March 20, 2004

St. Louis, Mo. -- Senior captains Jeremy Spates (149) and Kenny Burleson (157) earned their first All-American honors with fifth place and seventh place finishes respectively at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in the Savvis Center of St. Louis. Taking victories in their final matches of the fifth session, the two seniors closed out their collegiate campaign with over 100 wins each.

Making his third NCAA Championship appearance, senior captain Jeremy Spates finished fifth at 149 pounds earning his first All-American honors. For the second time of the Championships, Spates was able to hold off Big 12 opponent Jeff Eckloff of Oklahoma, taking an 8-0 win over the freshman. Scoreless through the first period, Ecklof chose down to start the second, giving Jeremy his opportunity at a three-point nearfall. After a short injury timeout by Ecklof, Spates added 2:17 of riding time, plus an escape and takedown to shutout the Sooner wrestler. In their earlier, second round, Thursday night match, Spates held on for a 3-2 decision.

"It's strange that the last match I ever wrestled was against my Dad's team," Spates said about wrestling father Jack Spates' (head coach) Oklahoma Sooner Jeff Ecklof. "I had a lot of confidence going into the match, and I knew that it was my last time to go out there. Knowing that, I wanted to make sure I went out and just had fun. It wasn't a national title, but I'm glad that I was able to have my hand raised and reach my goal of becoming an All-American."

Opening his morning at 10 a.m., Spates suffered a 6-0 loss to No. 4 seed Ryan Churella of Michigan. It was the first time all season that Spates was unable to put points on the board. Closing out the first period at 2-0, the two were scoreless through the second, with Churella taking an escape and reversal in the third period. Strong on top, Churella was able to ride Spates for 4:02, adding one point to his final score. Earlier in the season, Spates won a 7-5 decision over Churella at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 5.

Senior Kenny Burleson took his first All-American honor with a 6-3 win over Phil Simpson of Army in the seventh-place medal round. Having confidence from an earlier season 7-5 win over the Black Knight, Burleson had a takedown at 1:35 to put himself on top in the point total. Scoring another takedown in the second, Simpson had two escapes and two cautions to close out the period 4-3 in favor of Missouri. It was Burleson's final reversal with 32 seconds left on the clock that secured his win and seventh place finish.

"Phil Simpson is one of the best wrestlers at 157 pounds," Burleson said. "I kept my head in the game and the match we had turned into a real barn burner, much like the one we had back in December. The win was a great way to close out my career."

Redshirt freshman Ben Askren will wrestle in the 174 pound Championship match tonight at 5:30 p.m. CT. The matches will be televised live on ESPN2.

Missouri Results for the Fifth Session:
149: Ryan Churella (Michigan) dec Jeremy Spates (MU): 6-0
149: Jeremy Spates (MU) dec Jeff Ecklof (OU): 8-0
157: Kenny Burleson (MU) dec Phil Simpson (Army) 6-3