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SJSU Hosts Improved Chico State
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by Ron Lazzarotti
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| Now that the preseason meets and tournaments are history, the Spartan wrestling team prepares for the regular season
with its first dual meet tonight at 7:30 in Spartan Gym against Chico State. |
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| "They're (Chico) stronger than they were last year," SJSU wrestling coach T.J. Kerr said, "but they're
not up to what they should be. But i don't think we have to worry about being up for this meet. Our guys are ready." |
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| The wrestlers go through challenge meets before every meet to determine who will wrestle. Then based on their performance
in the meet, the coaches decide if any changes are necessary, according to Kerr. |
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| Tonight's lineup will be the same as the one that wrestled in the alumni meet, with one exception. |
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| Wayne Jones beat out Mike Rodrigues for the starting slot in the 118-pound division. |
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| The rest of the lineup will be: Eddie Baza at 126, John Middlestead at 134, Dennis McDowell at 142, Doug Stewart
at 150, Reggie Thompson at 158, Randy Davis at 167, Dave Brouhard at 177, Jerry Morrison at 190, and Ken Klein
at heavyweight. |
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| "Dave Brouhard's looked good," Kerr said, "and Jones looked real good in his challenge match with
Rodrigues." |
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| "It takes a big commitment by every individual," Kerr said. "there's mental attitude, conditioning,
and the desire to win. Some guys still haven't made the ultimate commitment, of training on their own, lifting
weights and running." |
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| The Great Plains tournament last weekend has also shown some wrestlers what it takes to win, according to Kerr. |
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| "Some guys got blown away," Kerr said, "but now they realize what they have to do. Some wrestlers
are working on different techniques they picked up." |
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| One wrestler who benefited from the tournament was Baza. |
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| "Baza had some difficulty with his first match," Kerr said, "but he came from behind and started
wrestling better." |
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| Following tonight's meet, the Spartans travel to Biola for a dual meet tournament Saturday. |
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| "We'll send as many freshmen as we can," Kerr said. "if we can't send freshmen, we'll send the second
team. Experience is a big factor, so we give them a lot of matches. We try to wrestle everybody, interchanging
them. We try to keep it challenging." |
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| The only drawback to intersquad challenge matches is determining how they will match up against another team. |
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| "It's hard to judge your own people against your own people," Kerr said, "so we'll see how they
do against Chico." |
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| After this weekend's meets, the Spartans have one day to prepare for their next match at Humboldt State Tuesday
night. |
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