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Wrestlers Down Defending PCAA Champ Utah State
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by Dave Meltzer
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| The SJSU wrestling team defeated league rival Utah State last night 25-12 at Spartan Gym. The Spartans took the
last four matches to hand the defending league champions a loss. |
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| Wayne Jones came up with a tremendous victory over nationally ranked Tracey Moore in the 118-pound match. Moore,
ranked sixth by National Mat News and eighth by Amateur Wrestling News, was leading 6-4 after the second round. |
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| Jones was continually taking Moore down out of bounds in the final round, but unable to get any points. The referee
finally warned Moore for stalling, tying up the match at 6-6 via penalty points. |
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| Jones scored a takedown with just 25 seconds remaining in the bout to take an 8-6 lead. Moore, escaped right away,
but Jones held on for an 8-7 victory. |
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| The Spartans Casey Gulliford overwhelmed Brad Smith in the heavyweight contest. Gulliford came out roaring like
a lion to take a 10-0 after the first round. He then pinned Smith 25 seconds into the second round to take the
only pin fall of the meet. |
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| The Spartans set a team record with their 18th win of the season. The win marks them as favorites in the PCAA championship
tournament to be held Feb. 29 at Utah State. |
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| Things looked bad for the Spartans going into the 167-pound match, as they were down 12-8. Utah State had a string
of three consecutive wins, preceded by one draw. |
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| Reggie Thompson put the momentum in SJSU's favor with a 12-4 major decision over Steve Funk. Ken Klein, Jerry Morrison,
and Gulliford followed with wins giving the Spartans a decisive victory. |
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| Morrison defeated a highly touted Jim Dreyer 11-7. Dreyer started strong, gaining a 5-3 lead. Morrison tied it
up in the second and finally went ahead 8-6 with just 2:25 remaining. Morrison held the advantage until the buzzer
to preserve his victory. |
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| Klein was an impressive winner in the 177-pound match. During the second round Klein had his Aggie foe, Bob Baker,
on his back for over 40 seconds, but failed to gain the pin. He had to settle for an 11-2 major decision. |
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| Another of the Aggies' stellar performers, 134-pounder Steve Weight, had to settle for a draw against Steve Lutz
12-12. Weight had come from behind after being down most of the match, with a last second takedown to garner a
tie. |
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| Spartan Eddie Baza returned from his bout with the flu to stop Dale Gardner in the 126-pound match. Baza used big
takedowns to gain an 11-4 lead, going into the third round. Gardner came on strong in the third round. Baza was
warned for stalling, but still managed to barely hold on with an 11-9 victory. |
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| The win was satisfying to Spartan coach T.J. Kerr. He has been gunning for Utah State ever since the Aggies garnered
the PCAA championship last year by the skin of 2.25 points. |
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