CLEVELAND, Ohio – After the first two sessions on day one of the NCAA Wrestling Championships, Mizzou Wrestling sits in sixth-place with eight wrestlers still alive. Four Mizzou wrestlers advanced to the quarterfinals, as redshirt sophomore 141-pounder Jaydin Eierman (Columbia, Mo.), redshirt junior 149-pounder Grant Leeth (Kearney, Mo.), redshirt junior 174-pounder Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.) and redshirt senior 197-pounder Willie Miklus (Altoona, Iowa) all won their second round matches.
In all, Mizzou won eight of its nine matches in the session, as redshirt junior 133-pounder John Erneste (Kansas City, Mo.), redshirt senior 157-pounder Joey Lavallee (Reno, Nev.), redshirt sophomore 165-pounder Connor Flynn (Dardenne Prairie, Mo.) and redshirt freshman 184-pounder Canten Marriott (Excelsior Springs, Mo.) all won matches on the backside to stay alive in the wrestlebacks.
Bonus point wins were also crucial to Mizzou's success in the second session, as four Tigers scored bonus point wins. Eierman, Erneste and Lavallee recorded falls, while Lewis earned a major decision.
TEAM SCORES
In the team race, Mizzou moved up eight places from the first session, as it jumped from 14th-place to sixth-place with 19 points to end the first day. Ohio State claimed first place in the second session with 36 points, followed by Penn State (28.5 points), Iowa (27 points), Michigan (23 points) and NC State (20 points).
NOTABLE TIGERS
Eierman advanced to the quarterfinals for the second straight season with a first-period fall over Wisconsin's Eli Stickley. Eierman was defending off an early shot attempt from Stickley when he was able to lock up a cradle and record the fall 31 seconds into the match. In Friday morning's quarterfinals, Eierman will wrestle No. 7 Brock Zachrel (Clarion).
At 174 pounds, Lewis recorded his second bonus point win of the day, as the Tiger junior defeated No. 14 Yoanse Mejias (Oklahoma State) by major decision, 8-0. It was a prototypical Lewis win, as he scored a takedown early in the first period, then began building up his riding time in a dominating win. Tomorrow, Lewis will wrestle in the quarterfinals for the third straight season, as he prepares to wrestle No. 6 Micah Jordan (Ohio State).
Leeth and Miklus each earned decision wins to advance to the quarterfinals, as Leeth needed a takedown in the sudden victory to defeat No. 14 Beau Donahue (NC State), 5-3, while Miklus gutted out a 2-0 win over Stanford's Nathan Traxler. Miklus will wrestle in the quarterfinals for the second time in his career, as he will match up against No. 3 Jared Haught (Virginia Tech).
After disappointing first round losses, Erneste and Lavallee rebounded nicely with pins to help Mizzou on the backside. Erneste scored a third period fall over No. 12 Josh Terao (American), while Lavallee pinned Lock Haven's Alex Klucker.
UP NEXT
Day two of the NCAA Wrestling Championships continues tomorrow, with session three slated to being at 11 a.m. (ET) / 10 a.m. (CT), and session four at 7 p.m. (ET) / 6 p.m. (CT). ESPNU will provide the broadcast for the third session, and ESPN for the fourth session. In addition, every match will be available to stream on ESPN3.com and 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).
SESSION 2 RESULTS
125: Barlow McGhee
Consolation First Round: Elijah Oliver (IND) dec. Barlow McGhee (MIZ): 8-1
133: No. 5 John Erneste
Consolation First Round: No. 5 John Erneste (MIZ) fall No. 12 Josh Terao (AMER): 5:29
141: No. 2 Jaydin Eierman
Second Round: No. 2 Jaydin Eierman (MIZ) fall Eli Stickey (WISC): 0:31
149: No. 3 Grant Leeth
Second Round: No. 3 Grant Leeth (MIZ) SV-1 No. 14 Beau Donahue (NCST): 3-1
157: No. 2 Joey Lavallee
Consolation First Round: No. 2 Joey Lavallee (MIZ) fall Alex Klucker (LH): 1:14
165: Connor Flynn
Consolation First Round: Connor Flynn (MIZ) SV-1 Jonathan Schleifer (PRIN): 5-3
174: No. 3 Daniel Lewis
Second Round: No. 3 Daniel Lewis (MIZ) major dec. No. 14 Yoanse Mejias (OU): 8-0
184: No. 15 Canten Marriott
Consolation First Round: No. 15 Canten Marriott (MIZ) dec. Bryce Gorman (NIU): 6-0
197: No. 6 Willie Miklus
Second Round: No. 6 Willie Miklus (MIZ) dec. Nathan Traxler (STAN): 2-0
SESSION 3 MATCHUPS
133: No. 5 John Erneste
Consolation Second Round: No. 5 John Erneste (MIZ) vs. No. 11 Dom Forys (PITT)
141: No. 2 Jaydin Eierman
Quarterfinals: No. 2 Jaydin Eierman (MIZ) vs. No. 7 Brock Zacherl (CLAR)
149: No. 3 Grant Leeth
Quarterfinals: No. 3 Grant Leeth (MIZ) vs. No. 11 Matthew Kolodizik (PRIN)
157: No. 2 Joey Lavallee
Consolation Second Round: No. 2 Joey Lavallee (MIZ) vs. Taleb Rahmani (PITT)
165: Connor Flynn
Consolation Second Round: Connor Flynn (MIZ) vs. No. 13 Te'shan Campbell (OHST)
174: No. 3 Daniel Lewis
Quarterfinals: No. 3 Daniel Lewis (MIZ) vs. No. 6 Bo Jordan (OHST)
184: No. 15 Canten Marriott
Consolation Second Round: No. 15 Canten Marriott (MIZ) vs. No. 16 Jordan Ellingwood (CMU)
197: No. 6 Willie Miklus
Quarterfinals: No. 6 Willie Miklus (MIZ) vs. No. 3 Jared Haught (VT)
TEAM SCORES AFTER DAY 1
1. Ohio State, 36.0
2. Penn State, 28.5
3. Iowa, 27.0
4. Michigan, 23.0
5. NC State, 20.0
6. Mizzou, 19.0
T-7. Cornell, 15.0
T-7. Oklahoma State, 15.0
T-9. Lehigh, 14.5
T-9. Virginia Tech, 14.5
