Missouri Wrestling
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Day one of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational at the Cashman Center in Las Vegas, Nev. was immensely successful for Mizzou Wrestling, who finished the day in second place overall in the team standings with 81.5 points. Indivdually, #TigerStyle will send four grapplers to the semifinals on day two. Junior 197-pounder J’den Cox (Columbia, Mo.), redshirt sophomore 184-pounder Willie Miklus (Altoona, Iowa), redshirt junior 149-pounder Lavion Mayes (Mascoutah, Ill.), and redshirt senior 174-pounder Blaise Butler (Belvidere, Ill.) will look to capture tournament championships when action resumes Saturday.
In addition to the four wrestlers capable of winning championships, Mizzou has three wrestlers alive in the consolation bracket. Redshirt freshman 165-pounder Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.), redshirt sophomore 125-pounder Barlow McGhee (Rock Island, Ill.), and redshirt junior 141-pounder Matt Manley (Perry, Okla.) all suffered one loss Friday and will compete for third-place Saturday.
Mizzou sits at second place in the overall team standings with 81.5 points, trailing Oklahoma, who finished the day with 85 points. Minnesota sits in third place with 78.5 points, while Cornell and Virginia sit in fourth and fifth place with 69 and 58.5 points, respectively.
Cox breezed through his three matches on the day in the 197-pound weight class, recording two falls (3:46 and 4:49) in the second and third rounds before defeating Derek Thomas of Utah Valley by way of a 22-7 technical fall to earn a trip to the semifinals. At 184, Miklus picked up a technical fall and pin (3:29) in his opening rounds before a hard-fought 3-2 decision win in the quarterfinals over Hayden Zillmer of NDSU. Mayes picked up a fall in his first match of the day (6:59) against Rylan Lubeck of Wisconsin before grabbing two major decisions to advance to the 174-pound semifinals. At 174, Butler earned a major decision and a win by decision before defeating Ricky Robertson of Wisconsin with a first period pin (0:54) in the quarterfinals.
Lewis had arguably the most impressive day of anyone, with a record of 4-1 and four first-round pins in the 165-pound weight class. Three occurred within the first minute of the match, the fastest coming in his last match at 0:41 against Adam Fierro of CSU Bakersfield. At 125, McGhee went 2-1, with a 4-2 decision victory in the third round over Zeke Moisey of West Virginia. The win marked the second time this season McGhee has defeated last season’s NCAA runner-up. Manley picked up three wins on the day, including two major decisions, before falling in the quarterfinals of the 141-pound weight class.
Action from the Cashman Center will continue again Saturday morning. Competition begins at 9 a.m. PT, with the championship semifinal round beginning at approximately 10 a.m. PT. FloWrestling.org will once again provided the online stream.
For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouWrestling).
Match-By-Match Results
125: Barlow McGhee
Round 1: Bye
Round 2: Barlow McGhee [Mizzou] def. Johnny Jimenez [Wisconsin] by 4-2 SV decision
Round 3: Barlow McGhee [Mizzou] def. Zeke Moisey [West Virginia by 4-2 decision
Quarterfinals: Joey Dance [Virginia Tech] def. Barlow McGhee [Mizzou] by 3-1 SV decision
133: Zach Synon
Round 1: Bye
Round 2: Zach Synon [Mizzou] def. Grimaldi Gonzalez [Bucknell] by 8-0 major decision
Round 3: George DiCamillo [Virginia] def. Zach Synon [Mizzou] by 12-4 major decision
Consolation Round 4: Daniel DeShazer [Nebraska-Kearney] def. Zach Synon [Mizzou] by 6-4 SV-3 decision
141: Matt Manley
Round 1: Matt Manley [Mizzou] def. Austin Solari [Newberry] by 11-3 major decision
Round 2: Matt Manley [Mizzou] def. Jack Hathaway [Oregon State] by 6-3 decision
Round 3: Matt Manley [Mizzou] def. Tony DeAngelo [West Virginia] by 11-3 major decision
Quarterfinals: Tommy Thorn [Minnesota] def. Matt Manley [Mizzou] by 6-5 decision
149: Lavion Mayes
Round 1: Bye
Round 2: Lavion Mayes [Mizzou] def. Rylan Lubeck [Wisconsin] by fall (6:39)
Round 3: Lavion Mayes [Mizzou] def. Tom Page [American] by 14-5 major decision
Quarterfinals: Lavion Mayes [Mizzou] def. Geordan Martinez [Boise State] by 13-5 major decision
157: Luke Fortuna
Round 1: Bye
Round 2: Raider Lofthouse [Utah Valley] def. Luke Fortuna [Mizzou] by 4-0 decision
Consolation Round 3: Luke Fortuna [Mizzou] def. Logan Kerlin [Bucknell] by 8-4 decision
Consolation Round 4: Luke Fortuna [Mizzou] def. Jordan Amine [Michigan] by 4-3 decision
Consolation Round 5: Andrew Atkinson [Virginia] def. Luke Fortuna [Mizzou] by 16-0 technical fall
165: Daniel Lewis
Round 1: Daniel Lewis [Mizzou] def. Jade Lloyd [Gateway Bible Institute] by fall (0:50)
Round 2: Daniel Lewis [Mizzou] def. Jacen Peterson [Arizona State] by fall (2:42)
Round 3: Dave McFadden [Virginia Tech] def. Daniel Lewis [Mizzou] by 8-4 decision
Consolation Round 4: Daniel Lewis [Mizzou] def. Isaac Deaton [Nebraska-Kearney] by fall (1:00)
Consolation Round 5: Daniel Lewis [Mizzou] def. Adam Fierro [CSU Bakersfield] by fall (0:41)
174: Blaise Butler
Round 1: Bye
Round 2: Blaise Butler [Mizzou] def. Rustin Barrick [Bucknell] by 13-3 major decision
Round 3: Blaise Butler [Mizzou] def. Drew Foster [Northern Iowa] by 3-1 decision
Quarterfinals: Blaise Butler [Mizzou] def. Ricky Robertson [Wisconsin] by fall (0:54)
184: Willie Miklus
Round 1: Bye
Round 2: Willie Miklus [Mizzou] def. Samson Imonode [Army] by 14-2 major decision
Round 3: Willie Miklus [Mizzou] def. Huston Evans [Newberry] by fall (3:29)
Quarterfinals: Willie Miklus [Mizzou] def. Hayden Zillmer [NDSU] by 3-2 decision
197: J’den Cox
Round 1: Bye
Round 2: J’den Cox [Mizzou] def. Mark Tracy [Binghamton] by fall (3:46)
Round 3: J’den Cox [Mizzou] def. Augustus Marker [Brown] by fall (4:49)
Quarterfinals: J’den Cox [Mizzou] def. Derek Thomas [Utah Valley] by 22-7 technical fall
HWT: James Romero
Round 1: Bye
Round 2: Stephen Suglio [Kent State] def. James Romero [Mizzou] by fall (6:08)
Consolation Round 2: Marcus Malecek [Air Force] def. James Romero [Mizzou] by 10-2 major decision
