No. 9 Missouri Travels to Wyoming
1/17/2002 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Jan. 17, 2002
The University of Missouri wrestling team, ranked No. 9 by Intermat, will travel to Laramie, Wyo. on Friday for a dual with Wyoming. The Tigers are 10-0 on the year and are coming off the Virginia Duals where they took championship honors.
Missouri's 10-0 start is the best start to the year since the 1967-68 season. That year the Tigers won their first 15 duals and finished with a record of 18-0-1.
This year's squad began the season ranked No. 21 and has since moved up to the highest ever ranking for Missouri at No. 9. They have knocked off two top ten teams on the way, defeating then-No. 9 ranked Illinois in the season opener and knocking off Nebraska, who was No. 9 at the time, in December.
MU has wrestlers ranked in seven of the 10 weight classes, led by sophomore Scott Barker who is the No. 7 ranked 197-pound wrestler. Barker suffered his first loss of the year against Hofstra at last weekend's Virginia Duals. He is 13-1 on the year and 9-1 in duals. Nine of his 13 wins this year have been pins and eight of the pins have come in the first period of the bout.
Sophomore Jeremy Spates is tied for the team lead in wins with 15 on the year and is a perfect 8-0 in duals. Spates has won 11 of his last 12 bouts and is ranked No. 9 in the 149-pound class. This week Spates was selected to participate in the NWCA All-Star Classic on Jan. 28 in Hempstead, NY. The event features the top wrestlers in each weight class from around the country.
Redshirt freshman Tyron Woodley is ranked No. 9 at 165 pounds. He is 12-4 overall and 6-2 in duals.
Senior John Kopnisky is tied with Spates with 15 wins on the year. He is 15-3, 7-2 in duals and is ranked No. 11 in the 174-pound class. Kopnisky is just three wins away from 100-career wins as a Tiger.
At heavyweight, junior Kevin Herron is ranked No. 15 and has a record of 13-7 overall and 7-3 in duals.
Sophomore Kenny Burleson made his first appearance in the Intermat poll this week at No. 16 in the 157-pound class. He is 10-3 on the year with a dual record of 5-1 and went 3-0 at the Virginia Duals last weekend.
Sophomore J.P. Reese is the No. 18 ranked wrestler at 141-pounds and enters Friday's dual with a 13-6 record, 7-3 in duals.
Missouri Coach Brian Smith is in his fourth year at Mizzou. He has a career record to 34-38-2 and is 32-30-1 at MU. The Tigers have already surpassed their win total of seven from last year. Since the 1983-84 season, Missouri has not had more than eleven wins in a season. A win in Wyoming on Friday would give the Tigers 11 wins with 10 duals still on the schedule.
Wyoming is currently 3-7 on the season. Its last action also came in the Virginia Duals where the Cowboys went 1-2. Wyoming finished the 2000-01 season 8-6 and tied for 38th at the NCAA Championships with Missouri.
Sophomore Levi Prevost leads the Cowboys. He was a NCAA qualifier last year and has a record of 10-6 this year at 157 pounds. Wyoming coach Steve Suder is in his 13th year in Laramie and has amassed a record of 80-85-2.
The series between the Tigers and the Cowboys is tied 2-2. MU won the last meeting in December of 1999 by a score of 21-18.
Missouri will return to the Hearnes Center Fieldhouse next Friday, Jan. 25 for its first home action in nearly six weeks. The last home dual for the Tigers was on Dec. 8 when they defeated Indiana and Missouri Valley. Next Friday Mizzou will host the No. 2 ranked team in the country, Oklahoma State, at 7 p.m.
MISSOURI'S PROJECTED LINEUP
125- Mark Bader-Jr. (10-10, 5-5)
133- Chris McCormick- Fr. (8-8, 4-6)
141- J.P. Reese- So. (13-6, 7-3)
149- Jeremy Spates- So. (15-3, 8-0)
157- Kenny Burleson- So. (10-6, 5-1)
165- Tyron Woodley- RSFr. (12-4, 6-2)
174- John Kopnisky- Sr. (15-3, 7-2)
184- Dante Stone- Jr. (11-6, 5-3)
197- Scott Barker- So. (13-1, 9-1)
HWT- Kevin Herron- Jr. (13-7, 7-3)
WYOMING PROJECTED LINEUP
125- Reynold Candelaria- So. (0-9, 0-9)
133- Kelly McConville- Sr. (15-9, 6-4)
141- Mark Hamrick- Sr. (16-8, 7-3)
149- Thad Trujillo- Jr. (9-9, 3-3)
157- Levi Prevost- So. (10-6, 2-2)-OR-Jason Waneka- Jr. (0-5, 0-3)
165- Open
174- E.K. Waldhaus- RSFr.(14-9, 6-4)
184- Kevin Kessner- So. (12-7, 6-4)
197- Malcolm Havens- Fr. (11-12, 1-12)
HWT- Brad Steele- Jr. (21-6, 7-2)
INTERMAT RANKINGS- JAN. 15, 2002
1. Minnesota
2. Oklahoma State
3. Oklahoma
4. Michigan
5. Iowa
6. Iowa State
7. Ohio State
8. Pennsylvania
9. MISSOURI
10. Lehigh
11. Arizona State
12. West Virginia
13. Lock Haven
14. Northern Iowa
15. Edinboro
16. Michigan State
17. Wisconsin
18. Illinois
19. Hofstra
20. Pittsburgh
