Missouri leads MAC Championships after first day with eight wrestlers in finals

Willie Miklus (Missouri) after semi-final win at 184 pounds. Photo: John Kelly

VIDEO: 2015 MAC Championships Interviews

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Missouri faithful had plenty to cheer for on Saturday night at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo. as the hometown Tigers sent eight wrestlers to the finals of the Mid-American Conference Championships.

The nation’s top-ranked 125 pounder, Alan Waters, cruised to the finals, winning by technical fall in both of his matches. Waters defeated Derek Elmore of Northern Illinois 18-0 in the semifinals to extend his undefeated record to 29-0 on the season.

“We have been talking big about team points if we want to get that title this year, so I’ve been going out and trying to get the falls but came up short on both of them with the tech falls, but bonus points, tomorrow I am looking to do the same thing and get some bonus points,” said Waters.

Waters is set to face the defending MAC champion at 125 pounds, No. 6 Dylan Peters of Northern Iowa, in the finals tomorrow afternoon.

“[Peters] is a tough wrestler. He is dangerous. He has pinned a lot of guys this year so I’ve got to wrestle smart, get to my ties and control the match,” said Waters.

Reigning NCAA Champion at 197 pounds, Missouri’s No. 1 J’den Cox extended his NCAA high win streak to 52 matches after upending Jackson Lewis of Central Michigan 17-3 in the quarterfinals and receiving a medical forfeit from Shawn Scott of Northern Illinois in the semifinals.

“Yes it was a great day, we showed up and came ready to wrestle,” said Cox. “I’m proud to have a bunch of people ‘M-I-Z’ and ‘Z-O-Uing’ all over the place and you hear it in the arena every time you win.”

Cox will face Ohio’s No. 17 Phillip Wellington in the 197-pound finals. Wellington is one of only two men who have defeated Cox in his NCAA career. Most recently, Cox defeated Wellington in the finals of the 2014 MAC Championships by major decision, 10-1.

“I know [Wellington] is really strong. He is also one of those guys that is just a freak athlete at the weight. His strength’s are his strength’s and he knows how to use them,” said Cox.

The third No. 1 ranked wrestler in the NCAA for the gritty Missouri squad, Drake Houdashelt, advanced to the 149-pound finals with a hard-fought 7-4 victory over No. 14 Tywan Claxton of Ohio. Old Dominion’s No. 12 Alexander Richardson will be Houdashelt’s finals opponent tomorrow afternoon.

Top-seed Zach Synon added to the Missouri total, edging Ohio’s Kagan Squire 4-3 to book his spot in the 133-pound finals.

Also making the finals for Missouri were No. 16 Joseph LaValle (157), No. 5 Johnny Eblen (174), No. 14 Willie Miklus (184) and No. 10 Devin Mellon (285).

Missouri has, for all intents and purposes, clinched the program’s third straight MAC Championship, scoring 122 team points on day one. In second place is Old Dominion with 76.5 points followed by Northern Iowa with 63 points.

“We haven’t done anything yet. We have a ways to go,” said Missouri Head Coach Brian Smith. “I wanted 10 guys in the finals so I’m not extremely happy but now we have got to battle for a couple spots here still. The thing I like is we are consistent. We are the team taking the shots. Our team is getting after it.”

In a top-10 battle at 141 pounds, Old Dominion’s No. 9 Chris Mecate took out Missouri’s No. 6 Lavion Mayes 3-1 in one of the most intense matches of the evening. Mecate scored a double leg takedown on Mayes in the first sudden victory period to clinch the victory.

Mecate will see No. 5 Zachary Horan of Central Michigan in the finals at 141 pounds.

Mecate’s fellow Monarch No. 3 Jack Dechow secured a spot in the MAC finals with a dominating 16-0 technical fall over Jerald Spohn of Kent State in the semifinals.

Dechow is set to face the only man to defeat him in the regular season, Willie Miklus of Missouri, in the 184-pound finals. Miklus beat Dechow 9-7 in sudden victory in November.

Top-seed Ian Miller of Kent State scored a 13-6 win in the semifinals over Brandon Zeerip of Eastern Michigan to earn a spot in the 157-pound finals against Missouri’s Joseph LaValle.

