OU wrestling coach gets Big 12 honor

<br>NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ League coaches on Wednesday selected Jack Spates of Oklahoma as the Big 12 Conference wrestling coach of the year. <br><br>The Sooners won the conference championship and had three

Thursday, March 28th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ League coaches on Wednesday selected Jack Spates of Oklahoma as the Big 12 Conference wrestling coach of the year.

The Sooners won the conference championship and had three individual champions. They advanced all 10 weights to the NCAA championships, where the Sooners placed third, their highest finish since 1986.

Oklahoma ended the season ranked No. 4 in the final National Wrestling Coaches Association poll released before the NCAA championships.

Spates has been at Oklahoma since 1993.