Mizzou wrestler and Olympic medalist J’den Cox has his sights set on another goal

Achieving goals has often come easy for J’den Cox.

At Hickman High School, the now Missouri senior wrestler wanted to win a state championship. He won four. At Missouri, Cox wanted to win an individual national championship. He’s won two. At the Rio Olympics this past summer, Cox wanted to medal. He took bronze in the men’s 86-kilogram freestyle.

This year, though, in his fourth and final campaign wearing a black and gold singlet, one particular goal poses a tough, unique test.

J’den Cox wants to win the Dan Hodge Trophy.

“It’s my primary goal,” Cox said after an open practice in Missouri’s Student Center on Wednesday held to generate awareness about Sunday’s matchup against No. 5 Virginia Tech. “I’m just going to have to do everything in my power to get (it).”

Last week, in Norfolk, Va., Cox’s campaign for the award termed “the Heisman Trophy for amateur wrestling” began as the Missouri wrestling team faced off against Mid-American Conference foe Old Dominion.

For the first time in nearly eight months, Tiger wrestlers not named Cox faced off against opponents who don’t sport Missouri’s colors.

In the matchup, Missouri senior Lavion Mayes, a reigning NCAA All-American, picked up a 9-4 win at 149 pounds, the 100th win of his career. Freshman Austin Myers, a transfer from West Virginia, earned a fall in the second period for a win in the heavyweight division.

Both Mayes and Myers are critical pieces to the team’s goal to win a national title, as is junior wrestler Willie Miklus.

Miklus, another reigning NCAA All-American, lost at 184 pounds last Saturday against Old Dominion senior Jack Dechow. Still, Miklus said he thinks Mizzou has an opportunity to do something “really special.” To do so, he said Cox will have to do something special.

“J’den did something really, really amazing that not a lot of people can do (this past summer),” Miklus said. “It’s a big thing and when he speaks people listen now. Not that they didn’t listen before, but now he’s really got a voice on the team and everybody follows his lead.”

Although Cox won 5-0 and Missouri won 36-3, Cox’s match proved how difficult the task of winning the award will be. Former Missouri Tiger Ben Askren won it in both 2006 and 2007.

Early in his match, Cox’s opponent ducked and shied away from engaging in contact. Missouri coach Brian Smith saw the struggle unfold and said that in the future, Cox needs to “open up more” and be more aggressive.

“He’s going to have to take more risks because it’s tough to get people to shoot on him and even when they do, he (may not have time to) finish,” Smith said. “He’s got to kind of let it fly in the first period. We’re going to change some of his individual drills and have guys slowing him down (to) work on that.”

Cox has already gotten to work, eager to make strides this week.

Sunday’s matchup against Virginia Tech will serve as a reminder of one of Cox’s favorite career highlights.

Last year, against Cornell in “Battle at the Birthplace,” a name given for matchups at Missouri’s Jesse Auditorium, Cox garnered a technical fall to propel Missouri to an 18-17 victory.

With another match at Jesse Auditorium just days away, Cox is eager to return to battle a team ranked ahead of Missouri.

“It’s a great atmosphere. It literally puts you in a spotlight position,” Cox said. “You feel like it’s a heroic scene because that spotlight is always on you.”

In this 2016-17 season, the spotlight is once again on Cox, a wrestler and a person who hasn’t shied away from it in years past.

If certain guys don’t want to wrestle him, how will Cox respond?

“I’m going to have to push myself to have a pace that’s so ridiculous, vigorous and have a style that’s going out there and scoring so many points and putting so much pressure on them that I get the points or I break them,” Cox said. “That’s my mindset — (my opponent) is mentally going to get broken in each match, whether they like it or not.”

This story was originally published November 17, 2016 at 9:34 PM with the headline "Mizzou wrestler and Olympic medalist J’den Cox has his sights set on another goal."