March 22, 2002
ALBANY, N.Y. - Missouri sophomore Scott Barker advanced to the All-American round of the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Albany, N.Y. on Friday. Barker is guaranteed a sixth place or better finish, which will make him MU's first All-American since Mike Harp in 1998.
The Tigers had a rough go at it Friday morning in the quarterfinal round as all three quarterfinalist for MU went up against higher seeded wrestlers and lost.
At 197 pounds, Barker, the fifth seed, was defeated by fourth seeded Nick Preston of Ohio State 3-2 in the quarterfinals. In the fourth round of the consolation bracket, Barker pinned Eric Mausser of Clarion for his first fall of the championships and his 12th fall of the season.
In the next round of the consolation bracket, he picked up his second straight pin, this time over eight seed Jason Payne of Northern Iowa.
On Saturday, Barker will face third seed Omar Elzen. A win would put Barker into the third place match. With a loss, Barker would move to the fifth place match. He is guaranteed All-American status, as the top eight placers become All-Americans.
In the 141-pound quarterfinals, sophomore J.P. Reese was defeated by the number two-seeded Eric Larkin of Arizona State with a 13-2 major decision. Reese was eliminated from the championships when he was defeated in the next round of the consolations by Mike Maney of Lock Haven 6-1. Reese completes his first NCAA Championships with a 2-2 record in the tournament and ends the season 25-11 overall, placing him third on the team in wins for the year.
Senior John Kopnisky lost in the 174-pound quarterfinals to the fourth seed, Greg Parker of Princeton. On the consolation side of the bracket, the 12th seeded Kopnisky faced the eleventh seeded Nathan Coy of Oregon State. Coy came away with the 4-1 victory, eliminating Kopnisky from competition.
Kopnisky ends the season with a 26-7 record and finishes his career at Missouri with a 106-35 mark, which puts him fourth on the all-time wins list at MU.
In the consolation bracket, redshirt freshman Tryon Woodley defeated Bill Boeh of Duquesne 12-7 in the 165-pound class. Woodley advanced to the next round of consolations where he defeated Pittsburgh's Carl Fronhofer 5-4, but not before a protest of his win was lodged by Pittsburgh. In the final moments of the bout, Woodley led 5-4. Fronhofer took Woodley down just after the final horn. Pittsburgh protested, claiming that the takedown was before the horn, but the protest was denied and Woodley was awarded the 5-4 decision.
In the fourth round of consolations, Woodley and Penn State's Doc Vecchio went to overtime before Vecchio eliminated Woodley with a 10-8 sudden victory. Woodley finishes the 2-2 at the NCAA's and a 20-12 overall record on the season.
The NCAA Championships will conclude on Saturday in Albany.
Quarterfinals
141- Eric Larkin (Arizona State) maj. dec. J.P. Reese (MU) 13-2.
174- Greg Parker (Princeton) dec. John Kopnisky (MU) 6-4.
197- Nick Preston (Ohio State) dec. Scott Barker (MU) 3-2.
Consolations- 2nd Round
165- Tyron Woodley (MU) dec. Bill Boeh (Duquesne) 12-7.
Consolations- 3rd Round
165- Tyron Woodley (MU) dec. Carl Fronhofer (Pitt) 5-4.
Consolations- 4th Round
141- Mike Maney (Lock Haven) dec. J.P. Reese (MU) 6-1.
165- Doc Vecchio (Penn St.) dec. Tyron Woodley (MU) 10-8 SV.
174- Nathan Coy (Oregon St.) dec. John Kopnisky (MU) 4-1.
197- Scott Barker (MU) fall Eric Mausser (Clarion) 7:00.
Consolations- 5th Round
197- Scott Barker (MU) fall Jason Payne (N. Iowa) 6:20.