March 6, 2014
2014 MAC Championship Brackets
Missouri (10-2) won four of its last five duals with their last loss coming at the hands of No. 4 Oklahoma State back in January. The Tigers remained perfect throughout February defeating Buffalo, Eastern Michigan, and Old Dominion in Columbia before wrapping up the 2013-14 campaign with a road win at Kent State.
In February, Missouri outscored its opponents 104-33 with the help of some big performances. The Tigers kicked off February with the Beauty and the Beast event where they shut out Buffalo 41-0. The very next day, Missouri hit the mat again to take on Eastern Michigan, and with the help of bonus point victories from Lavion Mayes and Drake Houdashelt the Tigers were able to edge the Eagles 18-15. Mizzou's 21-9 victory over Old Dominion on February 16 marked a huge milestone for Brian Smith, as the Tigers head coach picked up his 200th career win in his 17th season as an NCAA coach. Upperclassmen Drake Houdashelt, Johnny Eblen and Devin Mellon helped Tiger Style roll into postseason play, all notching bonus point victories in the season finale, a 24-9 win over the Kent State Golden Flashes.
Returning to Kent State, Missouri hopes to take care of business in much the same way. Last year at the Mid-American Conference tournament, the Missouri Wrestling program dominated the eight-team field on their way to being crowned MAC Champions in their first year as an affiliate member of the conference. The Tigers dethroned Central Michigan, who had been MAC Champions for 11-straight seasons. Mizzou shattered the previously held team score high at the Championships, posting 136.0 points while crowning four individual champions.
This year's matchups feature several of the nation's top-ranked wrestlers. At 149 pounds, MAC defending champion and No. 1-ranked junior Drake Houdashelt (31-1) is looking to continue his successful season bringing a 20-match win streak into the tournament. The one blemish on his record came back in December when he was narrowly defeated in a 5-3 decision by Ohio's 17th-ranked Tywan Claxton. Houdashelt is seeded second behind Claxton in this year's field. Another Tiger looking for revenge will be No. 2-ranked freshman standout J'den Cox. Cox has posted an impressive 30-2 record this season with five of those wins coming over ranked opponents. Cox, like Houdashelt, is also a second seed behind No. 8-ranked Phil Wellington of Ohio after suffering an early season head-to-head loss.
Two Missouri grapplers who have put on excellent performances this season are redshirt freshman Lavion Mayes (141) and true freshman Joey Lavallee (157), both ranked No. 18 in their respective weight classes. Each of them will be looking to even the score between conference foes. Mayes will have his sights set on No. 4-ranked Chris Mecate of Old Dominion, who topped him at the end of the season in a close and questionably officiated match 2-1. Lavallee will be looking for a rematch against No. 5-ranked Ian Miller of Kent State, who narrowly beat him in a 3-2 decision a couple weekends ago.
Standing on top of the podium this weekend would make three consecutive conference championships for Missouri after winning the Big 12 Conference Championship two years ago and its first-ever MAC Championship last year.
The Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championships will be held on Saturday and Sunday, March 8-9 at the M.A.C. Center on the campus of Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. The tournament begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday with first round matchups and will conclude with the championship bouts at 12:20 p.m. on Sunday.
Flowrestling will be streaming the entire tournament live for a one-time payment of $20. For more information on how to access Flo's live video stream, visit http://livecoverage.flowrestling.org/account/login?id=122. Kent State is also providing a radio feed for this year's Championships on their iHeartRadio station (Golden Flashes Radio). For in-match updates, follow the squad on Twitter, @MizzouWrestling. Fans can also join in the conversation throughout the weekend by using #TigerStyle and #MACtion on Twitter.
TIGERS ON THE MAT
125 - Barlow McGhee (20-8) - Freshman
Ranked 5th in MAC at 125 pounds in a weight class with 4 AQ spots at NCAAs. Posted a 7-4 record in dual competition in 2013-14. Tied for the team lead in decisions with 18.
133 - Matt Manley (22-11) - Redshirt Freshman
Ranked 5th at 133 in MAC with the top five placers this weekend getting an NCAA bid. Redshirt freshman posted a 22-11 record in first year as starter. Tied for team lead in decisions with 18 (tied with McGhee).
141 - No. 18 Lavion Mayes (25-10) - Redshirt Freshman
Ranks 4th in MAC at 141 despite top-20 ranking. Posted 7-3 dual record. Two of his dual losses came in overtime, and a third was a 2-1 loss to Chris Mecate, who ranks No. 1 in the MAC.
149 - No. 1 Drake Houdashelt (31-1) - Junior
Top 149-pounder in the land but ranked No. 2 in MAC Conference (his lone loss came to Tywan Claxton of Ohio). Seeks his 3rd conference title in his third season as a starter. Won Big 12 in 2012 (157) and MAC's last year (149). Leads team in dual takedowns (34).
157 - No. 18 Joey Lavallee (24-8) - Freshman
Holds No. 3-spot in the MAC despite being a late addition to the starting roster. Cracks top-20 as a true freshman following signature win over Alex Richardson (ODU).
165 - No. 12 Zach Toal (22-4) - Senior
Senior is tabbed No. 2 in the MAC with his lone conference loss coming to Cooper Moore (UNI). Looking for his second conference title in a tight weight class that only has 3 automatic qualifying spots. Won Big 12 title in 2012 at 165.
174 - Mikey England (16-12) - Junior
Seeks his first NCAA qualification in a tough 174-pound class. Ranked 7th at 174 pounds with the top-5 finishes in the MAC qualifying.
184 - Cody Johnston (18-8) - Sophomore
Sophomore fills in for injury-riddled junior-captain Johnny Eblen. Seeded 4th at 184 pounds after posting a 2-1 dual record in MAC play.
197 - No. 2 J'den Cox (30-2) - Freshman
Despite being No. 2 in nation, Cox will hold No. 2-seed at the MACs behind Phil Wellington, who handed Cox one of his two losses as a freshman. Has five wins over ranked opponents and leads the club in dual backpoints.
HWT - Devin Mellon (22-9) - Junior
Heads into MAC Conference tournament on a hot streak, winning eight of his final 10 matches, including two which broke team ties and won the dual for the Tigers. Ranked No. 2 in MAC with the top three finishers automatically punching their ticket to Oklahoma City.
FOLLOW LIVE
Live Stream: http://livecoverage.flowrestling.org/account/login?id=122 (need subscription for $20)
Live Radio: Golden Flashes Radio on iHeartRadio
Live Stats: trackwrestling.com
Live In-Match Updates: @MizzouWrestling on Twitter
WHAT'S NEXT
Following this weekend's MAC Conference championships, stay tuned with the program as the squad prepares for the 2014 NCAA Championships. This year's NCAAs will take place on March 20-22, 2014, at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.