No. 5 @MizzouWrestling Hosts Kent State & No. 21 Appalachian State Tuesday

Tuesday, December 20

Columbia, Mo.

12 p.m.

University of Missouri

Kent State

Tickets

No. 5 @MizzouWrestling Hosts Kent State & No. 21 Appalachian State Tuesday

12/19/2016 4:53:00 PM | Wrestling

Mizzou will wrestle Kent State at Noon, App State at 2 p.m. (CT), with both to be broadcast on ESPN3/WatchESPN.com

MATCH DAY - Tuesday, Dec. 20
Kent State // No. 21 Appalachian State (Match Notes)	Columbia, Mo.	Tuesday, Dec. 20	NOON (CT) // 2 p.m. (CT)	WATCH (KENT) WATCH (APP) Live Results (KENT) Live Results (APP)

MATCH DAY - Tuesday, Dec. 20

OPPONENT

LOCATION

DAY

TIME

MEDIA

Kent State // No. 21 Appalachian State

(Match Notes)

Columbia, Mo.

Tuesday, Dec. 20

NOON (CT) // 2 p.m. (CT)

WATCH (KENT)

WATCH (APP)

Live Results (KENT)

Live Results (APP)

This week at #Mizzou | @MizzouWBB TONIGHT (get your ?? with Truman!) and @MizzouWrestling Tuesday afternoon (free ??)!#MIZ ?????? pic.twitter.com/TD5OaidCDE
— Mizzou Marketing (@MizzouPromos) December 19, 2016

DOUBLE DUAL TUESDAY

No. 5 Mizzou Wrestling will host two duals at the Hearnes Center on Tuesday, Dec. 20. First, Mizzou will wrestle Kent State at Noon (CT), followed by a top-25 matchup with No. 21 Appalachian State at 2 p.m. (CT).
Mizzou is coming off a 35-7 win over Ohio on Dec. 11, in which six wrestlers scored bonus points, including a fall from redshirt freshman 133-pounder Jaydin Eierman and technical falls from redshirt sophomore 165-pounder Daniel Lewis and senior 197-pounder J'den Cox.
The Tigers have dominated the all-time series with the Golden Flashes and Mountaineers, winning 11 of 12 duals between the two programs. Mizzou is 8-1 against Kent State (2-0 in Columbia) and 3-0 against Appalachian State.

COX NAMED TO WIN MAGAZINE'S DON HODGE TROPHY PRESEASON CANDIDATE LIST

Senior 197-pounder J'den Cox was named to the Dan Hodge Trophy Preseason Candidate List, announced by WIN Magazine on Dec. 9. Cox was one of eight wrestlers named to the list for the Hodge, which is equivalent to the Heisman Trophy in college football, and is the most prestigious award in college wrestling.
Cox has opened the 2016-17 season with a 7-0 record, including a 4-0 mark in dual competitions. In three of his dual wins, Cox has beaten top-10 opponents, knocking off No. 9 Kevin Beazley (Old Dominion) on Nov. 13, No. 3 Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) on Nov. 20 and No. 6 Kollin Moore (Ohio State) on Dec. 8.
The Tiger senior captured the UNI Open championship at 197 pounds on Dec. 3, scoring three falls in three matches en route to the title. In his most recent bout, Cox defeated Devin King (Ohio) by way of a 20-4 technical fall, the 15th technical fall of his career, tying him with Ben Askren for the third-most technical falls in program history.
Cox also ranks 11th in program history in career wins with 114, first in winning percentage among wrestlers with over 100 wins at .958 (114-5) and seventh in career major decisions with 24. Cox is one of two Tiger wrestlers (Askren) to win two NCAA Titles and one of four (Ben Askren, Max Askren, Drake Houdashelt) to earn All-America honors three times.

LAVALLEE'S HOT START

After taking a redshirt last season, redshirt junior 157-pounder Joey Lavallee has roared back onto the scene in 2016-17, recording bonus points in six of nine wins (four major decisions, one technical fall, one fall) and capturing the UNI championship at 157 pounds on Dec. 3.
Lavallee is a perfect 9-0 on the season, 4-0 in duals, and is second on the team in dual points with 15. The Tiger junior owns two ranked wins so far this season, defeating No. 17 Sal Mastriani (Virginia Tech) via major decision, 15-5 on Nov. 20 and No. 19 Jake Ryan by way of a 12-5 decision on Dec. 8.

