Wrestling: Courtney Takes 5th In The World
September 25, 2003 02:32 PM | General
August 29, 2003
Morgantown, W.Va. – West Virginia University wrestling freshman Jeff Courtney (Fairmont, W.Va.) finished 5th in the world at the Junior World Championships August 22-29, in Istanbul, Turkey.
Courtney replaced Adam Haake (Marquette, Mich.) who injured his knee, thus allowing Courtney to compete and represent the United States in the Greco-Roman portion of the Junior World Championships.
Only two U.S. wrestlers emerged from their pools, Harry Lester (Cuyahoga Valley, Ohio) at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. and Courtney at 96 kg/211.5 lbs.
Courtney defeated athletes from Bulgaria and Sweden to qualify for the quarterfinals, where Anatoly Makeev of Russia defeated him, 7-0. Therefore, Courtney would place in the top eight of his weight class in the final standings.
According to the official web site, Lester and Courtney both finished fifth in their weight class in the finals standings.
Courtney, a Fairmont High graduate, was a two-time West Virginia state champion and named the state tournament’s outstanding wrestler. Along with placing fourth at the high school national championships, Courtney won two gold medals in Greco-Roman and Freestyle at the Pan-American Deaf Games in Havana, Cuba.
The highly touted in-state recruit redshirted the 2002-03 season for the Mountaineers. He will look to secure a spot on WVU’s wrestling squad at 184/197 lbs. this fall.
