Big 12 Wrestling Championships - Finals - March 3, 2012
2010-11: Wrestling as the only true freshman in Missouri's lineup, Waters emerged as one of the top 125 pound grapplers in the country with an unbelievable rookie season, capped off by earning the No. 10 seed at the 2011 NCAA Championships. Waters enjoyed one of the best starts to a season in program history, as he won his first 24 matches and finished the year with a 39-7 record. He started the year in dominating fashion, winning two open titles while also scoring his first dual victory in an 8-3 win against Logan Artis of Illinois. At the Lindenwood Open, Waters went 5-0 with three of his wins coming via first period pins. He was even more impressive at the UCM Open, where he pinned his first four opponents before scoring an 18-3 technical fall in the finals. At Mizzou's quad meet, Waters registered his first dual fall of the year, pinning Lindenwood's Andrew McArthur in 1:43. He went on to record two wins over ranked opponents later in the day, defeating No. 21 Steve Bonanno of Hostra, 2-1, and Oregon State's Jason Lara, ranked 10th, 3-2. He rolled to four victories at the Northeast Duals, and returned home the following week to upset No. 5 Nic Bedelyon of Kent State. At the Midlands, Waters helped the Tigers take home the team championship with a third place finish, highest on the team, despite losing his first match of the season. He opened the tournament with two easy victories, scoring an 11-0 major decision in his first match before pinning his next opponent in 3:41. After losing to Stanford's Ryan Mango for his first loss of the year, Waters bounced back by winning his next three matches to advance to the third place contest, where he avenged the loss to Mango and defeated the Cardinal, 3-2. Waters rode that momentum into the NWCA National Duals, where he went 4-1 over the two day event. He pinned Caleb Flores to open the tournament, and then knocked off No. 14 Frank Perrelli of Cornell by a 3-0 decision. He'd later defeated another ranked opponent in Allen Bartelli of Boise State, edging out a 1-0 win over the Bronco. Waters' only loss came to Big 12 rival Jon Morrison of Oklahoma State, falling 3-1. Waters won his first Big 12 contest of the year, edging David Klingsheim by a 5-3 decision in the Nebraska dual. After dropping matches to Morrison and Oklahoma's Jarrod Patterson, Waters bounced back to close out the regular season with a 19-8 major decision over Brandon Jones. He'd take third at Big 12's, rallying out of the consolation bracket after losing a tough battle to Patterson, falling 1-0 in the first tiebreaker. He defeated Jones 6-2 in the elimination match and finished third after a medical forfeit. At Nationals, Waters defeated Aaron Kalil of the Naval Academy by a 5-4 decision. For the year, Waters led the team with 71 dual points after going 20-3 during the dual season. His 11 falls were most on the team, and his 39 victories are tied for eighth-most in a single season at Missouri.
High School: A four-time state champion, Waters wrestled as a member of the Park Hill Trojans, a team he helped lead to back-to-back state championships in 2009 and 2010. Wrestling in four different weight classes during his four years at Park Hill, Waters put together an astounding career record of 182-4, which includes a perfect 47-0 senior season. On the national level, Waters was crowned national champion in both freestyle and Greco at the 2007 Fargo Wrestling Nationals. In 2008, he finished fifth in freestyle and second in Greco at nationals, and finished third in both styles at the 2009 event. Waters was also a four-time KCI Champion in high school.
Personal: Alan Waters was born on Nov. 6, 1991 to Kent and Valerie Waters in Kansas City, Mo. Both of his parents are teachers, while his father, Kent, attended Northwest Missouri State and his mother, Valerie, graduated from Missouri Western. He has one older brother, Robb (20). Waters is undecided on his major.
