Program History & Records 8 78 8 National All-Americans Straight Champions Conference Titles MIZZOU WRESTLING Mizzou’s National Champions 1923-1937 :: 1959-2018 Ben Askren - 2006 - 174 pounds Ben Askren defeated No. 2 Jake Herbert (Northwestern) by major decision, 14-2, to claim the first individual national title in the history of the Missouri wrestling program at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla. on March 18, 2006 For his efforts, Askren was awarded the 2006 NWCA Most Outstanding Wrestler award for the tournament, leading Missouri to a 15th- place finish with a school-record 45.0 points. Askren’s victory clinched a 45-0 season, the only undefeated season in the history of the Missouri wrestling program. Askren also set season records for falls (25), consecutive wins (45) and the record for most career falls at Missouri (61). Askren became the first recepient of the Dan Hodge Award in program history following the season, an award equivilant to the Heisman Award and given to the best wrestler in the NCAA for that season. Ben Askren - 2007 - 174 pounds On the heels of seniors Ben Askren and Matt Pell, the Mizzou wrestling team earned its highest team finish ever at the 2007 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships when they took third place on March 17, 2007 at Auburn Hills, Mich. The Tigers finished with 80 points, giving the University of Missouri its first NCAA team trophy since 1965, when the Indoor Track & Field team took home the title. Askren topped Keith Gavin (Pittsburgh) for the third time to earn his second national championship. With the win, Askren became the Tigers’ only back-to-back national champion in wrestling and first for the University of Missouri overall since track star Derrick Peterson in 1998-99. Askren never finished lower than second in the nation. He finished his career with an 87-match winning streak, and goes 42-0 on the season. Askren pinned three opponents during the tournament and earned a technical fall in his pigtail match, and did not lose a match since the championship match in his sophomore season. Askren was awarded the Dan Hodge awarded for the second consecutive season following the perfect campaign. Mark Ellis - 2009 - HWT Mizzou crowned its second-ever wrestling National Champion upon the completion of junior heavyweight Mark Ellis’ 3-2 overtime victory over fifth-ranked Konrad Dudziak of Duke on March 21, 2009 in St. Louis, Mo. Ellis managed a reversal with 10 seconds remaining in the second 30-second overtime period to capture his first career All-American honor and national title. Ellis and Dudziak were scoreless in the first period, although the Duke Blue Devil was hit with stalling early in the bout. Ellis chose down to start the second and escaped in 1:05, while Dudziak opted to start down in the third and escaped in 20 seconds. The two heavyweights pushed through the one minute sudden victory period and scrambled on the edge of the mat for the first 30 second tie breaker. The second 30 second period in which Ellis chose down proved the difference in the match and marked Ellis’ third win of the season in overtime. Max Askren - 2010 - 184 pounds Mizzou crowned its third wrestling National Champion after senior 184-pounder Max Askren’s 10-3 victory over top-seeded Kirk Smith of Boise State on March 20, 2010 in Omaha, Neb. Askren started the match out strong racking up seven points in the first period to counter Smith’s sole escape. With a 7-1 lead, the Hartland, Wis. Native began the second period in the down position, earning a point for an escape. Smith made a run at Askren, picking up a takedown to begin the third period, with Askren escaping again at the :30 mark. With a point for riding time, Askren won the match by decision, 10-3, and became Mizzou’s first National Champion at 184 pounds. After going 20-2 for the season, Askren finished his career with a record of 104-16 and stands at 18th on Missouri’s top career victories list. 2 HISTORY & RECORDS MIZZOU WRESTLING Mizzou’s National Champions 1923-1937 :: 1959-2018 J’den Cox - 2014 - 197 pounds True freshman J’den Cox stormed to the top of a 197-pound weight class which featured three seniors in the final four, engraving his name in Mizzou lore with a 2-1 decision over No. 1 Nick Heflin on March 22, 2014 in Oklahoma City, Okla. Cox became the youngest wrestler in program history to capture an NCAA title and 14th true freshman to capture a title in NCAA history. The