4A Assistant Coach of the Year - 2003

ERIC NAPIER
Columbus High School

Eric Napier of Columbus High School is the recipient this year of the 4A Assistant Coach of the Year Award. Napier helped the Titans win a league championship, a regional runner-up trophy, and a state runner-up trophy this past season. The Titan squad had four state medalists and one state champion.

Napier has for a long time been a major part of the celebrated Columbus Titan wrestling program, both as a competitor and now a coach. Napier placed 3rd, 2nd, and 1st as a Titan from 1983-85. He went on to be a junior college All-American at Labette CC, placing 8th at 177 pounds in 1987.

Napier graduated from Pittsburg State University and has served as a wrestling coach for ten years. He started as a head junior high coach in Seneca, Missouri, from 1992-96. He then served as Webb City, Missouri, head high school coach from 1996-99, where he produced six state medalists in three years. Napier has been an assistant coach at Columbus since 1999, helping the Titans place third in 2002 and second in 2003. In three years, the Titans have had five state champions and 15 state placers.