Defending MAC Champion Cooper Moore of Northern Iowa beat Harrison Hightower of Ohio 5-3 in the semifinals to secure a finals berth at 165 pounds for the second straight year. Moore will face top-seed Tristan Warner of Old Dominion in the finals.

At 285 pounds it will be a battle of the top two seeds in the finals, as No. 9 Blaize Cabell of Northern Iowa will show down against No. 10 Devin Mellon of Missouri.

Action resumes tomorrow at 12 p.m. (CDT) with the consolation semifinals followed by the medal matches at 1:20 p.m. (CDT).

Fans can watch day two of the MAC Championships live on ESPN3.

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

Team Standings
1. Missouri 122
2. Old Dominion 76.5
3. Northern Iowa 63
4. Ohio 55
5. Central Michigan 54.5
6. Kent State 48.5
7. Eastern Michigan 24.5
8. Northern Illinois 23.5

Finals Matchups

125: No. 1 Alan Waters (Missouri) vs. No. 6 Dylan Peters
133: Zach Synon (Missouri) vs. Tyler Keselring (Central Michigan)
141: No. 5 Zachary Horan (Central Michigan) vs. No. 9 Chris Mecate (Old Dominion)
149: No. 1 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) vs. No. 12 Alexander Richardson (Old Dominion)
157: No. 6 Ian Miller (Kent State) vs. No. 16 Joseph LaValle (Missouri)
165: No. 14 Tristan Warner (Old Dominion) vs. No. 15 Cooper Moore (Northern Iowa)
174: No. 5 Johnny Eblen (Missouri) vs. No. 10 Cody Walters (Ohio)
184: No. 14 Willie Miklus (Missouri) vs. No. 3 Jack Dechow (Old Dominion)
197: No. 1 J’den Cox (Missouri) vs. No. 17 Phillip Wellington (Ohio)
285: No. 9 Blaize Cabell (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 10 Devin Mellon (Missouri)

Semi-Final Results

125
No. 1 Alan Waters (Missouri) tech fall Derek Elmore (Northern Illinois) 18-0
No. 6 Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa) dec Brandon Jeske (Old Dominion) 8-2

133
Zach Synon (Missouri) dec Kagan Squire (Ohio) 4-3
Tyler Keselring (Central Michigan) dec Vincent Pizzuto (Eastern Michigan) 8-3

141
No. 5 Zachary Horan (Central Michigan) dec Jake Hodges (Northern Iowa) 5-3
No. 9 Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) dec No. 6 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) 3-1 SV1

149
No. 12 Alexander Richardson (Old Dominion) dec Michael Depalma (Kent State) 4-2
No. 1 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) dec No. 14 Tywan Claxton (Ohio) 7-4

157
No. 16 Joseph LaValle (Missouri) dec Jarrett Jensen (Northern Iowa) 3-2
No. 6 Ian Miller (Kent State) dec Brandon Zeerip (Eastern Michigan) 13-6

165
No. 14 Tristan Warner (Old Dominion) dec Jordan Wohlfert (Central Michigan) 7-4
No. 15 Cooper Moore (Northern Iowa) dec Harrison Hightower (Ohio) 5-3

174
No. 5 Johnny Eblen (Missouri) dec Caleb Marsh (Kent State) 6-2
No. 10 Cody Walters (Ohio) dec Jordan Ellingwood (Central Michigan) 3-0

184
No. 3 Jack Dechow (Old Dominion) tech fall Jerald Spohn (Kent State) 16-0
No. 14 Willie Miklus (Missouri) maj dec Andrew Romanchik (Ohio) 12-4

197
No. 1 J’den Cox (Missouri) Med. For. Shawn Scott (Northern Illinois)
No. 17 Phillip Wellington (Ohio) dec Kevin Beazley (Old Dominion) 6-1

285
No. 9 Blaize Cabell (Northern Iowa) dec Jacob Henderson (Old Dominion) 4-2
No. 10 Devin Mellon (Missouri) dec Mimmo Lytle (Kent State) 8-3