Missouri takes aim at third straight MAC Championships crown

Missouri's J'den Cox after winning 2014 NCAA title. Photo: John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com

The top-ranked Missouri Tigers enter the Mid-American Conference Championships seeking the program’s fourth straight conference crown and third straight MAC Championship.

The Tigers ascended to the top of the NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll rankings after stunning then-No. 1 Iowa, 18-12, in the NWCA National Duals finals on Iowa’s home turf, the always-raucous Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Missouri is undoubtedly the team to beat at the MAC Championships, wrestling in front of their hometown crowd at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo. this Saturday and Sunday.

“Wrestling at home for the MACs is nice, but I’m not letting it get blown out of proportion,” said Brian Smith, University of Missouri head coach. “We have competed at some tough places on the road and competed well.”

The Tigers are undefeated this season, posting a 24-0 overall record in addition to going 8-0 in MAC duals. The only blemish on Missouri’s otherwise spotless resume is a second place finish to No. 7 Penn State at the prestigious Southern Scuffle New Year’s tournament.

“For us, winning the National Duals does help confidence in each individual, and knowing we have a strong team,” Smith said. “Every time we have stepped on the mat this year we have had a lot of success”

Missouri boasts a deep squad, as evident by the Tigers earning six No. 1 seeds at this weekend’s conference championship, including two of the nation’s undefeated and No. 1 ranked wrestlers, Alan Waters at 125 pounds and J’den Cox at 197 pounds.

Waters has posted an impressive 27-0 record this year, including seven wins over top-10 foes. Prior to taking a redshirt last season, Waters was a three-time NCAA Qualifier and NCAA All-American in 2013, finishing in fourth place at the NCAA Championships. Waters owns both a Big 12 and MAC championship.

Cox has continued this season right where he left off a season ago after winning the NCAA Championships as a true freshman. The phenom is 30-0 this season and holds a 50-match winning streak, dating back to last year, heading into the MAC Championships. His streak of wins is the highest among all active NCAA Division I wrestlers.

“That’s what I have been doing, just going out there and winning,” Cox said. “We love to wrestle and we love what we do. Each day we come into the room wanting to get better. We are not done here. We are not satisfied. That is what’s special about this team. We are never done.”

Additional top seeds for the Tigers include Zach Synon at 133 pounds, No. 1 Drake Houdashelt at 149 pounds, No. 5 Johnny Eblen at 174 pounds and No. 14 Willie Miklus at 184 pounds. Tiger Lavion Mayes is ranked No. 6 nationally and holds the No. 2 seed at the MAC Championships.

“We have been stressing all year how important bonus points are, so going out to these matches in these tournaments and not thinking they are bigger than any other match we have had all year, just go wrestle and do what you do,” Smith said. “I think when kids take that approach they wrestle a little more relaxed and get after it.”

Three teams, Old Dominion, Central Michigan and Northern Iowa, appear to be Missouri’s closest challengers at the MAC Championships.

The Old Dominion Monarchs finished the regular season ranked No. 22 in the NCAA posting a 13-5 overall record and finished tied for second place in the MAC’s with Central Michigan with a 6-2 conference record.

The Monarchs claimed six top-5 seeds, led by No. 1 seed at 165 pounds Tristan Warner and No. 2 seed at 184 pounds Jack Dechow.

The redshirt senior Warner is 23-2 this season with his only two losses coming at the Midlands Championships, where he finished in seventh place. He is a two-time NCAA qualifier and finished in fourth place at the MAC Championships last season.

Only a sophomore, Dechow is 22-1 entering the postseason and became Old Dominion’s first Midlands champion this year. He was a MAC champion in 2014 as a redshirt freshman and finished in fourth place at the NCAA Championships. Dechow’s only loss this season came at the hands of the Missouri’s Miklus by a 9-7 decision in sudden victory.

Also going 6-2 in MAC duals, Central Michigan hopes to play spoiler to Missouri this weekend, led by the top-seed at 141 pounds Zach Horan.

Horan is 17-4 on the year and owns an 8-0 record against MAC competition. He is a two-time NCAA qualifier and won the MAC Championships in 2012. Horan is the only No. 1 seed for the Chippewa’s.

After falling just shy of the MAC championship last season due to a late Missouri surge, Northern Iowa is hoping for a different outcome in Columbia this weekend.

The Panthers are 8-8 in dual meets this season and 5-3 in conference. This UNI squad boasts one No. 1 seed, Blaize Cabell at 285 pounds, in addition to two returning MAC champions Dylan Peters (125) and Cooper Moore (165), both of whom are seeded second.

“We’re ready for the MAC tournament,” said Doug Schwab, UNI head coach. “This is what we’ve built all season for up to this point. I thought we had a good practice week last week. I know that we are ready to go. The work is done. It’s all about putting some fine edges on some guys and getting them in the right frame of mind.”

The ever-electric Kent State Golden Flash Ian Miller is the top seed at 157 pounds, holding a 12-4 record this season. Miller is the defending MAC champion at this weight class and finished in fourth place at the NCAA Championships in 2014. Last summer Miller won the University National Championships in freestyle after pinning four-time NCAA All-American Tyler Caldwell twice in the best-of-three finals.

The Ohio Bobcats will add some firepower to the MAC mix with No. 2 seed at 197 pounds Phil Wellington leading the way. Wellington was a NCAA qualifier last year and owns a win over defending NCAA champion J’den Cox, who he could potentially see once again this weekend.

