Las Vegas, Nev. April 23, 2000 - Penn State coaching assistant Kerry McCoy staked his claim as the best heavyweight wrestler in the country as he downed world champion and defending national champion Stephen Neal, 3-2, in the finals of the U.S. National Freestyle Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, Nev.

"I kept moving against Neal, so I couldn't get taken down," McCoy said of the 286 pound final. "We have a great relationship. He is a great guy." Neal defeated McCoy in the semi-finals of last year's tournament before going on to claim the national and world title and being named the world "Freestyle Wrestler of the Year." That win repaid the loss he suffered to McCoy in the 1997 NCAA Championship final.

"The key for me is that I have been eating well and training very well," McCoy continued. "My next step is to take two weeks off. Then I'll go to Colorado Springs to train for the trials."

McCoy, a member of the U.S. National Team who entered the tournament as the No. 2 ranked wrestler in the country, capped a dominating tournament with his first national freestyle title. He opened the competition by posting a 10-0, technical fall on Devin Cole and then won a 10-1 decision over Billy Blunt in the quarterfinals. McCoy then posted a 10-0, technical fall demolition of No. 3 ranked Tolly Thompson in 2:34 of their semi-final match. McCoy is now 12-0 on the year. He had previously placed third in the event last year and fifth in 1998.

As the winner of the tournament, McCoy automatically receives the No. 1 seed for the upcoming Olympic Trials in Dallas, Texas, June 21-24. He will have the luxury of bypassing the mini-tournament that all the lower seeded wrestlers must compete in. He will only be required to wrestle a best two-out-of-three against the winner of the mini-tournament for the right to represent the U.S. at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.