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SJSU Wrestling Archives The Spartan Daily 2-24-84 |
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SJSU Favored To Win 5th Straight Crown |
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by Joe Roderick |
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| Realistically, five Spartan wrestlers are favored to win their weight classes at today's PCAA championships. But Spartan coach T.J. Kerr, who's never satisfied with the ordinary, would settle for seven individual championships. Of course, ideally, he'd relish a clean sweep of all 10 weight classes. "That would be the perfect championship," Kerr said. Ten champions is rather inconceivable. Seven champions is high conceivable. Five champions, though, would give the Spartans their fifth-straight PCAA title today in Las Vegas. If any team can master a challenge, it's Fresno State, led by tough wrestlers like Pablo Saenz and Sylvester (The Cat) Carver. The Spartans have four returning champions: Albert Perez (126), David Barnes (142), Jay Slivkoff (150), and Andy Tsarnas (190). Meanwhile, Marvin Jones (177) and Darryl Pope (158) are rated at or near the top of their weight division. Those six wrestlers should lead the Spartans to the title. Besides racking up team points, there's another incentive in placing first. The 10 individual champions receive automatic berths to the NCAA championships March 8-10 in New Jersey. Four other "wildcard" wrestlers will also qualify for the NCAAs. Here's a look at the battle for the 10 individual championships: 118-pounds: San Jose State's Brian Canali will be hard pressed to beat Saenz, ranked eighth in the nation. Saenz beat Canali 16-4 last Friday in a dual meet. "I still think Canali can beat him," Kerr said. "He has to stay away from the leg tackles. He has to center his stance better." Canali, 13-10, is ranked fifth in the PCAA. Before he tangles with Saenz, he'll have to get by Las Vegas' Chuck Curwick (18-7), Utah State's Alfred Castro (12-6), or Fullerton State's Kent Iwanaga (17-6). 126: SJSU's Albert Perez, out for a week with an injured rib, is back. Perez, a returning PCAA champion, had to wrestle his way back into the lineup. Tim Porter replaced Perez for two meets, winning a couple of crucial matches against Fresno and Cal Poly. "You can't just dump Porter off the team," Kerr said. "Perez elected not to wrestle. Porter took up the slack. The way i feel about it, Perez has to win his job back." Perez (23-4) beat Porter in a challenge match 7-2 on Tuesday to win the spot back. Those likely to give Perez a tussle are Utah State's Cordell Anderson (13-4) or Las Vegas' Ray Gulmatico (16-10). "Gulmatico could be tough," Kerr said. 134: Anthony Palomino of San Jose may be ranked fourth in conference, but Kerr is high on his tough freshman. "I'm looking forward to seeing him wrestle in the championships. His parents are going down. His family's lending their total support. That's kind of nice." Palomino, an undefeated state high school champion last season, was pinned last Saturday by Cal Poly's Chris Delong in 31 seconds. "At the time, he was really pissed about it," Kerr said. "He just sat there and didn't cheer. But he's been joking about it since then." Fresno's Joe Ismay, ranked first in the conference, didn't wrestle against SJSU last Friday because of an injured rib. If he hasn't recovered, he'll be replaced by John Vega, who beat Palomino 8-5. One other wrestler, Utah State's Erik Strawn (14-9) could pose problems for Palomino. 142: David Barnes, a two-time defending PCAA champion for SJSU, should have no difficulties winning the title. "It's pretty clear cut," Kerr said. "If he stays consistent, he should have no problem." Barnes will get his stiffest test from Fresno's Dubin Lloren (15-16-1). Barnes disposed of Lloren last week 15-5. 150: The Spartans' Jay Slivkoff, ranked first in the conference, appears the favorite here. Barring upsets, Slivkoff (24-10) will battle Fresno's Allen Richburg (28-12-1). Slivkoff handled Richburg last Friday 12-8. 158: Utah State's Steve Ross (27-7-1) is the co-favorite along with the Spartans' Darryl Pope, how has dropped down from 167. Pope (20-10-1) looked razor sharp last weekend, pinning Fresno's Robert Juarez in 1:34 and beating Cal Poly's John Holbrook 10-1. Pope takes a no-nonsense approach to wrestling. "If i just wrestle hard, everything will take care of itself," Pope said. "I can't blame myself if i lose but put out 100 percent." But Pope will perhaps tangle with another no-frills bruiser in Ross. "He's real basic," Kerr said. "He's just hard-nosed and basic." 167: Fresno's Sylvester Carver is a heavy favorite. The Spartans' Chuck Gibbins, who has on recently cracked the lineup, is a long shot. If Gibbins (10-9) gets by his opening-round match, he'll likely face Carver (42-3) or Las Vegas' Gordon Washington (17-5). 177: The Spartans' Marvin Jones would have been a clear favorite here, but a thumb injury has slowed him considerably. Jones lost to his main rival, Fresno's Gene Allison, last Friday. "If i'm healthy, i know i can beat that guy," Jones said. Jones (24-5) and Allison (26-15) are the class of the league in this weight division and will likely meet in the finals. 190: SJSU's Andy Tsarnas won't break a sweat on his way to the title. Tsarnas, a two-time conference champion, is 33-4 and ranked sixth in the nation. Hwt: Las Vegas' Kahlan O'Hara (20-3) and Utah State's J.S. Coon (13-4) will battle for the gold. The Spartans' Mike Monroe, just a sophomore, has come on strong as of late. Monroe, though, will need a couple of upsets to take the top spot. |
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