2016 Summer Olympics // Rio de Janeiro, Brazil // Saturday, August 20
Men's Freestyle Wrestling (86 kg)
Qualification Round: 8 a.m. CT
Medal Round: 2 p.m. CT

The J'den Cox File

Senior // Columbia, Mo. // Mizzou Wrestling // Missouri Wrestling Foundation

Date of Birth: March 3, 1995
Parents: Mike and Cathy
Siblings: Zach, Drae & Chai
Major: Psychology

High School (Hickman High)

Record: 205-3

• 2010 State Champion (171 pounds)
• 2011 State Champion (215 pounds)
• 2012 State Champion (220 pounds)
• 2013 State Champion (HWT)
• 2011 Fargo Cadet Greco-Roman Champion (215 pounds)
• 2012 Fargo Junior Freestyle Champion (220 pounds)
• 2013 NHSCA Adam Frey Memorial Award
• 2013 Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award (cent. region)

2013-14 (Freshman Year at Mizzou)

Record: 38-2 (11-1 duals)

• NCAA National Champion (197 pounds)
• NCAA All-American (197 pounds)
• MAC Champion (197 pounds)
• MAC Wrestler of the Year
• MAC Freshman Wrestler of the Year

2014-15 (Sophomore Year at Mizzou)

Record: 37-2 (21-0 duals)

• NCAA All-American (5th Place, 197 pounds)
• MAC Champion (197 pounds)

2015-16 (Junior Year at Mizzou)

Record: 33-1 (15-1 duals)

• NCAA National Champion (197 pounds
• NCAA All-American (197 pounds)
• MAC Champion (197 pounds)
• MAC Wrestler of the Year

2016 (International Run)

Record: 17-3
Ranked Opponents Defeated: 3

The Field (Country, Wrestler, World Ranking at 86 kg)

#RoadtoRio

• Entering his first Olympic appearance, J'den Cox is currently ranked No. 9 at 86 kg (189.5 lbs) in the United World Wrestling Freestyle Rankings.
• Since claiming his second NCAA Wrestling National Championship on March 19, Cox has wrestled in 20 freestyle matches, winning 17 of them while defeating three opponents ranked among the world's best, helping vault his way up the rankings.
• On April 10, Cox secured his spot on the U.S. National Team with a first-place finish at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Iowa City, Iowa. Cox, who entered the tournament as the No. 9-seed, advanced to the finals following wins over Clayton Foster, 2015 World Team member Jake Herbert and Keith Gavin. In the best-two-of-three finals bout, Cox defeated four-time NCAA Champion Kyle Dake, 2-1, to claim his spot on #TeamUSA.
• Cox's weight class, 86 kg, was still not qualified for Rio following the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Cox was rushed to Mongolia two weeks later on April 24 in attempt to qualify the weight class. In Mongolia, Cox cruised to a first-place finish at the event, outscoring his opponents, 36-3, in five matches.
• Cox has wrestled in three events since officially qualifying for the Olympics, serving as a tune-up for Rio. At the Beat the Streets event in May, Cox defeated then-No. 10 Meisam Mostafa Joukar (Iran), 10-5 in the middle of Times Square. At the UWW Men's Freestyle World Cup in Los Angeles, Calif., on June 11-12, Cox helped guide Team USA to a fourth-place finish, going 3-1 while defeating No. 5 (then-No. 3) Alexander Gostiev (Azerbaijan), 3-2, and No. 13 (then-No 6) Alireza Karimimachiani (Iran), 6-2. In his final appearance before Rio, Cox claimed the bronze medal at the Grand Prix of Germany on July 2, going 3-1 at the event.

J'den Notes

• J'den Cox is the 29th athlete in Mizzou Athletics history to compete in the Olympics and the second in Mizzou Wrestling history, following Ben Askren, who competed in freestyle wrestling (74 kg) at the 2008 Beijing Olympics Games. Track and Field has produced the most Olympians in Mizzou history (21), followed by Swimming (3), Wrestling (2), Baseball (1), Basketball (1) and Softball (1).
• Cox won his second NCAA National Championship on March 19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, N.Y. Cox became the second wrestler in program history to win two NCAA Titles, joining Ben Askren, who claimed the nation's top spot on the podium at 174 pounds in 2006 and 2007.
• The Hometown Tiger claimed his first NCAA title as a true-freshman in 2014, becoming the first Tiger to win an NCAA title as a freshman and just the 14th to do so in NCAA Wrestling history.
• With the first-place finish at the 2016 NCAA Championships, Cox became a three-time NCAA All-American, the fourth Mizzou grappler to earn the distinction three times (Ben Askren, 2004-07; Max Askren, 2008-10; Drake Houdashelt, 2013-15).
• Cox became the 24th member of Mizzou's 100-win club on Feb. 21, with a 16-7 major decision over Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska). He reached the century mark in 105 matches, the fastest to 100 wins in program history.
• Cox owns the best winning percentage of any wrestler in program history with 100 or more wins with a winning percentage of .955 (108-5), slightly ahead of Ben Aksren's mark of .950 (153-8)
• In the Mizzou record book, Cox ranks fourth in career technical falls (14) and sixth in major decisions (24).

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