Ohio also boasts two-time defending MAC champion Cody Walters who is seeded second at 174 pounds.

Rounding out the MAC Championships field are Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois.

Eastern Michigan claims two No. 3 seeds entering the MAC’s, with Vincent Pizzuto at 133 pounds and Anthony Abro at 197 pounds.

Derek Elmore is Northern Illinois highest seed at No. 4 at 125 pounds.

While still a member of the MAC, Buffalo will not compete in the postseason this year due to a NCAA postseason ban for low Academic Performance Rate.

Missouri is projecting a record attendance at the Hearnes Center this Saturday and Sunday as fans are purchasing tickets in droves to support of the hometown, No. 1 Missouri Tigers.

“We were hoping to have a couple of thousand and now they are talking double that,” Smith said. “The whole state is coming out to it now. They don’t have too many number one ranked teams that are competing too often so that’s the neat thing about it.”

Fans can watch all sessions of the MAC Championships live online on ESPN3.

To purchase tickets to the 2015 MAC Championships visit MUTigers.com or contact the Mizzou Ticket Office at 1-800-CAT-PAWS.

Mid-American Conference Championships
March 7-8 at Hearnes Center, Columbia, Mo.

EVENT SCHEDULE
Saturday, March 7
2:00 p.m. (CST) – Quarterfinals
5:00 p.m. (CST) – Consolation Round 1, Semifinals

Sunday, March 8
12:00 p.m. (CST) – Consolation Semifinals
1:20 p.m. (CST) – Finals, 3rd Place, 5th Place

WEBCAST: Live on ESPN3

MAC NCAA AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS (33)
125 (2), 133 (1), 141 (3), 149 (5), 157 (3), 165 (4), 174 (3), 184 (2), 197 (6), 285 (4)

MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS PRE-SEEDS
125
1- Alan Waters, Missouri
2- Dylan Peters, Northern Iowa
3- Brandon Jeske, Old Dominion
4- Derek Elmore, Northern Illinois
5- Brent Fleetwood, Central Michigan
6- Del Vinas, Kent State
7- Zak Hassan, Ohio
8- Shayne Wireman, Eastern Michigan

133
1- Zach Synon, Missouri
2- Tyler Keselring, Central Michigan
3- Vincent Pizzuto, Eastern Michigan
4- Mack McGuire, Kent State
5- Kagan Squire, Ohio
6- Leighton Gaul, Northern Iowa
7- Michael Hayes, Old Dominion
8- Jordan Northrup, Northern Illinois

141
1- Zach Horan, Central Michigan
2- Lavion Mayes, Missouri
3- Chris Mecate, Old Dominion
4- Tyler Small, Kent State
5- Jake Hodges, Northern Iowa
6- Tyler Argue, Northern Illinois
7- Mike Shaw, Eastern Michigan
8- Joel Shump, Ohio

149
1- Drake Houdashelt, Missouri
2- Alexander Richardson, Old Dominion
3- Colin Heffernan, Central Michigan
4- Tywan Claxton, Ohio
5- Nick Barber, Eastern Michigan
6- Mike Depalma, Kent State
7- Gunnar Wolfensperger, Northern Iowa
8- Austin Culton, Northern Illinois

157
1- Ian Miller, Kent State
2- Joey Lavallee, Missouri
3- Jarrett Jensen, Northern Iowa
4- Cody LeCount, Central Michigan
5- Brandon Zeerip, Eastern Michigan
6- Andrew Morse, Northern Illinois
7- Sparty Chino, Ohio
8- TC Warner, Old Dominion

165
1- Tristan Warner, Old Dominion
2- Cooper Moore, Northern Iowa
3- Harrison Hightower, Ohio
4- Jordan Wohlfert, Central Michigan
5- Mikey England, Missouri
6- Tyler Buckwalter, Kent State
7- Shaun'Qae McMurtry, Northern Illinois
8- Devan Marry, Eastern Michigan

174
1- Johnny Eblen, Missouri
2- Cody Walters, Ohio
3- Jordan Ellingwood, Central Michigan
4- Caleb Marsh, Kent State
5- Trace Engelkes, Northern Illinois
6- Austin Coburn, Old Dominion
7- Curt Maas, Northern Iowa
8- Kayne MacCallum, Eastern Michigan

184
1- Willie Miklus, Missouri
2- Jack Dechow, Old Dominion
3- Jerald Spohn, Kent State
4- Andrew Romanchik, Ohio
5- Austin Severn, Central Michigan
6- Cody Caldwell, Northern Iowa
7- Quinton Rosser, Northern Illinois
8- Mike Curby, Eastern Michigan

197
1- J'Den Cox, Missouri
2- Phil Wellington, Ohio
3- Anthony Abro, Eastern Michigan
4- Basil Minto, Northern Iowa
5- Shawn Scott, Northern Illinois
6- Kevin Beazley, Old Dominion
7- Cole Baxter, Kent State
8- Jackson Lewis, Central Michigan

285
1- Blaize Cabell, Northern Iowa
2- Devin Mellon, Missouri
3- Mimmo Lytle, Kent State
4- Jake Henderson, Old Dominion
5- Gage Hutchison, Eastern Michigan
6- Adam Robinson, Central Michigan
7- Jesse Webb, Ohio
8- Arthur Bunce, Northern Illinois