Cox and Gwiazdowski named Wrestler of the Year in MAC, ACC

Missouri swept the Mid-American Conference honors including junior J’Den Cox taking home the MAC Wrestler of the Year award for the second time in his collegiate career.  

The Atlantic Coast Conference announced that North Carolina State senior Nick Gwiazdowski was the conferences Wrestler of the Year for the third straight season.

Below are press releases from Missouri and NC State, respectively.  

@MizzouWrestling Sweeps MAC Honors for Third Straight Season

Brian Smith named Coach of the Year, Cox Wrestler of the Year, and Lewis Freshman Wrestler of the Year

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Following its fourth straight Mid-American Conference Championship, fifth conference championship overall (Big 12 Title in 2012), and a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, Mizzou Wrestling swept the end-of-the-year MAC awards, announced by the conference office on Tuesday. Head Coach Brian Smith earned MAC Coach of the Year honors for the fourth straight season (fifth overall, Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2012), while junior 197-pounder J’den Cox (Columbia, Mo.) won MAC Wrestler of the Year for the second time in his career (2014), and redshirt freshman 165-pounder Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.) earned MAC Freshman Wrestler of the Year.

The three awards mark the third consecutive season #TigerStyle has swept the end of the year MAC honors. In 2014, Smith was named Coach of the Year, while Cox won Wrestler of the Year and Freshman of the Year in 2014. Last season, Smith was Coach of the Year, while Drake Houdashelt took home Wrestler of the Year honors and redshirt sophomore 184-pounder Willie Miklus (Altoona, Iowa) won Freshman Wrestler of the Year.

This season, Smith led Mizzou to its seventh Top 10 NCAA finish in program history and the third-highest finish overall. Six of the seven finishes for Mizzou have come with Smith at the helm, including the top three; third in 2006-07, fourth in 2014-15, and sixth in 2015-16. #TigerStyle finished the dual season with a 14-2 record, winning its second straight MAC Regular Season title after finishing 8-0 in the MAC for the second consecutive season. Over the last two and a half seasons dating back to Feb. 7, 2014, Mizzou has won 42 of its last 44 duals, capturing the 2014 NWCA National Duals Championship. Mizzou won its fifth straight conference tournament title on March 6 after finishing the 2016 MAC Championships with 127.5 team points, 34 points ahead of second place Central Michigan.

Cox became the second wrestler in program history (Ben Askren, 2006, 2007) to win two NCAA National Championships with a 4-2 decision over Penn State’s Morgan McIntosh on March 19 in New York City at Madison Square Garden. Cox scored a takedown with eight seconds remaining to defeat McIntosh, who was undefeated and held the No. 1 seed entering the tournament. The Tiger junior finished the season with a 33-1 record, scoring bonus points in 23 of 33 wins via nine falls, seven technical falls (tied for fifth-most in program history for a single season), and seven major decisions.

As a true freshman, Cox won the 2014 197 pound National Championship, followed by a fifth place finish at the national tournament in 2014-15. Cox became the fourth three-time All-American in school history, following Ben Askren (2004-07), Max Askren (2008-10), and Drake Houdashelt (2013-15).

The hometown Tiger became the 24^th member of Mizzou's 100-win club with a 16-7 major decision victory in Mizzou's 19-14 win over Nebraska in the NWCA National Duals Series on Feb. 21. Cox reached the century mark in 105 matches, the fastest to 100 wins in program history. Cox also owns the best winning percentage of any wrestler in program history over 100 wins at .955 (108-5), slightly ahead of Ben Askren's mark of .950 (153-8). For his career, Cox has 14 technical falls, fourth most in Mizzou history and 24 major decisions, sixth most.

In his first year on the official roster, Lewis earned All-America Honors, finishing fourth at the 2016 NCAA Wrestling National Championships. Mizzou has had a freshman earn All-America honors each of the last three seasons after Cox earned All-America status in 2014 and Miklus in 2015. Lewis finished the season with a 29-6 record, scoring bonus points in 16 of 29 wins, including a team-high 10 falls. Lewis defeated seven ranked opponents this season, including back-to-back wins over top-10 opponents in February. On Feb. 14, Lewis defeated then-No. 6 ranked Max Rohskopf (N.C. State), 6-1, followed by a 4-0 win over then-No.9 ranked Austin Wilson (Nebraska) on Feb. 21.

Lewis captured the 2016 165 pound MAC Championship on March 6, outscoring the opposition 30-3 in three matches en route to the title. The Tiger freshman placed third at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 5 and won the “Most Falls in the Least Amount of Time” Award for the tournament after recording five first-period falls in the tournament. Last season, in his redshirt season as an unattached wrestler, Lewis went 21-8, recording 15 pins.

