Missouri senior J’Den Cox won his third national title and Mizzou finished fifth as a team in the NCAA Division One wrestling tournament at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
The 197-pound Cox won his championship match 8-2 on Saturday night to become the first three-time national champion in the history of the MU wrestling program. Cox was a bronze medalist in freestyle wrestling at last summer’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Finishing second for Mizzou at the NCAA Tournament were 149 pound redshirt senior Lavion Mayes and 157 pound redshirt junior Joey Lavelle. Also from Mizzou, redshirt freshman Jaydin Eierman was fifth at 141 pounds and redshirt sophomore Daniel Lewis was sixth at 165 pounds.
Missouri Head Wrestling Coach Brian Smith was named national coach of the year by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Smith has led the Tiger wrestling program for 19 years.
Penn State’s Nittany Lions had five individual champions, all in consecutive weight classes, to run away with the national championship. Ohio State was 2nd, Oklahoma State 3rd, Iowa 4th, and Mizzou 5th.
Photo credit – Chris Lee / St. Louis Post-Dispatch / St. Louis, MO
