
No. 9 @MizzouWrestling Hits the Road for Three Duals in Four Days
1/11/2017 4:24:00 PM | Wrestling
Mizzou faces Buffalo on Thursday, No. 7 Cornell on Saturday, Eastern Michigan on Sunday
THREE DUAL ROAD TRIP | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
OPPONENT | LOCATION | DAY | TIME | MEDIA | |
Buffalo |
Buffalo, N.Y. | Thursday, Jan. 12 | 6 p.m. (CT) | ||
No. 7 Cornell | Ithaca, N.Y. | Saturday, Jan. 14 | Noon (CT) | ||
Eastern Michigan | Ypsilanti, Mich. | Sunday, Jan. 15 | 1 p.m. (CT) |
Mizzou Hits the Road for Three Duals in Four Days
- No. 9 Mizzou Wrestling will begin a three-dual road trip with a Mid-American Conference dual against Buffalo on Thursday, Jan. 12 at 6 p.m. (CT), with ESPN3 providing a stream of the dual. Following the Tigers dual with Buffalo, Mizzou will face No. 7 Cornell on Saturday, Jan. 14 at Noon (CT). Fans can find a stream of the Tigers dual with the Big Red at ivyleaguedigitalnetwork.com. Finally, Mizzou will wrap up its road trip with another MAC dual against Eastern Michigan on Sunday, Jan. 15 at 1 p.m. (CT), with ESPN3 providing the stream of the dual.
- Mizzou is looking to rebound following a 24-18 loss to No. 15 Oklahoma on Jan. 8. In the dual, Mizzou received wins by fall from redshirt sophomore 133-pounder John Erneste and redshirt freshman 174-pounder Dylan Wisman, as well as wins over ranked opponents from redshirt senior 149-pounder Lavion Mayes and senior 197-pounder J'den Cox.
- Mizzou leads the all-time series with all three of its opponents on the schedule and has never lost to Buffalo (4-0) or Eastern Michigan (5-0). The Tigers are 6-3 all-time against Cornell.
Eight in the Top Eight at the Scuffle
- Mizzou made its eighth team appearance at the Southern Scuffle on Jan. 1-2, finishing second at one of the nation's toughest in-season tournaments. In eight team apperances, Mizzou has never finished out of the top-five at the Scuffle. The second place finish was the fifth time Mizzou has finished first or second at the tournament after winning it in 2003 and 2006, and finishing second in 2005 and 2015.
- Eight Tiger wrestlers finished on the podium in the top-eight of the Scuffle, including senior 197-pounder J'den Cox, who became Mizzou's 15th individual champion at the Scuffle.
- Cox went a perfect 5-0 on the tournament to claim his second Scuffle title. The Tiger senior won the tournament as a sophomore in 2015 and finished third in 2014 as a freshman. Leading up the championships bout, Cox won four matches by bonus points, including a 11-2 major decision over No. 12 Frank Mattiace (Penn) in the semifinals. In the finals, Cox defeated No. 2 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota), 6-4, to win the title. The match was tied 4-4 with 15 seconds remaining when Cox executed a double-leg takedown to seal the victory.
- Redshirt sophomore 133-pounder John Erneste finished off his impressive Scuffle performance with a fifth place finish, going 5-2 in the tournament. Erneste earned two wins by bonus points in the tournament, including a 9-0 major decision over No. 14 Mitchell McKee (Minnesota) to claim fifth.
- Redshirt senior 149-pounder Lavion Mayes and redshirt sophomore 165-pounder Daniel Lewis each finished second for Mizzou after good showings at the Scuffle. Mayes was 4-1 at the Scuffle, recording a fall in the quarterfinals and a win over No. 12 Max Thomsen (Minnesota) in the semifinals. Lewis posted two falls, a technical fall and a 7-2 win over No. 10 Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa) before falling the the championship bout.
