@MizzouWrestling to Host Illinois at Mizzou Softball Stadium Saturday

Saturday, November 4

Columbia, Mo.

4 p.m.

University of Missouri

Illinois

@MizzouWrestling to Host Illinois at Mizzou Softball Stadium Saturday

11/3/2017 4:06:00 PM | Wrestling

The outside dual will be the first ever outside dual in program history

Mizzou Hosts First Ever Outside Dual
OPPONENT	LOCATION	DAY	TIME (CT)	WATCH	STATS
No. 12 Illinois	Mizzou Softball Stadium	Saturday, Nov. 4	4 pm	Mizzou Network	Stats

MATCH NOTES

MIZZOU TO HOST ILLINOIS AT MIZZOU SOFTBALL STADIUM

Mizzou will open the 2017-18 campaign by hosting border rival Illinois on Saturday, Nov. 4 at the Mizzou Softball Stadium. The dual, which is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. (CT), will be the first outside dual in program history and the first non-softball sporting event at the stadium since it opened in March 2017.
The dual will be available free of charge to the public on Mizzou Network, which can be accessed through MUTigers.com.
Saturday's dual will be a top-15 matchup, as the Tigers were ranked No. 5 and Illinois No. 12 in the preseason USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll, announced on Tuesday. The preseason top-10 ranking for Mizzou marks the fourth straight season Mizzou has been ranked in the top-10 to start the season. Mizzou checked in at No. 6 in the 2014 preseason poll, No. 9 in 2015 poll and No. 5 in the 2016 poll.
Wrestling fans will get an early glimpse at some of the best wrestlers in the NCAA, as all 10 bouts in Saturday's dual will feature at least one wrestler who is ranked in the individual rankings. Of the 10 matchups, five will include bouts that feature a ranked wrestler against another ranked wrestler. In total, 15 ranked wrestlers will take the mat on Saturday, including six ranked in the top-10. Each team will have a returning NCAA Finalist on the mat, as redshirt senior 157-pounder Joey Lavallee and Fighting Illini redshirt senior 165-pouner Isaiah Martinez begin their senior campaigns. Martinez is a three-time NCAA Finalist and two-time NCAA National Champion after claiming the top-prize at 157 pounds in 2015 and 2016 before placing second at 165 pounds at the 2017 NCAA Championships.
Mizzou Head Coach Brian Smith returns a loaded lineup from last year's team that finished fifth at the 2017 NCAA Championships, its third straight NCAA top-10 finish and seventh overall under Smith. The Tigers will have four returning All-Americans in their lineup, as Lavallee will be joined by redshirt sophomore 141-pounder Jaydin Eierman, redshirt junior 174-pounder Daniel Lewis and redshirt senior 197-pounder Willie Miklus. Eierman took fifth at 141 pounds in 2017, while Lewis took fourth in 2016 and sixth in 2017 at 165 pounds. Miklus returns to the lineup after missing the majority of the 2016-17 season due to a knee injury. At 184 pounds, Miklus finished seventh in 2015 and sixth in 2016.

WILLIE MIKLUS RETURNS

After missing a majority of the 2016-17 season due to a knee injury, redshirt senior 197-pounder Willie Miklus returns to the mat for the Black & Gold.
Miklus, a two-time NCAA All-American, was named the 2015 MAC Freshman of the Year after finishing seventh at the NCAA Championships. Miklus ended his freshman campaign with a record of 33-9, including a 18-3 mark in duals, and led the team with 14 falls.
Miklus followed up his freshman campaign with a 21-8 performance in 2015-16, placing sixth at the NCAA Championships. Miklus was dominant once again in dual competition, posting a record of 11-2 and 6-0 in MAC duals.

