NEW YORK, N.Y. – In the second session of the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships, four from Mizzou Wrestling secured spots in Friday's quarterfinals as Mizzou finished the day tied for fifth place with 17.5 team points. Redshirt junior 149-pounder Lavion Mayes (Mascoutah, Ill.), redshirt freshman 165-pounder Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.), redshirt sophomore 184-pounder Willie Miklus (Altoona, Iowa), and junior J'den Cox (Columbia, Mo.) will all wrestle in the quarterfinals, seeking one win to guarantee an All-American spot.
#TigerStyle sits in fifth place after two sessions with 17.5 team points, tied with Iowa and Virginia Tech. Penn State leads the team race with 27.5 points, followed by Ohio State and Oklahoma State who each have 24.0 points. Nebraska is in fourth place with 20.0 points.
At 149 pounds, Mayes defeated Mitch Finesilver (Duke) with a 5-3 decision. Mayes picked up a point in the first period following the second stall warning on Finesilver, then added another point for another stall call in the second. Mayes started the third period on bottom and escaped to tack on another point, leading 3-1 with 90 seconds left. The Tiger junior scored his first takedown of the bout later in the third, giving him the 5-3 victory. The win sets up a rematch with Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State), who Mayes defeated 5-2 in Jan. 22 in Stillwater, Okla.
Lewis advanced to the quarterfinals with a 5-1 win over Jim Wilson (Stanford). The Blue Springs High School product will wrestle Connor Brennan (Rider) tomorrow.
Miklus scored early in his 9-1 major decision win over Joe Ariola (Buffalo). Facing Ariola for the third time in the last two weeks, Miklus took Ariola down and scored a two-point near-fall with 45 seconds remaining in the first period. Miklus tallied three more points in the second and a riding time point following the third for the 9-1 win. Miklus faces Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) in the quarterfinals Friday.
Cox scored two takedowns in the first period and held an 8-3 lead after two periods. In the final minute of action, Cox scored another takedown and a four-point near-fall to secure the major decision, 15-4. Tomorrow, the Tiger junior looks to advance the semifinals for the third consecutive year when he faces Brett Hinter (Princeton).
Redshirt sophomore 125-pounder Barlow McGhee (Rock Island, Ill.) lost his second round match in the tiebreaker overtime, 3-1 to Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa). After McGhee failed to escape in the first tiebreaker overtime, Peters escaped in the second tiebreaker overtime, making the score, 2-1. McGhee was given two points for a takedown with less than 15 seconds remaining, but upon video review, the takedown was taken off the board due to McGhee grabbing Peters' kneepad. Peters was awarded one point due to the violation for the 3-1 win. McGhee will wrestle Lorenzo Bailey (Pittsburgh) tomorrow in the consolation second round.
Redshirt senior 174-pounder Blaise Butler (Belvidere, Ill.) Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton) by way of a major decision, 13-2, in the consolation first round. Butler wrestles Gordon Wolf (Lehigh) tomorrow.
Three Mizzou grapplers, redshirt junior 133-pounder Zach Synon (Cary, Ill.), redshirt junior 141-pounder Matt Manley (Perry, Okla.), and redshirt senior 157-pounder Le'Roy Barnes (Belton, Mo.) all lost their second match of the day and did not advance in the tournament. Synon finishes the season with a 16-14 record, while Manley sits at 28-8, and Barnes 26-11.
Session three begins tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT and will feature the championship quarterfinals and two consolation rounds. ESPNU/ESPN3 will carry the broadcast.
Session four is scheduled for tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT and will feature the championship semifinals and two more consolation rounds. ESPNU/ESPN3 will carry every match, while ESPN will cover the semifinals.
For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouWrestling).
Team Scores
1. Penn State, 27.5
T2. Ohio State, 24.0
T2. Oklahoma State, 24.0
4. Nebraska, 20.0
T5. Mizzou, 17.5
T5. Iowa, 17.5
T5. Virginia Tech, 17.5
8. Michigan, 15.0
T9. N.C. State, 9.0
T9. Oklahoma, 9.0
Match-By-Match Results
125 Championship Second Round:
#9 Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa) def. #8 Barlow McGhee (Mizzou) by 3-1 TB-1
133 Consolation First Round:
Corey Keener (Central Michigan) def. Zach Synon (Mizzou) by 9-4 decision
141 Consolation First Round:
Mike Longo (Appalachian State) def. #5 Matt Manley (Mizzou) by 12-3 major decision
149 Championship Second Round:
#3 Lavion Mayes (Mizzou) def. Mitch Finesilver (Duke) by 3-2 decision
157 Consolation First Round:
Justin Staudenmayer (Brown) def. Le'Roy Barnes (Mizzou) by 4-3 TB-2
165 Championship Second Round:
#4 Daniel Lewis (Mizzou) def. #13 Jim Wilson (Stanford) by 4-1 decision
174 Consolation First Round:
#3 Blaise Butler (Mizzou) def. Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton) by 13-2 major decision
184: Championship Second Round:
#14 Willie Miklus (Mizzou) def. Joe Ariola (Buffalo) by 9-1 major decision
197 Championship Second Round:
#2 J'den Cox (Mizzou) def. Scottie Boykin (Chattanooga) by 15-4 major decision
