CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Six Mizzou Wrestling grapplers advanced to the finals of the Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championships on Saturday as the Tigers finished the first day of competition in first place with 117.5 points. In all, Mizzou won 16 of 20 bouts wrestled on Saturday at the McLeod Center, scoring bonus points in 10 of those victories as all 10 Tiger wrestlers are still alive for the second day of competition on Sunday.
Senior 197-pounder J'den Cox (Columbia, Mo.) and redshirt sophomore 165-pounder Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.) each advanced to the finals with back-to-back pins in the quarterfinals and semifinals. It will be Lewis' second consecutive and Cox's fourth straight trip to the MAC finals.
Mizzou is sitting comfortably in first place following the opening day of wrestling, leading second place Northern Iowa (90.5 points) and Old Dominion (82.5 points) by a wide margin. Joining Cox and Lewis in Sunday's finals will be redshirt sophomore 133-pounder John Erneste (Kansas City, Mo.), redshirt freshman 141-pounder Jaydin Eierman (Columbia, Mo.), redshirt senior 149-pounder Lavion Mayes (Mascoutah, Ill.) and redshirt junior 157-pounder Joey Lavallee (Reno, Nev.).
"We put six guys in the finals and I've seen a lot of activity from our guys so far," said head coach Brian Smith. "Guys are getting after it, scoring bonus points. Tomorrow is another day, we have to get after it again and put the tournament away.
Cox opened his final MAC Tournament with a pin over Derek Hillman (Eastern Michigan). The three-time MAC Champion led 13-2 in the first period when he locked in a cradle and scored the fall at 2:48. Cox had to wait a little longer in his semifinals match, scoring a second-period fall over Stephen Suglio (Kent State) at 4:06. The Tiger senior was nearing a technical fall when he was able to turn Suglio to his back for the pin. Cox will look to become the second ever four-time conference champion in program history against Kevin Beazley (Old Dominion) on Sunday. The two-time NCAA Champ is an all-time 3-0 against Beazley, with the most recent match coming on Nov. 13, 2016 where Cox defeated Beazley, 5-0, in Mizzou's opening dual of the season.
Both of Lewis' team-leading eighth and ninth falls on the season occurred in the first period, as the Tiger sophomore pinned Logan Parks (Central Michigan) at 2:03 in the quarterfinals and Shaun'Qae McMurtry (Northern Illinois) at 2:55 in the semifinals. All nine of Lewis' falls this season have happened in the first period. Lewis will wrestle Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa) in Sunday's finals, the third meeting of the season for the two wrestlers after Lewis won 7-2 at the Southern Scuffle on Jan. 2, and Steiert won with a first period fall in a Feb. 12 dual.
After a tough 1-0 win in the quarterfinals over Alex Madrigal (Old Dominion), Erneste scored a fall over Anthony Tutolo (Kent State) at 3:41 to advance to the MAC Finals in his first MAC Wrestling Championships appearance. Erneste will wrestle Bryan Lantry (Buffalo) in the finals on Sunday. Also in his first MAC Tournament, Eierman advanced to the finals with a 16-2 major decision over Chance Discoll (Kent State) and an 8-2 win over Kevin Budock (Old Dominion). In the finals, Eierman will match up against Noah Forrider (Ohio).
Mayes recorded a 13-4 major decision over Tim Rooney (Kent State) and 5-2 win over Steve Bleise (Northern Illinois) to advance to his first career MAC finals where he will face Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa). The two wrestlers have split two matches this year, with Mayes winning 4-2 on Jan. 2, at the Southern Scuffle, and Thomsen winning 9-2 in a Feb. 12 dual.
Lavallee earned a 12-6 decision over Paden Moore (Northern Iowa) before defeating Casey Sparkman (Kent State) by way of a 14-1 major decision to reach the finals where he will face Collin Heffernan (Central Michigan). In the only ever meeting between the two wrestlers, Lavallee defeated Heffernan in sudden victory, 3-1, on Jan. 22.
