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SJSU Wrestling Archives The Spartan Daily 12-9-80 |
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Spartans Overwhelm Field In Mumby |
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by Dave Meltzer |
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| Saturday's 24th annual Mumby Invitational wrestling tournament at Spartan Gym was supposed to be a competition
between 11 separate teams. But by the time finals rolled around, it could have passed for just another SJSU dual meet. Of the nine weight class championship bouts held at the final session, which was nationally televised by the ESPN cable network, the Spartans had competitors in eight of them. In two of those eight, the finals boiled down to two Spartans. With 18 of the 20 SJSU competitors placing sixth or better, SJSU thoroughly dominated the tourney, scoring 75 points. National power Cal Poly-SLO finished second with 45 points. Cal State-Bakersfield, which held SJSU to a 19-19 tie this past Nov. 25, finished in third place with 19 points. But this was not the same Bakersfield team which had invaded Spartan Gym last time, as only one of the six Bakersfield competitors in the Mumby competed in the dual meet. In a minor upset, SJSU's Jerry Morrison took the heavyweight division with a 6-2 victory over teammate Guy Heath. Although listed as an honorable mention All-American in the pre-season ratings, Morrison's only action this season had been with the Spartans' second team since dropping a 5-4 decision to Heath in the Blue/Gold intersquad meet in early November. "Jerry was a little more fired up this time," understated SJSU head wrestling coach T.J. Kerr. Morrison appeared to take the spark out of Heath in the second period in which he was given the top position, and held his ride for the entire three minutes."I prepared myself a lot better this time," Morrison said. "I wasn't pumped up, the adrenalin wasn't really flowing the first time." "Before the match, coach (Kerr) said to me, 'This is for all the marbles," Morrison said. The winner of the match would become the first team heavyweight, and compete in the Beehive tournament Friday and Saturday in Ogden, Utah. The loser would compete with the second team at the Doc Peterson tourney in Chico. "I wanted to go to the Beehive, since there's a lot better competition there," Morrison noted. "Not to downgrade the Doc Peterson, but i'd get a lot more experience in the Beehive." Another championship bout involving SJSU teammates was at 126 pounds where Wayne Jones stopped Albert Perez 8-4. Jones and Perez had each swept past five opponents earlier in the day. David Brouhard became the only sixth four-time place winner in Mumby tournament history, and went on to nab the 177 pound title. Brouhard swept through six matches in the day without much trouble, taking the finale 18-6 from UC Davis' Eric Gritz. Brouhard, now ranked seventh in the nation, placed third in 1976. He equaled that performance the following year and followed up by placing second last year. Rebounding from being overwhelmed in the Bakersfield meet, Reggie Thompson roared back with six straight victories, five by pins, to take the 158 pound division. At 134 pounds, Eddie Baza remained unbeaten this season, going through six opponents enroute to the championship. Mike Burch, the lone Bakersfield representative from the dual meet, dropped his second consecutive bout with Baza by a 10-3 margin. Along with Perez and Heath, nabbing second place finishes for Sparta were Brian Canali (118), Randy Davis (167), and Bill Thomas (190). Canali dropped a 14-5 decision to Fresno State's Paul Bolanes. Davis, wrestling much of the match with a badly bloodied mouth, dropped a 7-0 verdict to Chico State's Bob McLaughlin. Thomas lost his first match of the season as he fell behind to Cal Poly-SLO's Curt Wiedenhoefer at the end of two rounds. Thomas came to life in the third period, but it was a case of too little, too late as he only managed to close the gap to 17-6. Bakersfield's Lee Noble was awarded the 150 pound crown when his opponent in the finals, Cal Poly-SLO's "Irish" Pat O'Donnell was unable to wrestle due to a leg injury suffered earlier in the competition. The only match of the finals not involving a Spartan saw Cal Poly-SLO's Chris Cain stop Biola's Tony Ippolito 10-4. |
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