No. 5 Missouri welcomes former Big-12 rivals No. 2 Oklahoma State and No. 22 Oklahoma for a pair of action-packed duals.
2011-12: Eblen wrestled in six open tournaments as a freshman, competing at 184 pounds in 2011-12. At the UCM Open to start the season, Eblen bounced back after losing his first match and won six in a row to claim third place. His second win of the tournament came against Josh Manu of Missouri Valley, as Eblen pinned Manu in just 46 seconds for his fastest fall of the year. Eblen placed fourth at the Lindenwood Open, picking up one of his three wins by major decision. At the Kaufman-Brand Open, Eblen won his first three bouts to move into the finals, where he forfeited to teammate Mike Larson to take second place. At the Roger Denker Open in January, Eblen went 4-1 to finish in third, winning all four matches with bonus points. Three weeks later, Eblen secured another runner-up finish, placing second at the MVC Open. He won by fall in his first match and defeated teammate Dustin Williams, 4-0, in the semifinals, before losing 3-2 to another teammate in Clarence Neely in the championship. Eblen finished the year with an 18-6 record, securing eight decisions, four majors, three falls, two technical falls and a win by forfeit.
2010-11: Wrestling in five opens as a redshirt, Eblen placed in four of those tournaments, capped off by a first place finish at the MVC Open at 184 pounds. He finished fifth at the UCM open, highlighted by a win via fall in just 41 seconds. He went 4-2 at the Kaufman/Brand Open, winning once by a 13-2 major decision and again by a fall in 4:59 to go with two decisions. During the MVC Open, Eblen opened with a fall in 3:30 and followed that up with a 15-0 technical fall before rallying off two straight decisions to win the title. Eblen went 13-5 on the season.
High School: Competing for the Trojans of Park Hill High School, Eblen competed at 171 pounds during his first three years before moving up to 189 for his senior year. At 189, he capped off his career by winning the state championship, while helping his team accomplish the same feat. During his sophomore year he took fourth, while he collected runner-up honors his junior year. At the 2007 Fargo Cadet Nationals, Eblen placed second in the Greco competition and fourth in the freestyle. At the Fargo Junior Nationals in 2009, he recorded an eighth place finish in freestyle.
Personal: Johnny Eblen was born to Tom and Hyon Eblen on Dec. 13, 1991 in Des Moines, Iowa. He has two siblings, Tommy, who wrestled at UCM, and Tim.
