@MizzouWrestling Begins Season Ranked No. 5 in NWCA Coaches Poll
10/31/2017 3:51:00 PM | Wrestling
Mizzou ranks in the top-10 in the preseason poll for the fourth straight year
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Wrestling will open the 2017-18 season as the No. 5-ranked team in the USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll, as announced Tuesday by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
The top-five ranking in the preseason poll marks the third consecutive season Mizzou has opened the season in the top-10, and the second consecutive season ranked in the top-five. Mizzou checked in at No. 6 in the 2014 preseason poll, No. 9 in the 2015 preseason poll and No. 5 in the 2016 poll. Mizzou is one of two Mid-American Conference teams ranked in the first NWCA Coaches Poll, as Central Michigan ranks No. 17 to start the season.
In 2017-18, Mizzou will return four NCAA All-Americans, including three who placed in the top-eight of the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis, Mo. Redshirt senior 157-pounder Joey Lavallee (Reno, Nev.) returns to lead the Tigers after reaching the NCAA Finals a season ago. Redshirt sophomore 141-pounder Jaydin Eierman (Columbia, Mo.) and redshirt junior 174-pounder Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.), who finished fifth and sixth, respectively, at the 2017 NCAA Championships will also suit up once again for the Tigers. Lewis will move up a weight class after recording All-America finishes at 165 pounds in 2016 and 2017.
Also returning for Mizzou will be redshirt senior 197-pounder Willie Miklus (Altoona, Iowa), who missed a majority of last season due to a knee injury. Miklus, a two-time All-American, placed seventh in 2015 and sixth in 2016 at the NCAA Championships. Miklus will also make the move up a weight class, from 184 pounds to 197 pounds.
Mizzou will begin the season by hosting rival Illinois on Nov. 4, at the Mizzou Softball Stadium, marking the first outdoor dual in program history. The dual is slated to begin at 4 p.m. (CT) following the conclusion of the Mizzou Football game. Season and single dual tickets are be available at mutigers.com/wrtix.
For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouWrestling).