Mizzou will look to build on a successful 2015-16 campaign as all four All-Americans and seven of nine NCAA qualifiers will return in 2016-17. The 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships will take place in St. Louis, Mo. at the Scottrade Center.

For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouWrestling).

NC STATE’S GWIAZDOWSKI EARNS THIRD CONSECUTIVE ACC WRESTLER OF THE YEAR HONOR

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) — NC State senior Nick Gwiazdowski (Delanson, New York), Virginia Tech freshman David McFadden (West Milford, New Jersey) and Virginia Tech head coach Kevin Dresser claimed the 2016 ACC Wrestling Awards, announced Tuesday by Commissioner John Swofford.

Gwiazdowski was named the ACC Wrestler of the Year for the third consecutive year. McFadden earned ACC Freshman Wrestler of the Year honors, and Dresser was named the ACC’s Wrestling Coach of the Year for the fourth straight time.

All three awards were determined by a vote of the league’s six wrestling head coaches.

Gwiazdowski, who this year claimed his third ACC title at 285 pounds, finished as the NCAA runner-up after winning the national title in 2014 and 2015. He becomes only the second wrestler in ACC history to be named Wrestler of the Year three straight times, having also been voted the award after the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Only NC State’s Sylvester Terkay, another heavyweight, had previously won ACC Wrestler of the Year three times (1991-92-93).

Gwiazdowski also became the second ACC wrestler to reach the NCAA Championship finals for three consecutive years, joining only North Carolina’s T.J. Jaworsky, a three-time NCAA champion (1993-94-95).

Gwiazdowski, who had won an ACC-record 88 consecutive matches until dropping a sudden-victory, 7-5 overtime loss in this year’s NCAA Championship finals, completed his career with a 34-1 record this past year, posting a perfect 5-0 record in the ACC and winning his third straight ACC title. He is one of just two ACC wrestlers in history to have won back-to-back national titles. His last loss prior to the overtime loss in the NCAA finals to Kyle Snyder of Ohio State was on January 2, 2014.

A four-time NCAA All-American, who also finished eighth nationally while a freshman at Binghamton, Gwiazdowski was named the Most Valuable Wrestler at this year’s ACC Wrestling Championship in leading NC State to its first team title since 2006.

“Nick being honored as the ACC Wrestler of the Year is a great recognition and coming from one of the best conferences in the nation, it is truly an honor,” said NC State head coach Pat Popolizio. “For him to win this award three straight seasons is an impressive accomplishment and shows you how instrumental he has meant to our success.

“He has helped to brand NC State to what it is today and he has helped elevate the academic and competitive nature of our program and the entire ACC overall. We look forward to his future wrestling endeavors, and he will truly be missed.”

Virginia Tech’s McFadden earned All-American honors by finishing fifth nationally in the 165-pound weight class, helping the Hokies to a school and ACC-best fourth place finish at the NCAA Championship.

The No. 14 seed at the NCAA Championship in New York City’s Madison Square Garden, he posted a 6-2 mark in the Championship, losing only to the third seed, Bo Jordan of Ohio State, on two occasions.

McFadden scored upsets over the No. six, seven and ninth-seeded wrestlers to earn a fifth-place finish and garner All-America honors in his first season of collegiate competition.

Overall, McFadden posted a 27-11 individual record on the year and finished third at the ACC Championship in Charlottesville.

“David McFadden had a great year for an 18 year-old kid!” said Dresser. “His determination to get on the podium as a true freshman was most impressive. Obviously, David loves to compete!”

Dresser, who coached Tech to its fourth straight Top 10 and its highest-ever NCAA finish, joined former North Carolina head coach Bill Lam (1997-2000) as the only coaches in league history to be named ACC Wrestling Coach of the Year four straight times.

“This award is a great honor for our program, and especially my coaching staff,” said Dresser. “I consider this a coaching staff award more than individual award. I am very proud of what the ACC did this year as a conference, and I am excited to see the continued growth. The Hokies will enjoy this award.”

Dresser guided the Hokies to a 16-2 dual meet record during the regular season, including a 6-2 mark against nationally-ranked opponents. He led Tech to its second straight regular season ACC dual match title, defeating then third-ranked NC State in their dual meet in the process. Tech finished in first place in ACC dual meet competition for the third time in four seasons.

The Hokies finished the year ranked third nationally by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) national poll, their highest ranking in school history.

Six of Dresser’s wrestlers earned All-American honors, a school and ACC record for a single NCAA Championship in McFadden; Solomon Chishko (Jeannette, Pennsylvania), who finished sixth at 141; senior Nick Brascetta (St. Paris, Ohio), who finished third at 157; Zach Epperly (Christiansburg, Virginia) who finished third at 174; Jared Haught (Parkersburg, West Virginia), who finished sixth at 197 and Ty Walz (Cleveland, Ohio), who finished fourth at 285.