J’den Cox named 2019 John Smith Award winner, as USA Wrestling’s Freestyle Wrestler of the Year

J'den Cox celebrates after winning his 2019 World gold medal.


J’den Cox (Colorado Springs, Colo./Titan Mercury WC/USOPTC) has been named the winner of the 2019 John Smith Award as the Freestyle Wrestler of the Year by USA Wrestling. It is the first time that he has won this prestigious award.


The award is named in honor of two-time Olympic champion and four-time World champion John Smith.


Cox won his second straight World Championships gold medal, when he powered through the 92 kg bracket to win the World title in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan in September. He defeated Ali Reza Karimimachiani of Iran in the gold-medal finals, 4-0.


Cox had a 4-0 record at the World Championships without allowing a point, defeating his four opponents by a 26-0 margin. It was his fourth straight medal at the World and Olympic level, to go along with his 2016 Olympic bronze medal, his 2017 World bronze medal and his 2018 World gold medal. Cox went the entire 2019 year without a loss.


He added gold medals at two other major competitions, the Pan American Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina in April, and the Yasar Dogu International in Turkey in July.


Among the athletes that Cox beat at the Pan American Championships was 2012 Olympic silver medalist Jaime Espinal of Puerto Rico. At the Yasar Dogu, which was a UWW Ranking Series event, Cox went 4-0, scoring technical falls in all four matches, and beating his opponents by a 43-0 margin. In the Yasar Dogu finals, Cox beat Bendeguz Toth of Hungary, 10-0.


To qualify for this fourth straight USA World or Olympic team, Cox defeated Bo Nickal in Final X: Rutgers in June in two consecutive matches, 5-0 and 4-2. Later in the season, Nickal became a U23 World champion.


Cox also won his match in the Beat the Streets Gala event, the “Grapple at the Garden” held in Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in May, stopping Patrick Brucki in a 13-0 technical fall.


Cox is a U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center resident athlete. He was a three-time NCAA champion and four-time All-American for the University of Missouri. Cox was a four-time Missouri state champion for Hickman High School in Columbia, Mo.

PAST JOHN SMITH AWARD WINNERS AS FREESTYLE WRESTLER OF THE YEAR

2019 – J’den Cox, Colorado Springs, Colo., Titan Mercury WC

2018 - David Taylor, State College, Pa., Nittany Lion WC

2017 – Kyle Snyder, Woodbine, Md., Titan Mercury WC

2016 – Kyle Snyder, Woodbine, Md., Titan Mercury WC

2015 – Kyle Snyder, Woodbine, Md., Titan Mercury WC

2014 – Tervel Dlagnev, Columbus, Ohio, Sunkist Kids

2013 - Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb., Sunkist Kids

2012 - Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb., Sunkist Kids

2011 – Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb., Sunkist Kids

2010 – J.D. Bergman, Columbus, Ohio, New York AC

2009 – Jake Herbert, Evanston, Ill., New York AC

2008 - Henry Cejudo, Colorado Springs, Colo., Sunkist Kids

2007 - Daniel Cormier, Stillwater, Okla., Gator WC

2006 - Bill Zadick, Colorado Springs, Colo., Gator WC

2005 - Tolly Thompson, Cedar Falls, Iowa, Sunkist Kids

2004 - Cael Sanderson, Ames, Iowa, Sunkist Kids

2003 - Cael Sanderson, Ames, Iowa, Sunkist Kids

2002 - Joe Williams, Iowa City, Iowa, Sunkist Kids

2001 - Joe Williams, Iowa City, Iowa, Sunkist Kids

2000 - Brandon Slay, Amarillo, Texas, Dave Schultz WC

1999 - Stephen Neal, Bakerfield, Calif., Dave Schultz WC

1998 - Sammie Henson, Norman, Okla., Sunkist Kids

1997 - Les Gutches, Corvallis, Ore., Sunkist Kids

1996 - Kendall Cross, Raleigh, N.C., Sunkist Kids

1995 - Kevin Jackson, Phoenix, Ariz., Sunkist Kids

1994 - Melvin Douglas, Mesa, Ariz., Sunkist Kids

1993 - Terry and Tom Brands, Iowa City, Iowa, Team Foxcatcher

1992 - John Smith, Stillwater, Okla., Sunkist Kids