Only a single hand was required to indicate the number of four-time Mid-American Conference champions from its first wrestling season in 1951-52 through 2008-09 — four. The number of national championships MAC wrestlers won during that time could be displayed with two hands — seven.

That was it during the conference's first 58 seasons.

During the next 10 seasons, however, that kind of success began to occur more frequently as the MAC added five more national titles and honored an additional three four-time conference championships. 

Here are the MAC's top five wrestlers of the 2010s, arguably the conference's most successful decade.

J'DEN COX, MISSOURI

The only MAC grappler to win multiple national titles, Cox was 197-pound champion in 2014, 2016, and 2017. He was fifth in 2015, making him a four-time All-American. 

Cox was also a four-time MAC champion and was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the MAC Championships three times. He was the conference's Freshman Wrestler of the Year in 2014. 

Cox joined an exclusive club in 2016 by winning an NCAA championship and Olympic medal in the same year. Only seven others have accomplished the same feat.

Cox decisioned top-ranked Morgan McIntosh of Penn State, 4-2, for an NCAA title in March. Just five months later, he was the 86-kilogram freestyle bronze medalist and did not allow a single takedown during Olympic competition. 

Cox, also a four-time Missouri state high school champion, concluded his career with a 136-5 record, including 61-1 as a junior and senior. He totaled 31 major decision wins, 27 pins and 20 technical falls. 

Cox has won two world championships since the end of his college career. 

DRAKE HOUDASHELT, MISSOURI

After twice losing in the semifinals, Houdashelt broke through to conclude his senior season with the 2015 NCAA 149-pound championship. 

Houdashelt captured the title in dramatic fashion, taking down Edinboro's David Habat 32 seconds into the first overtime period for a 3-1 win. Houdashelt went 37-1 that season, ending it with a 12-match winning streak. 

As a result, he was named the 2015 University of Missouri Male Athlete of the Year, 2015 MAC Wrestler of the Year, and Most Outstanding Wrestler at the MAC Championships. 

The three-time All-American was also fifth at the NCAA Championships as a junior and sixth as a sophomore. Houdashelt was a four-time NCAA qualifier and four-time conference champion. He won a Big 12 title as a freshman followed by three straight MAC crowns. 

Houdashelt finished with a 134-23 career mark, including 39 major-decision wins, 21 pins, and 18 technical falls. He joined the Tigers after winning two Missouri state championships. 

DUSTIN KILGORE, KENT STATE

In 2011, Kilgore capped his junior year by becoming the Golden Flashes' only NCAA champion, pinning previously unbeaten Clayton Foster of Oklahoma State in the 197-pound final.

Kilgore was trailing 5-1 when he abruptly ended the match at the 4:56 mark to finish that season riding a 19-match winning streak.

He took an Olympic redshirt the next season, finishing fourth in the 2012 Trials and winning at Pan Am Games gold medal that same year.

Kilgore won the first 42 matches of his senior season before tangling with Penn State's Quentin Wright in the 197-pound NCAA Championship match. Both wrestlers were unbeaten, but Wright was the one who remained that way, taking an 8-6 decision.

Kilgore, a three-time All-American, was also placed seventh at the 2010 NCAA Championships and was a four-time MAC champion and four-time NCAA qualifier. He was named MAC Freshman of the Year and the MAC Wrestler of the Year as a junior and senior.

Kilgore, now an assistant coach at Air Force, finished with a 178-11 career record, including 50 pins. 

Following his collegiate career, he won another Pan Am gold in 2015 and placed third at the 2016 Olympic Trials.

DANIEL LEWIS, MISSOURI

While he fell short of winning an NCAA Championship, Lewis still enjoyed one of the most productive careers of any Missouri wrestler.

Competing at 165 and 174 pounds, he was a four-time All-American and four-time MAC champion. Lewis finished fourth at the NCAA tournament three times and sixth once. 

His senior season was arguably Lewis' finest as he wrestled to a 28-3 record, losing only once prior to the 2019 NCAA Championships where he placed fourth.

Lewis earned the Gorrarian Award, going to the individual with the most pins in the least amount of time in the tournament. He pinned three opponents in a combined 8:24. In fact, 17 of Lewis' 28 victories that season (61 percent) came via pin.

He also went on a 19-match winning streak as a senior from December through the NCAA Championships, recording pins in 13 of those victories. 

Among other career highlights, Lewis was named MAC Freshman Wrestler of the Year and earned Missouri’s Marshall Esteppe Most Outstanding Freshman award in 2016, finishing 29-6 and fourth at the NCAA Championships

Lewis finished with a 116-17 career record, including 37-1 in the MAC and 59-3 in duals. He recorded 53 career pins.

Lewis, a four-time Missouri state champion, is now an assistant coach at Purdue. 

BEN BENNETT, CENTRAL MICHIGAN

The four-time All-American and four-time MAC champion finished with a 121-25 career record while competing at 174 and 184 pounds. 

Bennett was at his best as a senior, finishing 31-2, including 30 consecutive wins, and placing fourth at the NCAA Championships. He edged Maryland's Jimmy Sheptock (1-0) in the quarterfinals. Sheptock later finished his career with a 129-20 record. 

Bennett was also sixth in the NCAA Championships as a freshman and senior and eighth as a junior. 

He twice earned the Chick Sherwood Award as CMU’s most valuable wrestler, was named the MAC Wrestler of the Year in 2012, and earned the MAC Freshman of the Year Award in 2010.

The two-time Michigan state high school champion became a CMU assistant coach soon after graduating in 2013.

Mark Spezia is a freelance writer based in Lapeer, Michigan. He has written for ESPNW, Flohockey, Flint, Michigan-based My City Magazine, the Detroit Free Press, Hour Detroit Magazine and Troy, Michigan-based Oakland Press. He previously worked for the Flint Journal, Lapeer (Michigan) County Press and Daily Mining Gazette in Houghton, Michigan.