University of Missouri Athletics

• 2016 Olympic Bronze Medalist (Men’s Freestyle, 86 kg)
• 2017 Team USA World Team Member (Men’s Freestyle, 86 kg)
• 2017 NCAA National Champion (197 pounds)
• 2017 MAC Champion (197 pounds)
• 2017 MAC Wrestler of the Year
• 2016 NCAA National Champion (197 pounds)
• 2016 MAC Champion (197 pounds)
• 2016 MAC Wrestler of the Year
• 2015 NCAA All-American (5th place - 197 pounds)
• 2015 MAC Champion (197 pounds)
• 2014 NCAA National Champion (197 pounds)
• 2014 MAC Champion (197 pounds)
• 2014 MAC Wrestler of the Year
• 2014 MAC Freshmen of the Year
• 2014 SEC First-Year Honor Roll

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (2017)

• Clinched his spot on the U.S. National Team for the second consecutive season by winning the World Team Trials (June 8) at 86 kg in men’s freestyle.
• Had a bye to the finals due to winning an Olympic Bronze Medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
• After falling in the first match of the best-of-three finals, came back to defeat two-time Hodge winner David Taylor, 4-3 and 5-3, to earn trip to the World Championships, overcoming a knee injury in the third and final bout to claim victory.

SENIOR (2016-17)

• Became the first wrestler in program history and first athlete in Mizzou Athletics history to win three NCAA Titles by defeating No. 2-ranked Brett Pfarr (Minnesota) in the finals of the NCAA Championships (March 18).
• Recorded his fourth All-America honor with his third NCAA Title, becoming just the second wrestler in program history to earn four All-America distinctions (Ben Askren, 2004-07).
• Among program records, finished his collegiate career ranked first in winning percentage (.965, 136-5), second in wins (136), second in technical falls (20), third in major decisions (31) and eighth in falls (27).
• Was awarded the “Most Outstanding Wrestler” at end-of-the-year banquet, the third time he was given the award (2014, 16).
• Became just the second wrestler in program history to record a perfect season (Ben Askren, 2006, 2007) by posting a perfect 28-0 record, recording 19 bonus point wins with seven major decisions, six technical falls and six falls.
• Among season totals, ranked second in technical falls (6), second in dual wins (12), second in dual points (50), third in wins (28), third in major decisions (7) and fourth in falls (6).
• At the NCAA Championships (March 16-18), went 5-0, recording one fall, two major decisions and three wins over ranked opponents en route to third NCAA Title.
• Captured his fourth conference title at the MAC Championships (March 4-5), becoming the second wrestler in program history to win four conference titles (Drake Houdashelt, 2012-15), winning two matches by fall before beating No. 12-ranked Kevin Beazley (Old Dominion), 8-2, to win the title.
• Recorded three consecutive major decision wins over ranked opponents during dual competition, defeating No. 19-ranked Austin Severn (Central Michigan), 11-2 (Jan. 22), No. 8-ranked Preston Weigel (Oklahoma State), 12-2 (Jan. 27) and No. 12-ranked Shawn Scott (Northern Illinois), 16-4 (Feb. 4).
• Captured the 197 pound title at the Southern Scuffle (Jan. 1-2), recording two wins by technical fall and one by major decision in the opening rounds before defeating No. 12-ranked Frank Mattiace (Penn), 11-2, in the semifinals and No. 2-ranked Brett Pfarr (Minnesota), 6-4, in the finals.
• Defeated No. 6-ranked Kollin Moore (Ohio State), 6-4, in a road dual (Dec. 8).
• Won the UNI Open (Dec. 3), winning all three matches by way of fall.
• Opened the season with back-to-back wins over ranked opponents, defeating No. 9-ranked Kevin Beazley (Old Dominion), 5-0 (Nov. 13), and No. 3-ranked Jared Haught (Virginia Tech), 2-0 (Nov. 20).

