J'den Cox is national champ for the second time in three years (photo/Mizzou Athletics)

J’den Cox is national champ for the second time in three years (photo/Mizzou Athletics)

Junior J’den Cox (Columbia, Mo.) became the second-ever two-time NCAA National Champion in Mizzou Wrestling history with a 4-2 win over Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) at Madison Square Garden in New York City, N.Y. on Saturday. Cox joined Ben Askren (2006, 2007) as the only Mizzou grapplers to finish a season atop of their weight class twice during their career.

Cox and McIntosh, two of arguably the most technical wrestlers in the nation, finished the first period scoreless. Cox nearly had a takedown near the end of the period, but McIntosh escaped Cox’s grasp and got out of bounds for a restart. Cox and McIntosh traded escape points to start the second and third periods, respectively. McIntosh escaped with under a minute left in the match, tying the score, 1-1. At the time of the escape, Cox had just under a minute of riding time. With the buzzer nearing, Cox got both of McIntosh’s legs to secure the takedown and the victory, 4-2 (point for riding time).

Mizzou finished the tournament sixth overall in the team standings.

Top-10 Team Scores
1. Penn State, 123.0
2. Oklahoma State, 97.5
3. Ohio State, 86.0
4. Virginia Tech, 82.0
5. Iowa, 81.0
6. Mizzou, 74.5
7. Cornell, 67.0
8. Nebraska, 58.0
T9. Illinois, 50.5
T9. Michigan, 50.5

Story–Mizzou athletics