Mizzou champion’s .950 winning percentage (38-2) in 2013-14 is the best mark posted by a freshman in program history, surpassing Ben Askren’s 32-5 freshman campaign. Drake Houdashelt - 2015 - 149 pounds Drake Houdashelt tallied a thrilling 3-1 SV-1 decision victory over No. 3 David Habat (Edinboro) on March 21, 2015 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo, becoming the fifth individual and sixth overall National Champion in program history. The O’Fallon, Mo. native outscored his five opponents 30-3 at the 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Two of those wins came by major decision shutouts, while the other three victories came by decision. The final resume for Houdashelt at Mizzou is one for the records books. He leaves a four-time conference champion (2012 Big 12, 2013-2014-2015 Mid-American Conference), making him the only individual in Mizzou wrestling history to accomplish that feat. Further personal accolades include ending his career with 134 wins, putting him at third place in the Mizzou wrestling all-time wins list. He also leaves Columbia, Mo. with a .854 career winning percentage (sixth-place), and 39 career major decisions which is the most in Tiger wrestling history. J’den Cox - 2016 - 197 pounds J’den Cox became the second-ever two-time NCAA National Champion in program history with a 4-2 win over Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) at Madison Square Garden in New York City, N.Y. on March 19, 2016. The hometown Tiger finished the season 33-1 and recorded seven technical falls on the season, tied for fifth most in a season. 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). Cox became the 24th member of the 100-win club with a 16-7 major decision victory in a 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 win percentage of any wrestler in program history over 100 wins at .956 (108-5), slightly ahead of Ben Askren’s mark of .950 (153-8). J’den Cox - 2017 - 197 pounds With an 8-2 win in the NCAA Wrestling Championships Finals, 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. Cox finished off 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, he scored 19 bonus point victories with six falls, six technical falls, and seven major-decisions. For his career, Cox finishes 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). HISTORY & RECORDS 3 MIZZOU WRESTLING Mizzou’s All-Americans 1923-1937 :: 1959-2019 Von Robbins Terril Williams Keith Whelan David Miller Khris Whelan Dave Young 1930: 3rd (175) 1977: 4th (150) 1979: 6th (126) 1979: 7th (167) 1980: 7th (126) 1981: 5th (177) 1983: 4th (134) 1982: 5th (177) Wes Roper John Sonderegger Joe Spinnazola Mark Cody Craig Martin Charlie Sherertz 1982: 4th (150) 1984: 4th (150) 1984: 4th (118) 1985: 5th (190) 1987: 5th (167) 1988: 8th (190) Sam Henson 1991: 5th (118) Bobby Crawford Sam Henson Greg Warren Kenny Liddell Shaon Fry Mike Collins 1990: 7th (118) 1991: 5th (118) 1991: 7th (158) 1992: 4th (142) 1993: 2nd (167) 1995: 8th (158) 1995: 6th (142) 1994: 3rd (167) Mike Harp Scott Barker Tyron Woodley Ben Askren Jeremy Spates Kenny Burleson 1998: 6th (142) 2002: 6th (197) 2003: 8th (165) 2004: 2nd (174) 2004: 5th (149) 2004: 7th (157) 2003: 2nd (184) 2005: 7th (165) 2005: 2nd (174) 2006: 1st (174) 2007: 1st (174) 4 HISTORY & RECORDS MIZZOU WRESTLING Mizzou’s All-Americans 1923-1937 :: 1959-2019 Matt Pell Tyler McCormick Nicholas Marable Raymond Jordan Max Askren Michael Chandler 2005: 7th (184) 2006: 7th (133) 2008: 3rd (165) 2008: 5th (184) 2008: 7th (197) 2009: 5th (157) 2007: 3rd (165) 2007: 6th (133) 2009: 7th (165) 2009: 3rd (174) 2009: 5th (197) 2010: 1st (184) Mark Ellis Dom Bradley Todd Schavrien Alan Waters Nathan McCormick Drake Houdashelt 2009: 1st (HWT) 2011: 3rd (HWT) 2011: 6th (141) 2013: 4th (125) 2013: 8th (133) 2013: 6th (149) 2010: 6th (HWT) 2013: 4th (HWT) 2015: 3rd (125) 2014: 5th (149) 2015:1st (149) Mike Larson J’den Cox Willie Miklus Lavion Mayes Daniel Lewis Jaydin Eierman 2013: 8th (184) 2014: 1st (197) 2015: 7th (184) 2015: 7th (141) 2016: 4th (165) 2017: 5th (141) 2015: 5th (197) 2016: 6th (184) 2016: 3rd (149) 2017: 6th (165) 2018: 4th (141) 2016: 1st (197) 2018: 8th (197) 2017: 2nd (149) 2018: 4th (174) 2019: 3rd (141) 2017: 1st (197) 2019: 4th (174) Joey Lavallee Grant Leeth John Erneste Brock Mauller 2017: 2nd (157) 2018: 6th (149) 2019: 6th (133) 2019: 6th (149) HISTORY & RECORDS 5 MIZZOU WRESTLING Mizzou’s 100 Win Club 1923-1937 :: 1959-2019 1.