Wrestling Signs Two to National Letters of Intent
11/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 19, 2002
COLUMBIA, Mo. -
The Missouri Tiger wrestling team has signed two high school standouts to National Letters of Intent, as announced by MU Head Coach Brian Smith on Tuesday.
Tim Kephart is a 125 pounder from O'Fallon, Mo., attending Francis Howell High School. Joshua Wagner is a also a 125 pounder, but will wrestle at 141 lbs. at Mizzou. Wagner is from Milton, Wisc. and attends Milton High School.
Kephart is ranked as the #13 high school senior in the country by InterMat wrestling. His long list of accomplishments include winning the Missouri state championship at 119 lbs. as a junior. He has a career high school record of 122-3, including a 44-0 record last season. Kephart has competed nationally, competing at both the FILA and USAW Cadet National Freestyle Championships. He has also competed internationally as a member of the USA World Team, competing in championships in both Poland and China.
"Tim is the one of the top recruits in the nation and the top recruit out of Missouri. We felt it was important to sign him because it shows we are dedicated in keeping Missouri's top wrestlers here in the state," said Coach Smith, "We've had alot of success recruiting out of the St. Louis area and Tim will become a just another in a long line of great St. Louis area wrestlers to succeed as a Tiger."
Wagner is one of the top recruits out of the state of Wisconsin. As a junior he won the Wisconsin state championship at 119lbs. An accomplished Greco wrestler he has competed in numerous national tournaments including the USA Junior Nationals and FILA Cadet Nationals.
"Joshua continues are strong pipeline of recruiting the best wrestlers out of Wisconsin that we started with Ben Askren and Matt Pell," said Coach Smith, "We project him wrestling at 141 lbs. for us, where we see him as having all the tools to be a very successful Division I wrestler."
"Both of these recruits are the total package. They have everything that we look for in a Tiger wrestler; academics, attitude, ability and potential. I'm excited to have them and look forward to developing them as student athletes." said Coach Smith.
Tim Kephart *High School career record of 122-3 *Holds school record for single season falls with 32 (86 career falls) *2002 Missouri State Champion (119 lbs.) *Went 44-0 as a junior *Placed third at 112 lbs. at the 2001 Missouri State Championships *Went 37-1 as a sophomore *Runner-up at 103 lbs. as a freshman at the 2000 Missouri State Championships *Went 41-2 as a freshman *2002 Junior Nationals runner-up *2000 FILA Cadet National Freestyle Champion *2000 USAW Cadet National Freestyle Runner-up *2000 USAW Cadet National Greco Roman Champion *2000 USA Team Member that competed in Beijing, China *1999 FILA Cadet National Freestyle Champion *1999 World Team member that competed at Cadet World Championships in Lodz, Poland *1999 USAW Cadet National Freestyle Champion *Currently holds a 3.3 GPA and is an honor roll student at Francis Howell High School
Joshua Wagner *High School career record of 106-4 *2002 Wisconsin State Champion (119 lbs.) *Went 23-1 as a junior *Runner-up at 112 lbs. as a sophomore at the 2001 Wisconsin State Championships *Went 41-1 as a sophomore *Placed third at 103 lbs. at the 2000 Missouri State Championships as a freshman *Went 42-2 as a freshman *Placed 3rd at the 2002 Junior Nationals at 125 lbs *2002 Junior Western Regional Greco Champion at 125 lbs. *Placed 2nd at 125 lbs.freestyle in the 2002 Junior Western regional Championships *2002 Junior Wisconsin Freestyle Champion at 130 lbs. *Placed 4th at 123 lbs. at the 2001 USA Junior Nationals Greco *Placed 2nd at 54 kg at the 2001 FILA Cadet Nationals Greco *2000 FILA Cadet National Greco Champion (46 kg) *Placed 6th at the FILA Cadet Nationals Freestyles at 46 kg
