LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Mizzou Wrestling will depart Las Vegas, Nev., as the 2015 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Team Champions. The Tigers finished the tournament with 154 team points, 41 points ahead of second place Cornell. #Tigerstyle had seven wrestlers place in the top-four, headlined by individual championships from junior 197-pounder J’den Cox (Columbia, Mo.) and redshirt junior 149-pounder Lavion Mayes (Mascoutah, Ill.).
Daniel Lewis accepting the “Most Falls in
Least the Amount of Time” Award
Redshirt freshman 165-pounder Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.) and redshirt senior 174-pounder Blaise Butler (Belvidere, Ill.) finished the tournament with third-place finishes. Lewis earned the “Most Falls in the Least Amount of Time” Award after posting five first-period pins over the tournament.
“With a lot of new faces in the lineup, this was a good way to find out about where we are as a team,” said Head Coach Brian Smith. “We had a lot of good wins and wrestled at or above our seeds in many matches. Extremely happy to come home with a team title. Most importantly, we found out a lot about our team and what improvements we need to make. Looking forward to next weekend and the big home-opening duals and to see all of our fans come out and support #TigerStyle.”
In a rematch of the Joe Parisi Open Championship two weekends ago, Cox defeated Jacob Smith of West Virginia by way of decision, 9-3, in the semifinals to advance to the finals.
Cox defeated Brett Pfarr of Minnesota in the finals by way of decision, 4-1, to win the 197-pound championship. Cox scored a takedown in the first, an escape in the third, and a riding time point for the four points. Cox finished a perfect 5-0 on the weekend. Mayes defeated Davion Jeffries of Oklahoma by decision, 5-4, in the semifinals to advance to the finals. In the 149-pound Championship, Mayes beat Jake Short of Minnesota by decision, 8-6.
Lewis began his day with his fifth first-period pin when he put Tyrel White of Columbia on his back at 2:20. Lewis picked up two more wins by decision to advance to the third-place match, where he bested Clark Glass of Oklahoma with an 8-2 decision. After dropping his semifinals match, Butler rebounded in the consolation semifinals, picking up an 18-3 technical fall on his way to the third-place match. Butler matched up with Jadaen Bernstein of Navy in the 174-pound third place match, where he came away with an 8-3 decision.
Redshirt sophomore 125-pounder Barlow McGhee (Rock Island, Ill.), redshirt junior 141-pounder Matt Manley (Perry, Okla.), and redshirt sophomore 184-pounder Willie Miklus (Altoona, Iowa) all finished in fourth place in the tournament.
For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouWrestling).
Day 2 Match-By-Match Results
125: Barlow McGhee
Consolation Round 6: Barlow McGhee [Mizzou] def. Joshua Rodriguez [NDSU] by 6-5 decision
Consolation Quarterfinals: Barlow McGhee [Mizzou] def. David Terao (American) by fall (6:04)
Consolation Semifinals: Barlow McGhee [Mizzou] def. Ryan Milhoff [Oklahoma] by MFF
Third Place: Ronnie Rios [Oregon State] def. Barlow McGhee [Mizzou] by 4-3 decision
141: Matt Manley
Consolation Round 6: Matt Manley [Mizzou] def. Mitchell Bengston [NDSU] by 11-6 decision
Consolation Quarterfinals: Matt Manley [Mizzou] def. Ian Nickell [CSU Bakersfield] by 16-1 technical fall
Consolation Semifinals: Matt Manley [Mizzou] def. Solomon Chishko [Virginia Tech] by fall (3:54)
Third Place: Tommy Thorn [Minnesota] def. Matt Manley [Mizzou] by 11-5 decision
149: Lavion Mayes
Semifinals: Lavion Mayes [Mizzou] def. Davion Jeffries [Oklahoma] by 5-4 decision
Finals: Lavion Mayes [Mizzou] def. Jake Short [Minnesota] by 8-6 decision
165: Daniel Lewis
Consolation Round 6: Daniel Lewis [Mizzou] def. Tyrel White [Columbia] by fall (2:20)
Consolation Round Quarterfinals: Daniel Lewis [Mizzou] def. Cooper Moore [Northern Iowa] by 8-2 decision
Consolation Semifinals: Daniel Lewis [Mizzou] def. George Pickett [Cornell] by 4-2 decision
Third-Place: Daniel Lewis [Mizzou] def. Clark Glass [Oklahoma] by 8-2 decision
174: Blaise Butler
Semifinals: Bryce Hammond [CSU Bakersfield] def. Blaise Butler [Mizzou] by 10-7 decision
Consolation Semifinals: Blaise Butler [Mizzou] def. Brian Harvey [Army] by 18-3 technical fall
Third-Place: Blaise Butler [Mizzou] def. Jadaen Bernstein [Navy] by 8-3 decision
184: Willie Miklus
Semifinals: Gabriel Dean [Cornell] def. Willie Miklus [Mizzou] by 3-2 decision
Consolation Semifinals: Willie Miklus [Mizzou] def. Kenny Courts by 13-5 major decision
Third-Place: Zack Zavatsky [Virginia Tech] def. Willie Miklus [Mizzou] by 9-4 decision
197: J’den Cox
Semifinals: J’den Cox [Mizzou] def. Jacob Smith [West Virginia] by 9-3 decision
Finals: J’den Cox [Mizzou] def. Brett Pfarr [Minnesota] by 4-1 decision
