Warrensburg, Mo. (May 20, 1999) – Central Missouri State wrestling coach Robin Ersland has announced the signing of eight high-school seniors to letters-of-intent for the 1999-2000 season. Joining the Mules’ squad are Brett Barbarick (pronounced BAR’-ber-ick) of Raymore (Mo.)-Peculiar High School, Ryan Hunter of Blue Springs (Mo.) High School, Seth Shippy of Odessa (Mo.) High School, Willie McCowan of Lebanon (Mo.) High School, Drew Passley of Webb City (Mo.) High School, Zak Knight of Putnam City (Okla.) North High School, Jeff Lee of Hutchinson (Kan.) High School and Rocky Palazzolo (pronounced Pal-uh-ZOE’-loe) of Chippewa Valley (Mich.) High School.

Barbarick placed in the state tournament all four years at Raymore-Peculiar and had a 144-25 career record. He was runner-up in class 3A at 171 pounds this past season after winning the state title as a junior. Hunter was a member of Blue Springs’ 4A state championship team, placing second at 171 for coach Mike Hagerty. Hunter had a 129-44 career record. Shippy was a third-place finisher at 171 in class 1A-2A for Odessa. In addition to a 128-16 career record in wrestling, he also earned all-state honors in football last fall. McCowan lost only one match in each of the last two seasons, placing third at heavyweight in class 4A as a senior and second as a junior. His career record was 134-21.

Passley placed no lower than third in the state tournament each of his four years at Webb City. He was third in class 3A at 125 this past season and compiled a 131-29 career record. Knight was a fourth-place finisher at 135 in the Oklahoma state tournament this past season. He had a career record of 110-32 with 86 career falls. Lee won the state title at 171 for Hutchinson this past season and produced a 117-21 career record. Palazzolo was a fourth-place finisher at 135 in the Michigan state tournament for Chippewa Valley. His career record was 154-19 with 93 career falls.

The Mules will be in their fifth year under Ersland next season. In his previous four seasons, the Mules have placed in the top 25 in the NCAA Division II Championships each year and have produced a total of seven All-Americans.