McGhee (Record: 1-1)
Quarterfinals: No. 4 Corey Keener (CMU) decision over No. 5 Barlow McGhee (MIZZ) in SV1, 3-1.
Consolation Rd 2: No. 5 Barlow McGhee (MIZZ) decision over No. 8 Del Vinas (KSU), 4-2.
133 - Matt Manley (Record: 1-1)
Quarterfinals: No. 5 Matt Manley (MIZZ) decision over No. 4 Mack McGuire (KSU) in SV1, 5-3.
Semifinals: No. 1 Joe Colon (UNI) major decision over No. 5 Matt Manley (MIZZ), 13-5.
141 - No. 18 Lavion Mayes (Record: 1-1)
Quarterfinals: No. 4 Lavion Mayes (MIZZ) decision over No. 5 Tyler Small (KSU) in SV1, 4-2.
Semifinals: No. 1 Chris Mecate (ODU) decision over No. 4 Lavion Mayes (MIZZ), 4-3.
149 - No. 1 Drake Houdashelt (Record: 2-0)
Quarterfinals: No. 2 Drake Houdashelt (MIZZ) major decision over No. 7 Scott Mattingly (CMU), 15-6.
Semifinals: No. 2 Drake Houdashelt (MIZZ) major decision over No. 3 Mike DePalma (KSU), 8-0.
157 - No. 18 Joey Lavallee (Record: 1-1)
Quarterfinals: No. 3 Joey Lavallee (MIZZ) decision over No. 6 Brandon Zeerip (EMU), 6-4.
Semifinals: No. 2 Luke Smith (CMU) decision over No. 3 Joey Lavallee (MIZZ), 1-0.
165 - No. 12 Zach Toal (Record: 2-1)
Quarterfinals: No. 7 Shaun'Qae McMurtry (NIU) decision over No. 2 Zach Toal (MIZZ) in SV1, 5-3.
Consolation Rd 1: No. 2 Zach Toal (MIZZ) fall over No. 8 Jake Campana (UB) at 1:47.
Consolation Rd 2: No. 2 Zach Toal (MIZZ) major decision over No. 6 Devin Geoghegan, 10-2.
174 - Mikey England (Record: 2-1)
Quarterfinals: No. 2 Mike Ottinger (CMU) decision over No. 7 Mikey England (MIZZ), 5-4.
Consolation Rd 1: No. 7 Mikey England (MIZZ) major decision over No. 8 Rrok Ndokaj (UB), 10-2.
Consolation Rd 2: No. 7 Mikey England (MIZZ) fall over No. 6 Jacob Davis (EMU) at 2:53.
184 - Cody Johnston (Record: 1-1)
Quarterfinals: No. 4 Cody Johnston (MIZZ) major decision over No. 5 Anthony Lock (UB), 10-1.
Semifinals: No. 1 Jack Dechow (ODU) decision over No. 4 Cody Johnston (MIZZ), 8-3.
197 - No. 2 J'den Cox (Record: 2-0)
Quarterfinals: No. 2 J'den Cox (MIZZ) technical fall over No. 7 Jackson Lewis (CMU) at 6:25, 21-6.
Semifinals: No. 2 J'den Cox (MIZZ) major decision over Shawn Scott (NIU), 11-1.
HWT - Devin Mellon (Record: 2-0)
Quarterfinals: No. 2 Devin Mellon (MIZZ) decision over No. 7 Mimmo Lytle (KSU) in TB1, 3-2.
Semifinals: No. 2 Devin Mellon (MIZZ) decision over No. 6 Matt Tourdot (ODU), 4-1.
FOLLOW LIVE
Live Stream: http://livecoverage.flowrestling.org/account/login?id=122 (need subscription for $20)
Live Radio: Golden Flashes Radio on iHeartRadio
Live Stats: trackwrestling.com
Live In-Match Updates: @MizzouWrestling on Twitter
WHAT'S NEXT
Following this weekend's MAC Conference championships, stay tuned with the program as the squad prepares for the 2014 NCAA Championships. This year's NCAAs will take place on March 20-22, 2014, at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Players Mentioned