Still alive on the backside of the bracket is redshirt junior 125-pounder Barlow McGhee (Rock Island, Ill.), redshirt freshman 174-pounder Dylan Wisman (Winchester, Va.), redshirt senior 184-pounder Matt Lemanowicz (Lee's Summit, Mo.) and redshirt freshman heavyweight Austin Myers (Alexandria, Ky.).
After dropping his opening match, McGhee bounced back to defeat Steven Simpson (Old Dominion) by way of a 15-5 major decision to advance to the consolation semifinals. Wisman, Lemanowicz and Myers all won their opening matches before falling in the semifinals and moving to the consolation semifinals. Wisman posted bonus points in his opening round victory, defeating Arsen Arshughyan (Ohio) by way of major decision, 11-3.
Wrestling from the McLeod Center will resume again at 12 p.m. CT on Sunday with the consolation semifinals. The finals and placing matches are slated to begin at 2 p.m. CT. The whole day's events will be streamed on ESPN3.com and through the WatchESPN app.
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. Mizzou, 117.5
2. Northern Iowa, 90.5
3. Old Dominion, 82.5
4. Central Michigan, 72.0
5. Northern Illinois, 64.0
6. Buffalo, 61.5
7. Eastern Michigan, 56.0
8. Ohio, 53.0
9. Kent State, 41.5
Match-by-Match Results (MAC SEEDS)
125: Barlow McGhee
Quarterfinals: #4 Noah Gosner (Eastern Michigan) dec. Barlow McGhee (Mizzou): 6-4
Consolation Second Round: #5 Barlow McGhee (Mizzou) major dec. #7 Brock Hudkins (Northern Illinois): 15-5
133: John Erneste
Quarterfinals: #2 John Erneste (Mizzou) dec. Alex Madrigal (Old Dominion): 1-0
Semifinals: #2 John Erneste (Mizzou) fall #6 Anthony Tutolo (Kent State): 3:51
141: Jaydin Eierman
Quarterfinals: #1 Jaydin Eierman (Mizzou) major dec. #9 Chance Driscoll (Kent State): 16-2
Semifinals: #1 Jaydin Eierman (Mizzou) dec. #5 Kevin Budock (Old Dominion): 8-2
149: Lavion Mayes
Quarterfinals: #1 Lavion Mayes (Mizzou) major dec. #9 Tim Rooney (Kent State): 13-4
Semifinals: #1 Lavion Mayes (Mizzou) dec. #4 Steve Bleise (Northern Illinois)
157: Joey Lavallee
Quarterfinals: #1 Joey Lavallee (Mizzou) dec. #9 Paden Moore (Northern Iowa): 12-6
Semifinals: #1 Joey Lavallee (Mizzou) major dec. Casey Sparkman (Kent State): 14-1
165: Daniel Lewis
Quarterfinals: #1 Daniel Lewis (Mizzou) fall #8 Logan Parks (Central Michigan): 2:03
Semifinals: #1 Daniel Lewis (Mizzou) fall #5 Shaun'Qae McMurtry (Northern Illinois): 2:55
174: Dylan Wisman
Quarterfinals: #4 Dylan Wisman (Mizzou) major dec. Arsen Arshughyan (Ohio): 11-3
Semifinals: #1 Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa) dec. #4 Dylan Wisman (Mizzou): 11-8
184: Matt Lemanowicz
Quarterfinals: #5 Matt Lemanowiz (Mizzou) dec. #4 Brett Perry (Old Dominion): 9-7
Semifinals: #1 Drew Foster (Northern Iowa) dec. #5 Matt Lemanowicz (Mizzou): 5-2
197: J'den Cox
Quarterfinals: #1 J'den Cox (Mizzou) fall #8 Derek Hillman (Eastern Michigan): 2:48
Semifinals: #1 J'den Cox (Mizzou) fall #5 Stephen Suglio (Kent State): 4:06
HWT: Austin Myers
Quarterfinals: #2 Austin Myers (Mizzou) dec. #7 Devin Nye (Kent State): 4-2
Semifinals: #6 Gage Hutchison (Eastern Michigan) SV-2 #2 Austin Myers (Mizzou): 5-2
