Missouri Wrestling Adds Four New Tigers
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
June 16, 1999
Columbia, Mo. - Missouri head wrestling coach Brian Smith has announced the signing of four prospective student-athletes to national letters of intent to wrestle for MU next fall. Smith has now signed 12 prospective student-athletes for the 1999-2000 school year.
"These student-athletes add tremendous talent and depth to our wrestling program," head coach Brian Smith said. "Our two goals for recruiting were to get the best kids from the state of Missouri to stay home to wrestle and to get the elite wrestlers from some of the top wrestling states in the nation. With the addition of these wrestlers, we feel we have accomplished our goals." 1999 Wrestling Recruiting Class
Name Hometown
Todd Cox-133/141 Mahomet, Illinois
Mark Denning-157 Leawood. Kansas
J.P. Reese-149 Rochester Hills, Michigan
RJ Young-141 Kankakee, Illinois
Kenny Burelson-157 Neosho, Missouri
Dirk Desmond-149 Hebron, Missouri
Tanner Harris-125 Choctaw, Oklahoma
Josh Maze-197 Wichita, Kansas
Steve Sakis-165 Chesapeake, Virginia
Jeremy Spates-141 Norman, Oklahoma
Rob Stolin-174 St. Charles, Missouri
Mark Vollmar-174 St. Charles, Missouri
TODD COX
Cox is an outstanding wrestler from Illinois who the Tiger staff, stole from Big Ten power University of Illinois. Todd was a three-time state qualifier, three-time all-conference selection and two-time state placer at Mahomet-Seymour High School. As a senior in 1999, Cox was the National High School Coaches Post-Season Wrestling Championships winner at 135 and was named the "Outstanding Wrestler" of the entire championships. Todd also earned a gold medal at the 1998 Disney/AAU High School Team Championships and was a 1997 AAU Folkstyle All-American while competing in the Elite Division. A multi-talented athlete, Cox was a four-year letterman in soccer and a two-year letterman in baseball, captaining both squads during his senior seasons. At MSHS, he was a class officier, student council member and earned a spot on the schools honor roll. He is the son of Linda and Michael Cox. Cox chose Missouri over Illinois, Purdue, Eastern Illinois and Lindenwood University.
Coach Smith on Cox: "Todd and I really hit it off from the begining of the recruiting process. Todd is an outstanding athlete who was a two-time placer in Illinois and the type of year-round wrestler we want to have on our teams. It will be exciting to see what he can do when he focuses on wrestling all year!"
MARK DENNING
One of the top wrestler out of the state of Kansas, Denning was a two-time state champion and three-time state placer in the Sunflower state, winning state championships as a senior and sophomore. Mark was a five-time Kansas national team member, compiling a 139-11 mark at Leawood High School, where the wrestling squad were the 1997 team state champions. An All-State Academic Award winner and four-year honor roll member, Mark will be a pre-law major at Missouri.
Coach Smith on Denning: "Mark adds to an already talented middle weight group. We are adding a champion to our room and the type of kid that you want to represent your program."
J.P. REESE
A talented wrestler who comes from an outstanding wrestling background. J.P. finished third in the state of Michigan in 1999, his second state placing finish at Rochester Adams High School. He was a two-time first team all-Oakland county and a two-time first team all-area selection, as well as the 1999 Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Oakland County Championships. The Rochester Adams team finished first (1998), second (1999), and thrid (1997) during Reeses career and were ranked among the nations top 25 high school wrestling teams. Reese was an academic all-league honoree in 1999 and earned a varisty as a defensive back on the football team. His high school coach, Pat Milkovich, was the first four-time national finalist in NCAA history while wrestling for Michigan State. Milkovich later became a Spartan assistant and coached Missouri head coach Brian Smith for one season, when Smith attended MSU. J.P. will study accounting at Missouri and is the son of Patty and Jim Reese.
Coach Smith on Reese: "J.P. was one of the top prospects out of Michigan. He comes from one of the top high school wrestling programs in the nation and has all the tools to become a great leader in the classroom and on the mats at Missouri."
RJ YOUNG
Another outstanding Illinois wrestler who chose Missouri. RJ was a three-time state qualifier and two-time state placer at Bishop McNamara High School in Kankakee, Illinois. A four-year letterman, Young accumulated a 138-19 record, including a 28-1 senior campaign. Also an accomplished freestyle wrestler, RJ placed third as a senior at the Illinois state freestyle championships. A honor roll student, Young is the son of Deanne and Ron Young.
Coach Smith on Young: "RJ is the third coachs son in this recruiting class which has really helped his developement. He is probably the best two-time state runner-up you are going to find and brings alot of quality experience to our room."
The Tiger coaching staff will also add several walk-ons to their squad in the fall, many of whom were Missouri state high school placers this past season. The signing period for NCAA wrestling ends August 1.
