COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou wrestling is fresh off arguably their greatest season in program history. The 2014-15 Tiger Style squad finished the regular season with a perfect 24-0 record and a No. 1 national ranking.
Additionally, the team racked up a National Duals Finals championship, the program's first ever regular season conference championship, their fourth consecutive conference tournament title and a fourth place team finish at the 2015 NCAA Championships.
While head coach Brian Smith loses a talent rich senior class, the Tigers are set to bring in a whopping 19 new grapplers to Columbia, Mo. this upcoming season. Mizzou Athletics will catch up with each of the incoming freshman throughout the summer, and get an inside look at their high school journey and what they're looking forward to most at Mizzou.
Up second is Austin Eveler from Lee's Summit West High School in Lee's Summit, Mo. Eveler produced an outstanding 180-18 career record at Lee's Summit throughout his tenure, and qualified at the Missouri State Championships all four years.
After placing second his sophomore season, the talented grappler bounced back in 2014 and claimed a Class 4A Missouri State Championship at 132 pounds. Falling just short of his ultimate quest a year before made the state title an event to remember forever.
"I couldn't believe that I actually did it," Eveler said. "All the emotions started overtaking me following that win. It was setting in that I finally did it, and all that hard work had paid off."
The Lee's Summit West wrestling program is perennially a top program in the state of Missouri. Since his freshman season in 2012, Eveler has served as the team's captain as voted upon by his coaches and teammates. With a mixed roster of talented grapplers and underclassmen surrounding him, Eveler knew his role as team captain included a slew of responsibilities.
"It meant that I had to take the blame if something went wrong, and I had to keep everyone positively motivated throughout the season," Eveler said. "I wanted to bring the best out of everyone every day in practice."
The accolades for Eveler throughout his wrestling career are clear and impressive. In addition to his 180 career wins for Lee's Summit West, the future Tiger claimed a 2013 Missouri Freestyle State Championship and was a member of the 2013 Cadet National Team.
While he has continued to impress on the mat and seemingly hasn't faced many obstacles up to this point, Eveler notes there are indeed some struggles behind the scenes.
"Trying to balance out cutting weight, school work, and keeping a positive mindset throughout the whole process was challenging," Eveler stated. "Knowing at the end of the day everything would pay off made it all worthwhile. My junior year (2014 Missouri State Champion) had a nice flow to it and I knew what to expect. I knew I was going to finally accomplish my ultimate goal that season."
Schools across the country, whether it's high school or college, have begun wrapping up their 2014-15 academic year. As his move to Columbia, Mo. and collegiate career at the University of Missouri is just months away, Eveler has already begun prepping his transition to TigerStyle wrestling.
"I'm definitely picking up my workout load," Eveler noted. "I've been doing more cardio workouts to prepare for things like the seven mile run with Mizzou wrestling. I've also been doing more explosive weightlifting since collegiate competitors are bigger and better."
Check-in to MUTigers.com for the latest information on all things Mizzou wrestling. You can also find the Tigers on social media, by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter (@MizzouWrestling).