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SJSU Wrestling Archives The Spartan Daily 11-25-80 |
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Budweiser and Bakersfield On Tap Tonight |
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by Dave Meltzer |
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| Beer will be on the tap, and wrestling will be on the mat as the 1980 season opens tonight with SJSU facing Cal
State-Bakersfield in a 7:30 match at Spartan Gym. "We're really anxious for this one," Spartan coach T.J. Kerr noted. "The guys all know that if we can beat Bakersfield, it'll get us ranked in the top 20." But beating Bakersfield won't be easy, as Roadrunner coach Joe Seay believes that he has a stronger dual meet team than last season's 18-2 and unofficially No. 7 nationally ranked team. "We had two superstars last year, but this year our overall team balance is better," Seay said. Technically Bakersfield is a Division II school since they don't field a football team. But as Division II national champions four of the last five season, they find their only competition coming from Division I powerhouses. Last season's two defeats came at the hands of No.1 ranked Iowa and No. 3 ranked Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. They handed SJSU its worst defeat of the season by a 39-9 mark. "I kind of hope they overlook us," Kerr said. "They're going to be surprised at how much some of our guys have improved over the summer." It's doubtful that Bakersfield will be overlooking SJSU. The Spartans posted a 19-4 dual meet record last season and were ranked in the top 20 for a good portion of the season. And Seay realizes that last season's 39-9 victory was due in part to SJSU missing seven of its ten first-team wrestlers with the flu. "They've got an excellent program," Seay said. "He's a very intense coach, and we know we're in for a fight." Tonight's matches will mark the first time that beer will be sold at an indoor SJSU campus sports event. "We've worked deals with Coke, Budweiser,and on the hotdogs so we can make some money on concessions," Kerr said. "Our goal is to make our sport financially independent." Kerr has come a long way toward accomplishing this goal, as approximately 600 season tickets have already been sold. Kerr expects tonight's crowd to approach 1500-2000, which would be the largest SJSU wrestling crowd in recent memory. "I think it's going to be hard to have a problem with the beer," Kerr surmised. "Watching the meet will be primary, if all you wanted to do was drink, then it would be easier to go to the pub." Although Kerr feels that his team has a good chance to win tonight's dual, it won't be done without scoring some upsets. The Spartans' two top lower-weight wrestlers, Wayne Jones and Eddie Baza, will both be meeting wrestlers ranked above them. "Above them on paper," Kerr noted. Jones, at 126 pounds, will meet Dan Cuestas, who was a freshman first team All-American selection in 1978 with Cal Poly-SLO. Cuestas spent much of his summer in Europe competing with the United States pre-Olympic team. Baza, a 134-pounder who has only lost one dual match at Spartan Gym in his last two seasons with SJSU, will face Jesse Reyes. Reyes had the third highest wining percentage among freshman in the entire nation last season and placed No. 4 in the Division II championships. "With the publicity they got from having those two national champions last year, it's made it even better for them recruiting-wise, " Kerr noted. "They also aren't that tough academically." "I don't know why they leave and come to our campus," Seay said. "I hate to see people leave others' programs." But nevertheless, the Bakersfield lineup includes transfers Adam Cuestas (from Oregon), His brother Dan (from Cal Poly-SLO), Dave Johnson (from New Mexico), and Craig Shoene (from Oregon). Last year's two superstars, Joe Gonzales and John Azevedo, were both transfers from Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, respectively. To win the meet, SJSU will need to complete a near sweep in the heavier weights. Dave Brouhard, SJSU's best bet for a national ranking this season, will oppose Marty Jones at 177 pounds. Jones placed second in state junior college competition last season. "They're going to be surprised how good Brouhard really is," Kerr said. At 190 pounds, the Spartans will send Billy Thomas, brother of Los Angeles Ram fullback Jewerl and Spartan defensive back Ken. Thomas will be wrestling his first dual meet as a Spartan, and will oppose Mark Loomis, who was not only junior college state champ last year, but also voted the outstanding JC wrestler of the year. Shoene, Bakersfield heavyweight, was a two-time All-America for Skyline JC. The Spartan heavyweight, Guy Heath, has been a longtime rival of Shoene's dating back to high school. |
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