Nov. 20, 1999

ST. LOUIS - Paced by All-American Adam Tirapelle, the Fighting Illini came away with five Open Division titles at the St. Louis Open today on the campus of St. Louis Community College.

In one of the largest open tournaments in the Midwest, Tirapelle was named the Open's Outstanding Wrestler for his victory at the 149-weight class. Other Illini winners included John Lockhart (HWT), Pat Quirk (197), Nate Patrick (184) and Griff Powell (157).

"Today was one of the best tournament performances that we've had since I've been here," Head Coach Mark Johnson said. "We won five titles and Oklahoma won two, so I am very happy with the performances."

In the Freshman/Sophomore Division, Illinois got wins from freshmen Jason Potter and Brendan Heffernan at 184 and 197, respectively. The Illini had third-place finishes from sophomore Chad Hay (125), freshman Ryan Berger (149) and freshman Ben Hay (157).

Illinois is back in action Dec. 3-4 at the Las Vegas Invitational.