Missouri sweeps Mid-American Conference postseason wrestling honors

Missouri wrestling swept the 2015 Mid-American Conference wrestling honors, which were announced Tuesday.

Tigers senior Drake Houdashelt was chosen as the conference wrestler of the year, redshirt freshman Willie Miklus was the freshman of the year and Brian Smith was the coach of the year.

Houdashelt, 37-1, capped his college wrestling career with an NCAA Division I national championship at 149 pounds.

He also became the first four-time conference champion in Missouri history, including three straight MAC titles.

Houdashelt, an O’Fallon, Mo., native, beat Edinboro’s David Habat 3-1 for the title March 21 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, claiming the sixth national crown in program history.

He is only the third three-time All-American in program history, joining Ben and Max Askren.

Houdashelt’s 134 career wins also rank third behind only Ben Askren (153) and fellow senior Alan Waters (136), while his 39 career major decisions are a program record and his .854 win percentage ranks fifth.

Miklus, 33-9, started the season with 18 consecutive wins, including an upset against second-ranked Jack Dechow of Old Dominion.

Miklus, the MAC runner-up at 184, wasn’t seeded at the national tournament, but he beat four seeded wrestlers en route to a seventh-place finish and All-American honors.

Smith won conference coach of the year honors for the fourth straight season after leading Missouri to a fourth straight conference title, including the 2012 Big 12 crown and three straight MAC championships.

The Tigers boasted a 24-0 dual record, including a win against then-No. 1 Iowa in the championship of the National Duals Final, and finished fourth as a team at NCAA nationals.

This story was originally published April 7, 2015 at 11:16 PM with the headline "Missouri sweeps Mid-American Conference postseason wrestling honors."