March 18, 2000

ST. LOUIS - University of Illinois senior Carl Perry finished his career the way he always hoped, by winning the 141-pound title tonight at the 2000 NCAA championships in front of 16,795 fans at the Kiel Center. Perry, the eighth seed, earned a decision over second-seeded Michael Lightner of Oklahoma, 5-3.

"This is just an exceptional feeling for me," said Perry, who becomes Illinois' 15th all-time NCAA champion. "This is something that I've always dreamed about and as a competitor, it just doesn't get much better than this."

Perry trailed 3-1 nearing the end of the second period when he scored a takedown as time expired to tie the score at 3-3. The Illini senior then escaped from the down position to gain a 4-3 advantage at the beginning of the third and was awarded one point with 1:10 left in the period after a technical violation by Lightner, to extend the lead to the final score of 5-3. Perry was the highest seeded athlete (No. 8) to win a title.

Immediately after Perry's match, UI sophomore Adam Tirapelle took the mat at 149 pounds, but was unable to earn the Illini's second championship of the night. Tirapelle, the second seed, lost a heartbreaking match to top-seeded Tony Davis of Northern Iowa, 5-1 in overtime. The match was tied 1-1 after regulation and with 23 seconds remaining in the extra stanza, Davis earned a two-point takedown and a two-point near fall to claim the title.

In the team race, Illinois finished sixth with 59.5 points. The finish is the best under head coach Mark Johnson and is Illinois' best since 1958 (42 years) when B.R. Patterson's squad finished second in the Big Ten and sixth at the NCAA tournament. That year, Illinois had only two All-Americans and one national champion (Bob Norman-heavyweight).

Iowa won the 2000 NCAA championship, its 20th national title, with 116.00 points. The Hawkeyes were followed by Iowa State (109.50), Minnesota (80.00) Oklahoma (69.50) and Oklahoma State (66.50).

In other action Saturday afternoon, Illini freshman John Lockhart won his seventh-place match at heavyweight, defeating Matt Brink of Michigan, 3-2. Junior 197-pounder Pat Quirk finished in eighth-place after losing his seventh place match. Orville Palmer of Oklahoma earned a 10-2 major decision over Quirk.

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES:

Mark Johnson has coached four national champions at Illinois (Perry, Eric Siebert, 1998, Ernest Benion, 1995, Steve Marianetti, 1995) and 19 All-Americans (including Perry, Tirapelle, Quirk and Lockhart this year).

With tonight's top ten team finish, the Illini move into an eighth-place tie with Michigan State for all-time top ten team finishes with 24. Oklahoma State leads the list with 69.

With tonight's champion, Illinois ranks fourth since 1990 in individual champions. Illinois has crowned four champs behind Iowa with 26, Oklahoma State with 13 and Penn State with eight.

Carl Perry finished his career with 98 victories and moved into sixth place on the Illini's all-time career wins list, moving past 1991 NCAA heavyweight national champion Jon Llewellyn.

The Illini have now crowned 13 All-Americans over the last four seasons. The last time Illinois had four All-Americans was in 1998.

70th NCAA Wrestling Championships

Final Results

March 18, 2000
St. Louis, Mo.
Kiel Center

Top 10 Team Scores:

Illinois Results:

141 Pounds- Quarterfinals: No. 8 Carl Perry (Illinois) defeated No. 2 Michael Lightner (Oklahoma), 5-3

149 Pounds- Championship: No. 1 Tony Davis (Northern Iowa) defeated No. 2 Adam Tirapelle (Illinois), 5-1 (ot)

197 Pounds- Seventh Place: No. 5 Orville Palmer (Oklahoma) defeated No. 11 Pat Quirk (Illinois), 10-2

Heavyweight- Seventh Place: No. 4 John Lockhart (Illinois) defeated No. 12 Matt Brink (Michigan), 3-2

70th Annual NCAA Wrestling Championships

Individual Championship Final Pairings

March 18, 2000
Kiel Center
St. Louis, Mo.

125: No. 2 Jeremy Hunter (Penn State) dec. No. 8 Steve Garland (Virginia), 7-3

133: No. 1 Eric Juergens (Iowa) dec. No. 2 Cody Sanderson (Iowa State), 3-1 (ot)

141: No. 8 Carl Perry (Illinois) dec. No. 2 Michael Lightner (Oklahoma), 5-3

149: No. 1 Tony Davis (Northern Iowa) dec. No. 2 Adam Tirapelle (Illinois), 5-1 (ot)

157: No. 2 Brett Matter (Penn) dec. No. 5 Larry Quisel (Boise State), 4-2

165: No. 2 Don Pritzlaff (Wisconsin) dec. No. 1 Joe Haskett (Iowa State) 4-2 (ot)

174: No. 1 Byron Tucker (Oklahoma) dec. No. 3 Josh Koscheck (Edinboro) 3-0 (ot)

184: No. 1 Cael Sanderson (Iowa State) maj. dec. No. 2 Vertus Jones (West Virginia), 19-6

197: No. 2 Brad Vering (Nebraska) dec. No. 4 Zach Thompson (Iowa State), 2-1 (2ot)

Hwt: No. 1 Brock Lesnar (Minnesota) defeated No. 3 Wes Hand (Iowa), 3-2 (2ot)