OLYMPICS (2016)

• Won a Bronze Medal in men’s freestyle wrestling at 86 kg at the Rio Summer Olympics (Aug. 20), becoming the seventh athlete in Mizzou Athletics history to win a medal at the Olympics, and first since 2008, joining Brutus Hamilton, Jackson Scholz, Dan Pippin, Dick Cochran, Natasha Kaiser Brown and Christian Cantwell.
• Did not give up a single takedown in the Olympics, defeating Belarus and Iran in the opening rounds before a heartbreaking loss in the semifinals to Turkey. Bounced back to defeat Cuba in the bronze medal match.
• In final tune-up before the Olympics, won a bronze medal at the Grand Prix of Germany (July 2).
• Won three of four matches at the UWW Freestyle World Cup (June 12-13), including a 13-2 technical fall over India to guide the United State to a fourth-place finish at the event.
• Defeated No. 10-ranked Meisam Mostafa Joukar (Iran), 10-5, at the Beat the Streets event (May 19), held outside in the middle of Times Square in New York City.
• Officially qualified for the Olympics at the World Games Qualifying Tournament (April 24), dominating the competition to the tune of a combined score of 36-3 in five bouts.
• Clinched his spot on the U.S. National Team at the Olympic Team Trials (April 10), defeating four-time National Champion Kyle Dake in the best-of-three finals to earn the spot on the National Team.

JUNIOR (2015-16)

• Captured his second NCAA National Championship at 197 pounds on March 19 in a 4-2 win over No. 1-ranked Morgan McIntosh (Penn State), earning All-America Honors for the third consecutive season.
• One of two Mizzou wrestlers to win two NCAA titles (Ben Askren 2006-07).
• Fourth three-time All-American in program history, joining Ben Askren (4x, 2004-07), Max Askren (2008-10) and Drake Houdashelt (2013-15).
• Was awarded the “Most Outstanding Wrestler” at end-of-the-year banquet, earning the honor for the second time in career (2014).
• Finished the season with a 33-1 overall record and 15-1 dual record with nine falls, seven major decisions and seven technical falls.
• Ranked first on the team in wins (33), dual wins (15), dual points (65) and technical falls (7).
• Ranked second on the team in falls (9) and major decisions (7).
• Among program records, ranks first in career winning percentage (.958, 108-5), fourth in career technical falls (14), tied for fifth in technical falls in a season (7), sixth in career major decisions (24) and 14^th in career wins (108).
• Won his third consecutive MAC title with a 9-1 major decision over Phil Wellington (Ohio) on March 6. Was named Most Outstanding Wrestler for tournament following two pins and a major decision en route to the title.
• Became the fastest wrestler in program history to reach 100 wins in a 16-7 major decision over No. 10-ranked Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska), doing so in 105 matches (Feb. 21). The win helped Mizzou defeat Nebraska in its NWCA National Duals Series matchup.
• Posted a 10-5 win over No. 14-ranked Anthony Abro (Eastern Michigan, Jan. 15).
• Bumped up to heavyweight against Cornell, scoring a 24-9 technical fall over Jeramy Sweany to secure an 18-17 victory for Mizzou (Jan. 10).
• Placed first at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Dec. 5), defeating three ranked opponents en route to the title, including a 22-7 technical fall over No. 20-ranked Derek Thomas (Utah Valley) in the quarterfinals round.
• Won the Championship at the Joe Parisi Open (Nov. 21), defeating No. 10-ranked Jacob Smith (West Virginia), 2-0, to capture the title.

• Earned All-American honors for the second straight season and cemented himself as one of the top 197 pound wrestlers in the country.
• Finished the season with a 37-2 total record, including a perfect 21-0 dual record (6-0 in MAC duals).
• Concluded the regular season with an unblemished 30-0 record, and stretched his perfect record well into NCAA Championships.
• Suffered his first season loss on March 20, 2015 in the 197 pound NCAA Championships semifinals matchup. Before the loss, had put together a 36-0 record and an NCAA leading 56 consecutive victories dating back to the end of his 2013-14 season.
• Heading into 2015 NCAA's, his 36 consecutive victories included a 197 pound championship at the Cyclone Open, a 197 pound title at the Southern Scuffle, and 197 pound top honors at the MAC Wrestling Championships.
• After losing back-to-back matches at NCAA's, rebounded with a 4-2 decision win over Conner Hartmann (Duke) to secure fifth place.
• His perfect 3-0 record and 197 pound title at the MAC Wrestling Championships was his second straight crown, and locked up his second consecutive trip to NCAA's.
• During his perfect 21-0 regular season dual record, he tallied 87 total dual points which led all Mizzou grapplers.
• Of his 37 season wins, 19 of those produced bonus points for the team (seven MD, four TF, and eight Falls).
• Defeated 12 nationally ranked wrestlers on the season, including two up a weight class at HWT.
• Highest ranked wins included 2-1 decision over No. 4 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State), 6-1 decision over No. 5 Conner Hartmann (Duke), 4-3 decision over No. 6 Nathan Burak (Iowa) and 3-2 decision over No. 8 Max Huntley (Michigan.
• Two-time MAC Wrestler of the Week (Nov. 24-30 and Dec. 29 - Jan. 4).

