| SJSU's wrestling team encounters its "biggest test" of the young season in the 22nd annual Mumby Invitational
Saturday in Spartan Gym. |
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| Thirteen teams, including the host Spartans and defending tourney champion Cal State Bakersfield, will compete. |
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| The tournament begins at 10 am with action on five mats and will continue until early evening. said Spartan coach
T.J. Kerr. Admission prices are $2 for adults and $1 for students. |
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| Bakersfield, although a Division II school, is better than most Division I schools. The Roadrunners unofficially
finished ninth in last year's NCAA Division I championship (Division II and III schools can't score in Division
I meets) and currently is rated number one among Division II teams by Amateur Wrestling News. |
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| "Bakersfield is definitely the team to beat," Kerr said. |
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| The Roadrunners are pace by 126-pounder John Azevedo and 142-pounder Tom Gongora. Both will try to defend the individual
crowns they won in last year's Mumby. |
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| Spartan All-America candidate Robert McDowell won the 150-pound division last year and is favored to win again. |
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| "Robert is favored to win any tournament he enters," Kerr said. |
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| McDowell is unbeaten this year. He has won seven of his eleven matches by pin and captured a first place at the
Great Plains Championships. |
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| "We've been successful thus far," Kerr said of the Spartan's three dual meet victories, "but this
will definitely be the big test for us." |
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| The scoring system will be the same as the one used in the Olympics, a "bad mark" system. |
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| "Bad marks are issued for performances in each match," Kerr explained. "When a wrestler gets six,
he is eliminated." |
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| The top three wrestlers in each weight division will compete in a round robin wrestle-off to determine the winners. |
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| The top three grapplers in each division receive engraved belt buckles and the top three teams get trophies. |