MISSOURI'S J'DEN COX WINS THIRD NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN WRESTLING
2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships - Final Team Results and Bracket
ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- It was another historic wrestling day for the Mid-American Conference as Missouri senior J'den Cox became the 12th MAC wrestling champion in Conference history to win an NCAA National Championship, including the first three-time National Champion. Cox won the 197 weight class with an 8-2 win over Minnesota's Brett Pfarr of Minnesota Saturday night at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. at the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships.
For Cox, he becomes the fifth MAC National Champion in the last seven years -- joining Kent State's Dustin Kilgore in 2011 (197 weight class), Cox in 2014, 2016 and 2017 (197 weight class) and Missouri's Drake Houdashelt in 2015 (149 weight class).
MAC National Champions (12):
1952 - Harry Lanzi, Toledo - 191
1964 - Harry Houska, Ohio - 191
1971 - Greg Wojciechowski, Toledo - HWT
1974 - Doug Wyn, Western Michigan - 167
1978 - Andy Daniels, Ohio - 118
1998 - Dwight Gardner, Ohio - 158
1999 - Casey Cunningham, Central Michigan - 157
2011 - Dustin Kilgore, Kent State - 197
2014 - J'den Cox, Missouri - 197
2015 - Drake Houdashelt - 149
2016 - J'den Cox, Missouri - 197
2017 - J'den Cox, Missouri, 197
In addition, the MAC finished the 2017 season with eight wrestlers earning All-America status. The eight All-American MAC wrestlers were represented from three different programs as Missouri led the way with five earning All-American honors (J'Den Cox, Lavion Mayes, Joey Lavallee, Jaydin Eierman and Daniel Lewis), while Northern Iowa added two All-Americans (Max Thomsen and Drew Foster) and Old Dominions (Kevin Beazley) added one All-American.
2017 MAC All-Americans (8):
1st Place - J'den Cox, Missouri (197) -- four-time All-American
2nd Place - Lavion Mayes, Missouri (149) -- three-time All-American
2nd Place - Joey Lavallee, Missouri (157)
5th Place - Jaydin Eierman, Missouri (141)
5th Place - Max Thomsen, Northern Iowa (149)
6th Place - Daniel Lewis, Missouri (165) -- two-time All-American
7th Place - Drew Foster, Northern Iowa (184)
8th Place - Kevin Beazley, Old Dominion (197)
The MAC was represented at the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis with 45 wrestlers competing in this year's championships.
2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships - Team Scores
MAC Programs in Top 30
5. Missouri, 86.5 points
18. Northern Iowa, 25.5 points
23. Central Michigan, 19.5 points
26. Old Dominion, 13.5 points
30. Northern Illinois, 11.5 points
Missouri:
Cox Wins Third NCAA National Title
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – With an 8-2 win in the NCAA Wrestling Championships Finals, Mizzou Wrestling senior 197-pounder J'den Cox became the first ever three-time National Champion in program history and Mizzou Athletics history. Cox upended Minnesota's Brett Pfarr to capture the top prize in collegiate wrestling once again on Saturday night at the Scottrade Center. Cox, who won Olympic Bronze medalist in men's freestyle wrestling at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, previously won the national title at 197 pounds in 2014 and 2016. The Tiger senior surpasses Mizzou legend Ben Askren, who won national titles in 2006 and 2007.
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Northern Iowa:
Thomsen, Foster Win Final Matches at NCAA Wrestling
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Max Thomsen avenged a loss from earlier in the year to take fifth place, and Drew Foster was seventh at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. UNI finished 18th with 25.5 points, the most points since 2014 when UNI finished 15th with 40 points. Thomsen's fifth-place finish is the highest of any freshman since former Panther and assistant coach Mark Schwab took fifth in 1986.
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Old Dominion:
Beazley Finishes 8th at NCAA Championships; ODU Places 26th
ST. LOUIS -- Old Dominion wrestler Kevin Beazley finished in eighth place at the 2017 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis before 18,953 fans Saturday morning. ODU wrestling has now produced at least one All-American in four consecutive seasons. In his lone match of the day, Beazley fell to Rider's No. 8 seed Ryan Wolfe, 2-1, in the seventh-place bout. Both wrestlers traded escapes in the bout, but a controversial second stall warning was issued against Beazley in the second period for backing out of bounds, giving Wolfe the 2-1 decision.
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