Three Mizzou Wrestling grapplers secured their place as All-Americans in the third session of the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships as Mizzou finished the session in fifth place with 42.5 team points. Junior 197-pounder J'den Cox (Columbia, Mo.), redshirt sophomore 184-pounder Willie Miklus (Altoona, Iowa), and redshirt freshman 165-pounder Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.) all won their quarterfinal bouts, guaranteeing a top-six finish at their respective weight classes.
Lewis earned his first All-America status in his first year of official competition. The Blue Springs, Mo. native gives Mizzou its third-straight season with a freshman All-American for Mizzou after Cox won the National Championship as a freshman in 2014 and Miklus placed seventh last year. Miklus is an All-American for the second consecutive season, while Cox earned the honor for a third time. Cox is one of four wrestlers in program history to earn All-American status at least three times.
Mizzou sits in fifth place with 42.5 team points, still in the hunt for a top-four team trophy. Penn State remained in first place following the session with 68.5 points. Ohio State is in second place with 54.0 points, while Iowa and Oklahoma State follow in third and fourth place with 48.5 and 46.0 points, respectively.
Lewis picked up the first quarterfinals win of the day for #TigerStyle, defeating Connor Brennan (Rider), 3-0. Lewis scored a takedown in the second period and was awarded riding time for his third point. The Tiger freshman will face No. 1 seed Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) in the semifinals tonight, a rematch of a Jan. 22 dual match where Dieringer defeated Lewis, 4-3, even though Lewis amassed near four minutes of riding time.
"Daniel believes he is winning tonight and so do we," head coach Brian Smith said. "We have to get a takedown on him (Dieringer). We gave up two last time. If we can take him down, we'll be in a good position to get a win."
Miklus picked up the second quarterfinals win, scoring bonus points in a 16-6 major decision over Lorenzo Thomas (Penn). In a rematch of Miklus' 2015 NCAA Championships opening bout, Miklus fell behind Thomas, trailing 4-2 after the first period after Thomas scored two takedowns.
"You can't panic when Willie gives up points," said Smith. "He (Thomas) took Willie down twice last year, then Willie pinned him. So I knew coming in he's probably going to take him (Miklus) down. That's just Willie's style. He's going to keep wrestling to the end."
Miklus began his comeback in the second period, turning Thomas for a four-point near-fall after starting the period on top. Miklus added a reversal and another near-fall in the third to stretch his lead, attaining the major decision at 16-6. Miklus will face No. 7 seed T.J. Dudley (Nebraska) in the semifinals, a rematch of a Feb. 21 match where Miklus scored a takedown in the final seconds to win, 5-4.
Cox defeated Brett Harner (Princeton) in his quarterfinals match, 6-0. Cox scored a takedown in the first and an escape in the second to lead, 3-0, after two periods. Cox scored a takedown with just seconds remaining in the third and would have had a near-fall if there would have been a few more seconds on the clock.
"He really dominated that match, didn't give him anything," said Smith. "That's the way J'den has been wrestling, always in control and scoring a lot of points."
Cox will face No. 3 seed Brett Pfarr (Minnesota) in the semifinals. The Tiger junior defeated Pfarr, 4-1, on Dec. 5 in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational finals.
Two Mizzou wrestlers, redshirt sophomore 125-pounder Barlow McGhee (Rock Island, Ill.) and redshirt senior 174-pounder Blaise Butler (Belvidere, Ill.), each won two matches on the backside of the bracket to remain alive for All-America status. One more win and each will guarantee a top-eight finish. McGhee defeated Lorenzo Bentley (Pitt), 10-6, and Alfredo Rodriguez (SIU Edwardsville), 9-5, while Butler defeated Gordon Wolf (Lehigh), 17-8, and Zach Brunson (Illinois), 3-2. McGhee will Conor Youtsey (Michigan) tonight, while Butler faces Cody Walters (Ohio).
Redshirt junior 149-pounder Lavion Mayes (Mascoutah, Ill.) dropped his quarterfinals bout, 3-2, to Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State). Mayes will wrestle Patricio Lugo (Edinboro) on the backside tonight, needing to win one match to earn All-America status for the second straight season.
The fourth session of #WrestleNYC begins at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT and will feature the championship semifinals and the fourth and fifth rounds of consolations. ESPN will televise the semifinals while ESPN3 will stream every match on every mat.
For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouWrestling).
Top-10 Team Scores
1. Penn State, 68.5
2. Ohio State, 54.0
3. Iowa, 48.5
4. Oklahoma State, 46.0
5. Mizzou, 42.5
6. Nebraska, 35.5
7. N.C. State, 32.5
8. Michigan, 32.0
9. Virginia Tech, 30.5
10. Cornell, 28.5
Match-By-Match Results
125:
Consolation Second Round:
#8 Barlow McGhee (Mizzou) def. Lorenzo Bentley (Pittsburgh) by 10-6 decision
Consolation Third Round:
# 8 Barlow McGhee (Mizzou) def. Alfredo Rodriguez (SIU Edwardsville) by 9-5 decision
149:
Championship Quarterfinals:
#11 Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State) def. #3 Lavion Mayes (Mizzou) by 3-2 decision
165:
Championship Quarterfinals:
#4 Daniel Lewis (Mizzou) def. #12 Connor Brennan (Rider) by 3-0 decision
174:
Consolation Second Round:
#3 Blaise Butler (Mizzou) def. Gordon Wolf (Lehigh) by 17-8 major decision
Consolation Third Round:
#3 Blaise Butler (Mizzou) def. #5 Zach Brunson (Illinois) by 3-2 decision
184:
Championship Quarterfinals:
#14 Willie Miklus (Mizzou) def. #11 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) by 16-6 major decision
197:
Championship Quarterfinals:
#2 J'den Cox (Mizzou) def. #7 Brett Harner (Princeton) by 6-0 decision