- Redshirt junior 157-pounder Joey Lavallee fell for the first time this season, but rebounded to knock off two ranked opponents, No. 7 Jake Short (Minnesota) and No. 11 Andrew Atkinson (Virginia), to finish third.
- Also placing on the podium for Mizzou was redshirt freshman 141-pounder Jaydin Eierman, who took fifth. Redshirt junior 141-pounder Zach Synon and redshirt junior 125-pounder Barlow McGhee each finished eighth.
Cox's Ascension up the Record Book
- Senior 197-pounder J'den Cox's outstanding Tiger career will come to an end following the 2016-17 season, but not before he leaves his mark on the Mizzou Wrestling record book.
- The two-time National Champion and Olympic Bronze Medalist ranks seventh in program history in career wins with 123 and first in winning percentage among wrestlers with over 100 wins at .961 (123-5). Cox is one of two Tiger wrestlers (Ben Askren) to win two NCAA Titles and one of four (Ben Askren, Max Askren and Drake Houdashelt) to earn All-America honors three times.
- Cox also ranks second in career technical falls with 19 and fourth in career major decisions with 26. The Tiger senior is also nearing the top-10 in career falls with 24. Alan Waters, Mark Cody and Nathan McCormick are all tied for eighth all-time in program history with 27 falls.
Cox Named to WIN Magazine's Dan 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 15-0 record, including a 7-0 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.
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 eight of 16 wins (four major decisions, one technical fall, one fall) and capturing the UNI championship at 157 pounds on Dec. 3.
- Lavallee is 16-1 on the season, 4-0 in duals, and is second on the team in dual points with 15. The Tiger junior owns tdour 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 in duals. At the Scuffle, Lavallee defeated No. 7 Jake Short (Minnesota), 2-1, and No. 11 Andrew Atkinson (Virginia), 9-5, to claim third at the Scuffle on Jan. 2.
100 Wins for Mayes
- Redshirt senior 149-pounder Lavion Mayes recorded his 100th career victory in Mizzou's season-opening dual against Old Dominion. Mayes defeated Michael Hayes by way of a 9-4 decision to reach the century milestone.
- Mayes becomes the 25th member of Mizzou's exclusive 100-win club and first to reach the mark since senior 197-pounder J'den Cox reached the mark last season in a 16-7 major decision win over Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska) on Feb. 21, 2016.
- Mayes currently owns a record of 108-22 and is ranked tied for fourth in program history in career major decisions with 26 and seventh in winning percentage for wrestlers with over 100 wins with a winning percentage of .831 (108-22).
- In a breakout sophomore campaign (2014-15), Mayes went 38-4 at 141 pounds, finishing as an All-American with a seventh-place performance at the NCAA Championships. Mayes went 20-1 in dual competion throughout the year (6-1 in MAC duals) and recorded nine major decisions.
- Last year, Mayes went 32-3 en route to his second straight year on the podium, this time at 149 pounds. Mayes finished third at the weight class in New York City, defeating Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State) in the third place bout after falling to the Cowboy in the quarterfinals.
Lewis, The Pin Artist
- After being named the MAC Freshman of the Year last season following an individual MAC title and a fourth-place All-America finish at NCAAs last season, redshirt sophomore 165-pounder Daniel Lewis has continued to impress this season.
- Lewis is 14-2 on the season, 6-0 in duals and has earned wins over four ranked opponents.
- Known as a "pin artist", Lewis leads the teams in wins by fall this season, registering six falls, including two at the Scuffle. He has pinned 16 opponents in his two seasons as an attached wrestler after scoring 10 wins by fall in 2015-16. In addition, in his redshirt season (2014-15), Lewis posted falls in 15 of his 21 wins.
Players Mentioned
Big 12 Champion: Rocky Elam
Thursday, March 09
Wrestling Cinematic vs. Iowa State
Friday, February 17
Connor Brown Senior Video
Thursday, February 16
Mitchell Bohlken Senior Video
Wednesday, February 15