Missouri sweeps MAC wrestling awards for fourth straight year with Smith, Cox, Eierman honored

Photo of Missouri head coach Brian Smith courtesy of MUTigers.com
COLUMBIA, Mo. – For the fourth consecutive year, Mizzou Wrestling swept the Mid-American Conference awards as the league announced its winners on Tuesday. Head Coach Brian Smith was named the Coach of the Year, while senior 197-pounder J’den Cox (Columbia, Mo.) was named Wrestler of the Year and redshirt freshman 141-pounder Jaydin Eierman (Columbia, Mo.) the Freshman of the Year.
Smith received his fifth-straight MAC Coach of the Year honor and sixth-straight conference coach of the year award overall (Big 12 in 2012), while Cox was named the conference’s top wrestler for the third time (2014, 2016).
“I’m very proud of what our team accomplished this season,” said Smith. “Even though they sometimes caused their own adversity, they learned from it. They learned from their mistakes and got better. There was a lot of talent on this team, and when the lights went on and it was time to perform, this team stepped up and accomplished a great deal this season.”
In his 19th season at the helm of the Tiger program, Smith led Mizzou to its sixth consecutive conference tournament title (Big 12 in 2012, MAC in 2013-17) and a fifth-place finish at the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships, its seventh top-10 NCAA finish under Smith and eighth overall. Mizzou tied a program record with five NCAA All-Americans – Cox, Eierman, redshirt senior 149-pounder Lavion Mayes (Mascoutah, Ill.), redshirt junior Joey Lavallee (Reno, Nev.) and redshirt sophomore 165-pounder Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.) – and set a program record with six individual conference champions – Cox, Eierman, Mayes, Lavallee, Lewis and redshirt sophomore 133-pounder John Erneste (Kansas City, Mo.).
Three Tigers – Cox, Mayes and Lavallee – made the NCAA Finals, marking the first time in program history Mizzou has sent more the one wrestler to Saturday’s evening session. In total, 24 wrestlers have earned 47 All-America honors under Smith’s guidance.
Mizzou finished the season with a record of 11-4 in duals, marking the 16th consecutive season the Tigers have finished the season with a winning record. For all of the team’s successes, Smith was named the 2017 National Coaches Wrestling Association (NWCA) Coach of the Year, which is the second national coach of the year award for Smith after he won the 2007 Dan Gable Coach of the Year award.
Cox, 2017 MAC Wrestler of the Year, captured his third NCAA title at 197 pounds on March 18 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo., becoming the first Tiger wrestler and first student-athlete in Mizzou Athletics history to win three NCAA titles. Cox finished second in the Dan Hodge Trophy voting, collegiate wrestling’s top honor, announced by W.I.N. Magazine on March 28.
“So proud of J’den Cox to keep his focus throughout the year after coming off the Olympics,” said Smith. “His body was worn out and fatigued, yet his leadership and his ability to stay composed through everything never faltered. Not only did he perform at a high level, he had one of his best season’s ever.”
Cox defeated Minnesota’s Brett Pfarr, 8-2, in the finals to reach the pinnacle of collegiate wrestling once again. He finished the season with a record of 28-0, becoming just the second Tiger wrestler to finish a season with a perfect record (Askren 2006, 2007). Of Cox's 28 victories, only 11 came via decision, as he scored six falls, six technical falls, and seven major-decisions.
Cox, who won an Olympic Bronze medal in men's freestyle wrestling at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, previously won the national title at 197 pounds in 2014 and 2016. He surpassed Mizzou legend Ben Askren, who won national titles at 174 pounds in 2006 and 2007, as the only Tiger to win three national titles.
For his career, Cox finished with the best winning percentage among any wrestler with over 100 wins (96.4 percent, 136-5), tied for second-most wins with Alan Waters (136), second in technical falls (20), third in major decisions (31) and tied for eighth in falls (27). He is one of two wrestlers in program history to record four All-America honors (Askren, 2004-07).
Eierman, 2017 MAC Freshman of the Year, ended his first competitive season by placing fifth at the NCAA Wrestling Championships at 141 pounds. Eierman impressed immensely at the national tournament, going 5-2 while posting two major decisions and knocking off the No. 2, 3 and 5 seeds en route to his All-America finish. Eierman’s podium finish marked the fourth consecutive season Mizzou has sent a freshman to the podium stand, as the Columbia, Mo., native follows Cox, who won the 2014 National Championship at 197 pounds, redshirt junior 184 pounder-Willie Miklus (Altoona, Iowa), seventh at 184 pounds in 2015, and Lewis, fourth at 165 pounds in 2016.
“After facing adversity at the beginning of the season, we made the move to switch Jaydin to 141 and he improved all throughout the year,” said Smith. “His improved practice habits are what made him better. To come through and win the conference, then take fifth in the country at a really tough weight and knock off some really good wrestlers, is a credit to what he did from January on with his training and his mentality.”
After bumping up to 141 pounds from 133 pounds midway through the year, Eierman closed the season by going 22-5, falling only to the 2017 NCAA Champion Dean Heil (twice), 2017 NCAA finalist George DiCamillo (twice) and 2016 NCAA finalist Bryce Meredith. Eierman captured the MAC Championship at 141 pounds after defeating Ohio’s Noah Forrider by way of a major decision, 10-1.
The Tiger freshman posted a record of 29-7 on the season and won 16 matches by bonus points, tallying seven major decisions, five falls and four technical falls. Eierman’s 29 wins tied Lavallee for the most of any Tiger this season, his five falls in dual competition ranked first and his 47 dual points ranked third.