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Spartans Face Long Beach, Wrestlers Ranked 15th
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by David Raznicak
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| The Spartan wrestlers take on upset-minded Long Beach State tonight at 7:30 in the San Jose State gym. |
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| The Spartans, ranked 15th in the nation, are sporting a 16-4 record with three of those losses coming by less than
two points. |
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| SJSU's lone whipping came at the hands of LSU--the 12th ranked Tigers trampling the Spartans 29-13. |
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| Two Spartans are having particularly outstanding seasons. |
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| John Middlestead (134) has been in and out of the national rankings throughout the season. He takes a 23-4 record
in against the rival 49ers. |
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| According to coach T.J. Kerr, Middlestead is a standout. "He's very well conditioned and when he's up for
the match he really goes and tears into the guy. He's not a skill wrestler. He's more of an animal type,"
Kerr said. |
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| Lending support to the rampaging Middlestead is Andy Tsarnas, the Spartan's 190-pounder. |
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| Despite a year that Kerr describes as "on and off," Tsarnas has compiled a 20-6-1 record and is a certain
contender for the PCAA title. |
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| The Spartans must shift into high gear in preparation for the PCAA championships where they must face archrival
Utah State. |
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| The Aggies are the other class wrestling act in the PCAA, and will no doubt present the biggest hurdles in the
Spartan's bid for the NCAA. |
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| The Spartans wrestled to a 9th place finish in last year's NCAA tournament, the best placing in the team's history. |
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| Kerr is optimistic about this team's chances. |
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| "They could be better than past teams. It's just a matter of whether we can get the guys to go for it in the
NCAAs," he said. |
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| Injuries could be the primary roadblock in the Spartan's journey. |
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| Brian Canali, a 118-pounder, was lost for the season due to back injury. |
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| Al Perez and Brad Gustafson have been out of the line-up throughout the season because of nagging knee injuries. |
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