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SJSU Wrestling Archives The Spartan Daily 11-18-77 |
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Wrestlers Crush Wildcats |
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by Rich Freedman |
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| SJSU wrestling coach T.J. Kerr hardly seemed annoyed when his team trailed Chico State 10-3 Wednesday night in
the Spartan Gym. He must have known something. The defending PCAA champs ran up 33 straight points to rout the Wildcats 36-10 in the season opener before a crowd of 350. "We made mistakes, but fortunately came out ahead," Kerr said afterward. "I put a lot of pressure on them to win." After SJSU's Jedd Jones opened with a 9-4 victory over Carlos Garrido, the Spartans dropped three straight matches and Venus seemed closer at the time than a Spartan win. In the 126-pound division, Chico's Gene Burris ganged up on freshman Lee Mills 11-3 to take a major decision and give the Wildcats a 4-3 advantage. Spartan Rick McKinney battled Dan Lehor to a 0-0 standoff after two periods before falling 7-3 in the 134-pound pairing. Freshman Brian Strock found college competition a bit keener than his days at Pacifica and Clayton Valley High when he was undefeated and state champion in his senior year. Dan Cordova jumped on Strock for a 6-1 first period lead before prevailing 18-11 to give its 10-3 lead. "Brian has had a lot of pressure on him," Kerr said. "It's a big jump to this level and he's just starting to get into condition." The pivotal match came when Bobby McDowell, recovering from an injured ankle, pinned Brook Wenter with only 51 seconds elapsed in the first period. From there, Kevin Hejnal took the 159-pound class over his opponent 17-3, Jim Rey routed his foe 21-2, Duane Harris defeated Mark Sexton 18-6, and Guy Heath capped the Spartans' awesome performance by pinning his man 1:53 in the second period. "We we're psyched for this one," Kerr said. "I wasn't worried when we fell behind. I figured our upper weights would come through." Kerr said wrestling my be noted for being an individual game, but at SJSU the team concept is preached. "When one of our wrestlers goes out there, it's six guys against one," he said. Kerr expressed very little disappointment by the performances of Mills, McKinney, and Strock. "They're all freshmen. They'll come around," the young coach said. "Our backups will keep the heat on. Sitting in the stands does wonders." Kerr, though impressed with McDowell's stellar display of wrestling technique, said the junior grappler may not be in the lineup when SJSU faces its next competition. "He barely won his challenge match against Reggie Thompson," Kerr noted. Challenge matches are held between teammates to determine who shall compete in the following meet. "Oh yeah, there will be some changes next time," Kerr said. One thing is definitely not in his plans for change: the final results. |
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