LEMANOWICZ BACK ON THE ROSTER

Following the 2015-16 season, redshirt senior 184-pounder Matt Lemanowicz decided to walk away from wrestling and join strength & conditioning coach Mike Larson's staff as an intern. Lemanowicz, who won strength and conditioning awards following the 2013-14 and 2015-16 seasons, was assisting with the day-to-day operations of the wrestling and volleyball program's routine workouts over the summer and fall.
When Mizzou suffered numerous injuries to some of its heavier wrestlers, Lemanowicz approached Coach Smith about coming out of retirement and helping the team at 184 pounds. After competing at mostly 165 and 174 pounds over his collegiate career, Lemanowicz was inserted at 184 pounds for the Tigers at the UNI Open and in duals against Ohio State and Ohio.
Lemanowicz picked up his first dual win of the year over Ohio's Nate Hall on Dec. 11, winning 3-1 in Mizzou's 35-7 rout of the Bobcats.

THREE TIGERS CAPTURE TITLES AT THE UNI OPEN

Mizzou registered nine top-three finishes on Dec. 3, at the UNI Open. Mizzou had 28 wrestlers compete in the open tournament and three claim first-place finishes. Senior 197-pounder J'den Cox, redshirt junior 157-pounder Joey Lavallee and redshirt freshman 133-pounder Jaydin Eierman all finished atop their respective weight classes.
Cox won each of his three bouts by fall, registering his first three falls of the season. Cox began the day by pinning Wes Kibler (Illinois) at the 3:59 mark, followed by a pin over Vince Dietz (St. Cloud State) at 3:17, and finally at 5:19 over Tyler Hoffman (Northern Iowa), to claim the title.
Redshirt sophomore 165-pounder Daniel Lewis and sophomore 157-pounder Luke Fortuna each recorded second-place finishes for the Tigers.
Recording third-place finishes on the day for Mizzou was redshirt junior 125-pounder Aaron Assad, redshirt sophomore 133-pounder John Erneste, sophomore 165-pounder Connor Flynn and redshirt freshman heavyweight Austin Myers.

OPPONENT - KENT STATE

Kent State has stuggled through the first part of its 2016-17 schedule, dropping four of its first five duals. The Golden Flashes opened the dual season with a tri-meet with No. 4 Ohio State and Cleveland State on Nov. 22, dropping the dual to the Buckeyes, 36-13, before defeating Cleveland State, 40-3.
Led by head coach Jim Andrassay, who is in his 14th year with the Golden Flashes, Kent State enters the Hearnes Center on a three-dual losing streak, losing to Buffalo (23-12) on Dec. 11, Gardner-Webb (22-17) on Dec. 16 and Chattanooga (22-19) on Dec. 18.
Kent State will have one ranked wrestler in the lineup on Tuesday, sophomore 133-pounder Anthony Tutolo, who is ranked as high as No. 19 by The Open Mat. Tutolo is 16-4 on the season (4-1 in duals) and finished sixth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 3. Among his wins at CKLV, the most notable was over two-time All-American Earl Hall (Iowa State), who Tutolo defeated, 9-8, in an opening round bout.
Mizzou leads the all-time series against Kent State, 8-1. The Tigers are a perfect 2-0 against the Golden Flashes in duals in Columbia.
Last year, on Dec. 20, 2015, Mizzou used pins from Daniel Lewis, Willie Miklus, J'den Cox and James Romero to propel to a 35-12 win over Kent State in Kent, Ohio.

OPPONENT - APPALACHIAN STATE

Appalachian State enters the dual in Columbia on Tuesday with a record of 7-1, its best start since beginning the 2002-03 season with an 11-1 record. Two of the Mountaineers seven wins were over ranked opponents, then-No. 15 Oregon State (25-15) on Nov. 12 and then-No. 25 North Caroline (18-16) on Nov. 27.
Led by head coach Johnmark Bentley, who is in his 9th year with the Mountaineers, Appalachian State enters the Hearnes Center as the No. 21-ranked team in nation in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll and No. 20 in the Intermat Tournament Rankings, both a program-best.
Appalachian State will have four ranked wrestlers featured in their lineup on Tuesday, led by redshirt senior heavyweight Denzel Dejournette, who is ranked as high as No. 7 by TrackWrestling. Dejournette is 13-2 on the season (6-0 in duals) and is currently ranked third in program history in wins with 116. At 149 pounds, sophomore Matt Zovistoski is ranked as high as No. 15 (TrackWrestling), redshirt junior 165-pounder Forrest Przybysz is ranked No. 23 (TrackWrestling) and redshirt junior 165-pounder Nick Kee is ranked No. 20 (WIN Magazine). Kee, Dejournette and Przybysz are all returning NCAA qualifiers from a season ago.
Mizzou leads the all-time series against Appalachian State, 3-1. The Tigers have never hosted the Mountaineers in Columbia.
Last year, on Feb. 12, 2016, four Tigers scored falls and five posted bonus points as Mizzou routed Appalachian State, 41-6, in Boone, N.C.