IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Missouri Tigers captured the team title at the National Duals Finals on Sunday with an 18-12 win against Iowa.
Missouri won six of the 10 matches in the dual, including four of the first five to build a 12-3 lead. All 10 of the matches concluded with wins by decision.
J'den Cox, a sophomore ranked No. 1 in the country at his weight, needed a win of any kind at 197 to seal the title for the Tigers and the former Hickman Kewpie defeated No. 6 Nathan Burak by 4-3 decision.
Cox's win moved his season record to 30-0, and has now won an NCAA-best 50 consecutive dual matches.
The Tigers will likely become the nation's top-ranked team this week, as Missouri entered the title match ranked No. 2 in the country, with Iowa holding down the top spot.
Alan Waters, a redshirt senior who is ranked No. 1 in the country at 125 pounds, got the dual off to a good start for the Tigers with a 5-4 win against Thomas Gilman. With the win, Waters wrapped up the regular season with a record of 27-0, including 10 victories against ranked wrestlers. Gilman was ranked No. 5 in the nation.
Drake Houdashelt, Missouri's third No. 1-ranked wrestler, was a 2-1 winner against No. 2 Brandon Sorenson at 149.
Other Missouri winners include Lavion Mayes at 141 (13-6), Joey Lavallee at 157 (6-1) and Willie Miklus at 185 (6-5).
Missouri advanced to the championship match with a pair of wins Saturday in the Finals.
The Tigers started the day with a 23-13 win against Illinois.
Posting wins for the Tigers were Waters (6-2 decision), Mayes (11-3 major decision), Houdashelt (6-3 decision), Eblen (by fall), Cox (by 15-3 major decision) and Devin Mellon (5-1 tiebreaker decision at heavyweight).
That advanced Missouri to a matchup with No. 11 Lehigh, and the Tigers snagged a 23-9 victory.
Waters won 6-3, Mayes got an 11-3 major decision, Houdashelt posted a 10-2 major decision, Mikey England (165) won 6-1, Eblen won 4-2, Cox won 4-0 and Mellon won 5-3.
Missouri is off until March 7-8 when it hosts the Mid-American Conference Championships.
III
The Chattanooga Mocs also took part in the National Duals Finals, losing 44-3 to Iowa in the quarterfinals.
Jared Johnson (Jefferson City High School) suffered a loss by fall while competing at heavyweight for the Mocs.
Chattanooga returned home Sunday and locked up sole possession of the Southern Conference regular-season title with a 31-6 win against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. Johnson dropped a 4-2 loss in double overtime.
Johnson was coming off a big week in which he nabbed a pair of awards from the Southern Conference, as he was named Wrestler of the Week and Student-Athlete of the Week.
He was honored for his effort Feb. 15 when he helped the Mocs clinch a 19-16 win against Oklahoma in a first-round match of the National Duals Finals.
Johnson defeated No. 11 Ross Larson 12-11. With the team score tied at 16 heading to the heavyweight bout, Johnson rushed out to a 7-0 first-period lead with a takedown and five back points. Larson earned a reversal just before the buzzer, but Johnson accumulated nearly two minutes of riding time.
Johnson led 8-7 after the second period but gave up a takedown early in the third. The sophomore tied it at 9 with an escape and then scored a takedown in the final 30 seconds to take an 11-9 lead. Larson evened the score with a reversal, but Johnson had the crucial riding-time point for the win.
The SoCon Wrestler of the Week is Johnson's third of the season, as he also won the award Dec. 24 and Jan. 21.
His performance on the mat, plus his 3.70 GPA in chemical engineering, earned him his second Student-Athlete of the Week honor. The student-athlete of the week is earned throughout the year by top performers with at least a 3.3 GPA.