@MizzouWrestling’s Leeth Receives Two Years of Eligibility from NCAA
5/17/2018 4:27:00 PM | Wrestling
Leeth earned All-America status in Cleveland with a sixth-place finish at 149 pounds
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Wrestling 149-pounder Grant Leeth (Kearney, Mo.) has received two additional years of eligibility, as announced by head coach Brian Smith Thursday. Because Leeth missed part all of the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons due to injuries, the NCAA granted Leeth eligibility for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 athletic seasons.
"Really excited about today's news of Grant Leeth being granted additional years of eligibility by the NCAA, said Smith. "Grant has gone through quite the journey, with making the decision to transfer back, then go through multiple seasons where he can't compete, then having to compete for the spot before wrestling really well past season. Just having a guy on our team who has worked as hard as Grant has will only make our team better, because of the great individual, and great leader he is."
Leeth returned to the mat in a major way in 2017-18, as he went 25-6 and finished sixth at 149 pounds at the NCAA Championships to earn the first All-America honor of his career. Leeth also helped the Tigers capture their seventh consecutive conference title, as he defeated Ohio's Kade Kowalski by 9-0 major decision to win an individual MAC title at 149 pounds. Leeth defeated nine ranked wrestlers in his debut season in the Black & Gold, and held a 19-match winning streak between November and March. He was a perfect 16-0 duals on the season, including wins over North Carolina's Troy Heilman and Central Michigan's Justin Oliver, who were both ranked third in the country at the time of Leeth's wins.
Leeth spent his true freshman season, 2014-15, at Duke before returning to Mizzou prior to the 2015-16 season. Originally from Kearney, Mo., Leeth was a three-time Missouri State Champion (2012-14) at Kearney High School, and was a USA Wrestling Junior Folkstyle National Champion.
For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouWrestling).
Players Mentioned