MOVING ON UP

With the graduation of possibly the best wrestler in program history, J'den Cox, a large majority of Mizzou's upper weights decided to make the move up one weight class for competition this season.
Sliding into the 165 pound slot in the starting lineup is redshirt sophomore 165-pounder Connor Flynn, who took a redshirt season in 2016-17 due to transfer rules after transferring from West Virginia. In his redshirt campaign, Flynn ran through competition at just about every stop, posting a record of 24-4 and placing in the top-three in five open tournaments. Flynn won 12 matches by way of bonus points in the process, recording two major decisions, seven technical falls and three falls. In his true freshman season at West Virginia in 2015-16, Flynn went 14-18 and placed fourth at the Big 12 Championships.
Moving up to 174 pounds is two-time NCAA All-American redshirt junior 174-pounder Daniel Lewis, who placed fourth at the NCAA Championships in 2016 and sixth in 2017. Lewis is best known for being tough in the top position on the mat, and routinely amasses four minutes or more of riding time during his matches. Between his freshman and sophomore campaigns, Lewis has recorded bonus point victories in 66.7% of his wins (38-of-57), including 19 falls and 14 major decisions.
At 184 pounds this season will be a mix of redshirt freshman 184-pounder Canten Marriott, redshirt sophomore 184-pounder Dylan Wisman and redshirt freshman 184-pounder Wyatt Koelling. Marriott will get the start against Illinois, but expect to see Wisman and Koelling in the lineup as the season progresses. Both Marriott and Wisman wrestled at 174 pounds in 2016-17.
After spending the last three seasons at 184 pounds, redshirt senior 197-pounder Willie Miklus will wrestle at his more natural weight in 2017-18. As a senior at Southeast Polk High School in Iowa, Miklus won a state title at 220 pounds.

Tiger DEBUTS

Many wrestlers will be making their Mizzou debuts in dual competition this season, starting with three in Saturday's dual against Illinois.
After sitting out the last two seasons due to various injuries, redshirt junior 149-pounder Grant Leeth will make his Mizzou debut on Saturday. Leeth transferred in to Mizzou from Duke following the 2014-15 season, where he posted a record of 14-4 in unattached competition.
Another transfer, redshirt sophomore 165-pounder Connor Flynn will make his Tiger debut on Saturday. Flynn won a state title as a senior at Francis Howell High School and spent his freshman season at West Virginia before transferring to his home state.
The third Tiger to make his Mizzou debut on Saturday will be redshirt freshman 184-pounder Canten Marriott. The Excelsior Springs native went 17-9 during his redshirt season in 2016-17, recording seven major decisions, one technical fall and two falls.

MISSOURI BOYS

Over his 20 year tenure at the helm of Mizzou Wrestling, Head Coach Brian Smith has always made a point to keep the top wrestling talent home in the Show Me State.
Of the 35 wrestlers on Mizzou's roster, 15 hail from Missouri, including six slated to start in Saturday's dual.

COX CLAIMS BRONZE AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, JOINS COACHING STAFF

Three-time NCAA National Champion J'den Cox claimed a Bronze Medal with a third-place finish in the 86 kg bracket at the 2017 World Championships on August 25. Cox defeated former World Champion Mhail Ganev, 8-0, in the third-place bout to claim his second international bronze medal this year
With the medal, Cox becomes the first wrestler in program history to medal at the World Championships. It is his second career medal after also capturing Bronze last summer at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
In May, Cox joined the Mizzou coaching staff as a volunteer assistant coach. In addition to joining the wrestling staff, Cox will continue to wrestle in international competitions under the Missouri Wrestling Regional Training Center.
Cox concluded his illustrious Mizzou wrestling career this past March by winning his third NCAA National title at 197 pounds, becoming the second four-time All-American in program history and first to reach the top of the podium three times. He ended the season second in Dan Hodge Trophy voting with a perfect 28-0 record, becoming just the second wrestler in program history to finish the season with an unblemished record. In 2014, the hometown Tiger became the first wrestler in program history to win a national title as a true freshman, and after a fifth-place finish in 2015, Cox returned to the pinnacle of collegiate wrestling with a national title in 2016 at Madison Square Garden.
In the Mizzou Wrestling record book, Cox ranks first in winning percentage among wrestlers with over 100 wins (.965, 136-5), tied for second in overall wins (136), second in career technical falls (20), third in career major decisions (31) and tied for eighth in career falls (27).