March 22, 2012
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Missouri wrestling head coach Brian Smith has been selected as the Big 12 Coach of the Year, as announced by the league office on Thursday afternoon. Smith is the first coach in Mizzou wrestling history to be named Coach of the Year by the conference.
Mizzou won the Big 12 Championship for the first time ever earlier this month, scoring 77.0 points to hold off defending champion Oklahoma State, who finished with 73.0 points in the third-closest Big 12 finish ever. The Tigers advanced eight of their 10 starters into the finals, and ended up crowning four individual champions on the evening, a program record.
The Tigers would go on to send all 10 wrestlers to the NCAA Championship, marking the first time ever that Missouri has sent every starter to the event. Included in those 10 wrestlers were Big 12 Champions Alan Waters (125), Drake Houdashelt (157), Zach Toal (165) and Mike Larson (184).
During the regular season, Missouri went 14-5 in dual action, which included a 3-3 mark in conference. Mizzou crowned their most Big 12 Wrestlers of the Week during the regular season, bringing home four awards. Waters received the honor on three separate occasions, while Brent Haynes was also a recipient.
For more information on Missouri wrestling, fans can follow the team on Twitter (@MizzouWrestling) and Facebook (facebook.com/mizzouwrestling).
