Injuries behind him, Missouri wrestler Johnny Eblen ready to make a splash at nationals

There was a time early in Missouri senior Johnny Eblen’s college career that he considered giving up wrestling.

Beset by injuries and assorted rough luck, he wondered if he was cut out for college wrestling.

Eblen ultimately decided to stick it out and now, as a senior 174-pound starter for the No. 1-ranked Tigers, he’s been rewarded with a dream season that he hopes to finish in style Thursday through Saturday during the NCAA Division I wrestling championships at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

Eblen drew the No. 4 seed in his bracket and enters nationals with a 26-5 record.

“This is his opportunity,” MU coach Brian Smith said. “You can’t look at what happened in the past. This is his opportunity, and he’s making the most of it. He’s made a lot of sacrifices for the program.”

Eblen’s bad luck started before he even made it to Missouri.

Wrestling with his brother the summer before his freshman year, Eblen suffered a spiral fracture of his fibula and also tore several ligaments in his ankle, requiring a tightrope fixation surgery.

He was forced to redshirt as a result.

The next season, Eblen wound up in the ICU for three days after experiencing extreme dehydration during a 7-mile run and, less than a month after his hospital stay, suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee, requiring another surgery.

Eblen got beaten out by Mike Larson for the starting spot at 184 pounds as a redshirt sophomore, and that’s when self-doubt began creeping in.

“It crossed my mind, not really to the point where I thought about giving up because of an injury, but I thought about giving up for other reasons when things weren’t going well for me,” he said.

Watching Larson go on to finish eighth at nationals and become an All-American helped ease Eblen’s mind, but he still couldn’t shake the injury bug.

Zeroing in on a starting job after Larson’s graduation, Eblen dislocated his right shoulder the summer before his junior season.

He elected not to have surgery and earned a spot in the Tigers’ lineup at 184, but his season ended a few days before the Mid-American Conference tourney last year when he re-injured the shoulder.

That led to Eblen’s third surgery to repair a torn labrum and a chip fracture in the humeral head of the shoulder joint.

Through it all, Eblen persevered.

“I’ve known he was tough, and him coming out this year and showing it and having the ability to get the four seed at nationals, that’s awesome,” said Missouri senior 125-pounder Alan Waters, who also wrestled with Eblen at Park Hill.

Of course, it also means this week’s national tourney is Eblen’s first and only shot at becoming a collegiate All-American.

“It doesn’t feel like it, though,” Eblen said. “I feel like I’ve been here before. At least, I feel like I should have been there. I feel like right now I should have been at least a two-time All-American.”

Eblen cut down to 174 this season in an effort to strengthen Missouri’s lineup and its chances at a national championship.

Eblen, who lost a 5-2 decision Jan. 2 against top-seeded Robert Kokesh of Nebraska and dropped a 4-1 decision Feb. 22 against third-seeded Mike Evans of Iowa, believes he’ll pull his weight in the Tigers’ quest for a team championship.

“I don’t really feel any pressure,” Eblen said. “I’m confident enough that I know what’s going to happen. I believe that I’m at least going to be an All-American this year, and I feel like I could be a national champ.”

This story was originally published March 14, 2015 at 4:33 PM with the headline "Injuries behind him, Missouri wrestler Johnny Eblen ready to make a splash at nationals."