• Keeping his redshirt off for this season, Cox had the most successful season on the Tiger squad, picking up 38 wins on the season as well as both a conference and national title at 197 pounds.
• In his first collegiate match of his career, Cox defeated Colt Castlebury of North Dakota State by major decision, 14-4.
• Claimed tournament titles at the Warren Willams/Daktronics, Joe Parisi and UNI Opens. Won all 13 of his matches across the three tournaments including wins over Blake Rosholt (Oklahoma St.), Basil Minto (UNI) and Willie Miklus (Mizzou).
• Finished in third place at the Southern Scuffle, picking up his first 3 ranked wins including two over No. 3 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) and another over No. 15 Rosholt (Oklahoma St.).
• Won his remaining dual matches including ranked wins over No. 3 Travis Rutt (Oklahoma) and No. 19 Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma St.).
• Cox's only two regular season losses came against Phil Wellington (Ohio) during the Ohio dual and No. 2 Kyven Gadson (Iowa State) at the Southern Scuffle.
• Represented the Tigers at the 2014 MAC Championships. In a rematch from earlier in the season, Cox defeated Ohio's No. 8 Phil Wellington in the finals to claim his first conference title. The major decision (10-1) win helped the Missouri team claim their third-consecutive conference title. The win also gave him an automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Championships.
• At Nationals, Cox dominated his way to the finals as the No. 2 seed.
• In the semi-finals, a 4-1 decision win over No. 14 Chris Penny (Virginia Tech) pushed Cox through to the finals, where he was faced by No. 1 Nick Heflin of Ohio State.
• In what came down to an officials review on a possible takedown at the last second of the match (the official call was that the takedown occurred after the match had ended - it was a matter of seconds), Cox won his first NCAA National Championship by decision 2-1. He was the fourth Tiger wrestler, and the youngest, to win a National Championship, giving Mizzou it's fifth title since 2006.
• Was honored with the 2014 MAC Freshman of the Year and 2014 MAC Wrestler of the Year awards.
• Earned two program awards - the Most Outstanding Wrestler Award and the Marshall Esteppe Most Outstanding Freshman Award.
   

• Came to Mizzou with one of the most impressive high school resumes in the country.
• Lost three time his freshman year, and went undefeated for the remainder of high school, finishing with an overall record of 205-3. His senior season he went 56-0.
• Was the first Missouri wrestler to accomplish the feat of claiming four state titles in four different weight classes. Cox began at 171 pounds his freshman year, working his way up each year jumping to 215 pounds, 220 pounds and finally HWT his senior year.
• Made noise nationally after being crowned the 2012 Fargo Asics Nationals 220-pound Junior Freestyle Champion.
• In 2011, was the Fargo Asics Nationals Cadet Greco Roman Champion at 215-pounds, additionally taking third in the 215-pound freestyle bracket.
• Was a member of the 2013 Junior Nationals Duals All-Tournament Team.
• Won the 2013 NHSCA Adam Frey Memorial Award and the 2013 central region Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
• Lettered in both wrestling and football all four years of his time at Hickman.
• Claimed All-State honors as a linebacker for the Hickman football team his junior year.
   

• J'den was born to Michael and Cathy Cox on March 3, 1995, in Columbia, Mo.
• Is the third of four children, with two older brothers, Zach and Drae, and sister, Chai.
• Brother, Drae, wrestled for Lindenwood University.