March 22, 2002

Norfolk, VA-Old Dominion senior Jeff Rusak (Reading, PA) has been eliminated from the 2002 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Albany, NY, with a 5-3 loss to Oklahoma's Michael Barger. Rusak finishes the Championship with a 2-2 mark and finishes his season with a 35-2 record with 19 pins.

After being knocked out of the first round by VMI's Matt Erwin, Rusak had rebounded with pins over Millersville's Curtis Yeager and Pat Owens of Boise State. The loss to Barger means Rusak finishes the NCAA Championships with a 2-2 mark for the second year in a row and will prevent him from placing in the top eight.

Rusak's career ends with a 135 wins and 19 losses.

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
First Round Result:
174-Matt Erwin (VMI) dec. #5 Jeff Rusak, 8-5


Wrestlebacks:
174-Rusak (ODU) WBF Pat Owens (Boise State), 5:11
174-Rusak (ODU) WBF Curtis Yeager (Millersville), 2:56
174-Michael Barger (Oklahoma) dec. Rusak, 5-3