DEKLAB, Ill. – Mizzou Wrestling (12-1, 8-0 MAC) became the Mid-American Conference Regular Season Champions for the second consecutive season following a 26-14 victory over Northern Illinois (6-7, 1-4) on Sunday afternoon in DeKalb, Ill. The Tigers finished off its MAC dual schedule with an unblemished 8-0 mark, the second straight season #TigerStyle has finished the year with a perfect MAC record.
#TigerStyle earned bonus points in four of its six match wins on the day, including wins by fall from redshirt senior 174-pounder Blaise Butler (Belvidere, Ill.) and redshirt senior 184-pounder Cody Johnston (Warrensburg, Mo.).
Butler picked up the first win of the day for Mizzou, pinning Trace Engelkes in the first period. Trailing 4-0 in the second bout of the day, Butler single-handedly put the Tigers ahead of the Huskies with the fall. The Belvidere, Ill. native scored the pin at 1:53 for six points. Johnston followed Butler with a fall of his own over Quinton Rosser. Johnston jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead after scoring a four-point near-fall in the opening period. Johnston put Rosser on his back a second-time in the second period when he scored the fall at 3:51 for six points for the Tigers.
Next up, junior 197-pounder J'den Cox (Columbia, Mo.) extended Mizzou's lead to 16-4 with a 15-1 major decision over No. 16-ranked Shawn Scott. The junior improves to 22-1 (12-1 duals) on the season with his fourth major decision of the season.
Redshirt sophomore 125-pounder Barlow McGhee (Rock Island, Ill.) scored quickly in his match against Alijah Jeffery, taking a 6-2 lead at the end of the first after scoring multiple takedowns in the period. McGhee held onto his lead, defeating Jeffery, 8-5, for his 15th win on the season.
The Huskies pulled within five points of the Tigers at 19-14 when redshirt junior 149-pounder Lavion Mayes (Mascoutah, Ill.) stepped onto the mat against Gabe Morse. With the score tied 4-4 in the third period, the undefeated Tiger scored an escape with less than 10 seconds remaining to clinch the win. Mayes is now 22-0 on the season, the best start to a season in his career.
Redshirt senior 157-pounder Le'Roy Barnes finished off the match for the Tigers, earning an 11-2 major decision over Andrew Morse to wrap up the score at 26-14.
The Tigers will finish off the regular season schedule next weekend with two road duals. First, the Tigers will wrestle Appalachian State on Friday, Feb. 12, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT. Then, Mizzou will finish the regular season schedule against No. 3-ranked and undefeated N.C. State on Sunday, Feb. 14 at 1 p.m. CT.
For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouWrestling).
Match-By-Match Results
165: Shaun'Qae McMurty (Northern Illinois) def. Matt Lemanowicz (Mizzou) by 15-5 major decision
174: Blaise Butler (Mizzou) def. Trace Engelkes (Northern Illinois) by fall (1:53)
184: Cody Johnston (Mizzou) def. Quinton Rosser (Northern Illinois) by fall (3:51)
197: J'den Cox (Mizzou) def. Shawn Scott (Northern Illinois) by 15-1 major decision
HWT: Arthur Bunce (Northern Illinois) def. James Romero (Mizzou) by 6-0 decision
125: Barlow McGhee (Mizzou) def. Alijah Jeffery (Northern Illinois) by 8-5 decision
133: Austin Eicher (Northern Illinois) def. Zach Synon (Mizzou) by 5-3 SV-2
141: Steve Bleise (Northern Illinois) def. Nick Nasenbeny (Mizzou) by 15-4 major decision
149: Lavion Mayes (Mizzou) def. Gabe Morse (Northern Illinois) by 5-4 decision
157: Le'Roy Barnes (Mizzou) def. Andrew Morse (Northern Illinois) by 11-2 major decision
