YPSILANTI, Mi. – No. 6 Mizzou Wrestling finished off the first day of competition at the Mid-American Conference Championships in first place with 103.5 team points, 27.5 points ahead of second place Central Michigan. Six #TigerStyle grapplers, redshirt sophomore 125-pounder Barlow McGhee (Rock Island, Ill.), redshirt junior 141-pounder Matt Manley (Perry, Okla.), redshirt senior 157-pounder Le'Roy Barnes (Belton, Mo.), redshirt freshman 165-pounder Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.), redshirt senior 174-pounder Blaise Butler (Belvidere, Ill.), and junior J'den Cox (Columbia, Mo.), all won both of their matches and will compete in the finals of their respective weight classes tomorrow.
In addition to competing for titles on Sunday, all six wrestlers have guaranteed their spots in the NCAA Championships, March 17-19 in New York City at Madison Square Garden. Cox and Butler will return to Nationals for the third time in their careers, while Manley will be making his second trip. McGhee, Barnes, and Lewis all qualified for Nationals for the first time in their careers.
Three Mizzou wrestlers are still alive in the consolation side of the bracket. Redshirt junior 149-pounder Lavion Mayes (Mascoutah, Ill.), redshirt sophomore 184-pounder Willie Miklus (Altoona, Iowa), and redshirt senior heavyweight Cody Johnston (Warrensburg, Mo.) all have a chance to wrestle back for third place. With five and four MAC allocations at 149 pounds and 184 pounds, respectively, Mayes will have to finish fourth or better and Miklus fifth or better in order to guarantee spots at Nationals. The heavyweight weight class has only one MAC allocation, meaning Johnston would need to be awarded one of five wild card spots available to qualify for Nationals. Redshirt junior 133-pounder Zach Synon (Cary, Ill.) lost his two matches on the day and will also need a wild card entry to qualify.
At 197 pounds, Cox won both of his matches by fall, pinning Northern Iowa's Cody Krumweidle in the first period (0:39) and Eastern Michigan's Anthony Abro in the third (6:37). In Lewis' two matches, the Blue Springs, Mo. native did not allow either of his opponents to score a point, defeating Central Michigan's Colin Heffernan by way of major decision, 10-0, and Kent State's Tyler Buckwalter by major decision, 12-0. McGhee scored two wins by major decision as well, besting Northern Illinois' Alijah Jeffery, 10-2, and Buffalo's Kyle Akins, 12-4.
Butler defeated Buffalo's Muhamed McBryde, 8-4, before narrowly defeating Ohio's Cody Walters, 2-1. Manley defeated Buffalo's Brandon Lapi, 8-4, and Central Michigan's Zach Horan, 3-2, en route to the finals. At 157 pounds, Barnes pinned Ohio's Spartak Chino at 3:40 in his opening match, before earning his way to finals due to an injury default from Kent State's Ian Miller.
Mizzou will look to lock up its fourth consecutive MAC title and fifth straight conference title overall tomorrow, beginning with the consolation semifinals round at Noon ET. The Championship round is scheduled to begin at 1:20 p.m. ET. ESPN3.com will broadcast the championship rounds.
For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouWrestling).
Team Scores
Mizzou- 103.5
Central Michigan- 76.0
Northern Iowa- 60.0
Ohio- 52.5
Kent State- 49.0
Buffalo- 44.5
Northern Illinois- 40.5
Eastern Michigan- 40.0
Old Dominion- 35.0
Match-By-Match Results (MAC SEEDS)
125:
#2 Barlow McGhee (Mizzou) def. #7 Alijah Jeffery (Northern Illinois) by 10-2 major decision
#2 Barlow McGhee (Mizzou) def. #6 Kyle Akins (Buffalo) by 12-4 major decision
133:
#8/9 Shayne Wireman (Eastern Michigan) def. #2 Zach Synon (Mizzou) by 3-1 decision
#3 Cameron Kelly (Ohio) def. #2 Zach Synon (Mizzou) by 7-4 decision
141:
#1 Matt Manley (Mizzou) def. #8/9 Brandon Lapi (Buffalo) by 3-2 decision
#1 Matt Manley (Mizzou) def. #4 Zach Horan (Central Michigan) by 6-4 SV-1
149:
#1 Lavion Mayes (Mizzou) def. #8/9 Adam Perrin (Northern Iowa) by 15-5 major decision
#4 Mike DePalma (Kent State) def. #1 Lavion Mayes (Mizzou) by 6-5 decision
157:
#5 Le'Roy Barnes (Mizzou) def. #4 Spartak Chino (Ohio) by fall (3:40)
#5 Le'Roy Barnes (Mizzou) def. #1 Ian Miller (Kent State) by injury default (2:01)
165:
#1 Daniel Lewis (Mizzou) def. #8/9 Colin Heffernan (Central Michigan) by 10-0 major decision
#1 Daniel Lewis (Mizzou) def. #4 Tyler Buckwalter (Kent State) by 12-0 major decision
174:
#2 Blaise Butler (Mizzou) def. #7 Muhamed McBryde (Buffalo) by 8-4 decision
#2 Blaise Butler (Mizzou) def. #3 Cody Walters (Ohio) by 2-1 decision
184:
#1 Willie Miklus (Mizzou) def. #8/9 Joe Ariola (Buffalo) by 9-0 major decision
#4 Jordan Ellingwood (Central Michigan) def. #1 Willie Miklus (Mizzou) by 3-1 decision
197:
#1 J'den Cox (Mizzou) def. #8/9 Cody Krumwede (Northern Iowa) by fall (0:39)
#1 J'den Cox (Mizzou) def. #5 Anthony Abro (Eastern Michigan) by fall (6:37)
HWT:
#8/9 Cody Johnston (Mizzou) def. #8/9 Jesse Webb by 16-0 technical fall (4:28)
#1 Blaize Cabell (Mizzou) def. #8/9 Cody Johnston (Mizzou) by 10-6 decision
#8/9 Cody Johnston (Mizzou) def. Austin Coburn (Old Dominion) by 5-3 decision
