|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
SJSU Wrestling Archives The Spartan Daily 2-27-81 |
||
|
|
||
|
Overconfidence A Worry |
||
|
by Jerry McDonald |
||
| Virtually all season, Spartan wrestling coach T.J. Kerr has known the nature of his opponent, and had little trouble
conquering it. The Spartans have run up an overall record of 20-2-1 and have soundly beaten all five of their PCAA opponents. Now, in the PCAA tournament, those same five opponents will surface again. None have come close to beating SJSU in a dual meet. Their hope lies with a sixth opponent facing the Spartans in Fullerton. The sixth opponent is overconfidence, and Kerr is more concerned about that opposition than the PCAA-type. "I've got some apprehension about whether the guys are going to say, "Well, we've had a great season,' and not give the extra push that's needed at the end," Kerr said. Certainly that extra push has not been lacking in recent years. The Spartans have won six of the last eight PCAA titles. If SJSU overcomes the problem of overconfidence, its next battle could be with its own health. The flu has weakened 190-pounder Jerry Morrison and 177-pounder David Brouhard. "This usually happens every year. This school usually gets an epidemic, and since the wrestlers all practice together, if one of them gets it, it spreads around," Kerr said. In past years, Kerr has gone into the PCAAs with the main emphasis on winning the tournament. This season, however, he wants more. He wants to beat it over the head and carry it all the way to the NCAA championships in Princeton, NJ. The ten individual champs from the weight divisions all automatically qualify for the NCAAs, which take place March 12-14, plus one wildcard participant, a runnerup who wrestled well. Kerr figures he needs six champions to do well at the NCAAs, since he doubts the wildcard would come from SJSU. "Anytime a team dominates a conference like we have, they aren't going to pick one of them for the wildcard selection, even if one of our aces (Eddie Baza, Brouhard, or Reggie Thompson) stumbles," Kerr said. Here's a rundown of the tournament: 118: SJSU's Albert Perez will put a 25-4 record on the line and try to prevent PCAA history from being made. Perez will be attempting to derail Utah State's Tracy Moore, who is trying to become the first wrestler in PCAA history to win four league championships. Moore lost some matches early due to injury, but has come on to be ranked seventh in the nation. 126: Here the loss of Wayne Jones stings. The Spartan 126-pounder was the class of the division until a pair of badly pulled hamstring muscles ended his season with a 19-4 record. David Barnes hopes to take Jones' place for SJSU and come up with a needed championship. 134: Eddie Baza has been stellar all season, running up a 33-4 record for the Spartans. He will be looking for his third PCAA title. Baza has already beaten his toughest competition, Portland State's Rick Anderle (21-4-2), twice this season. 142: SJSU's Jay Slivkoff hopes to pull off an upset of the favorite, Portland State's Rick McReynolds (23-7-3), the defending champion. Slivkoff carries a 21-15 record into the match and has lost to McReynolds this year. 150: This is the last chance for Spartan Reggie Thompson, an ultra-talented wrestler, to get a shot at the nationals. The winningest SJSU wrestler at 35-6, the only competition should come from Portland State's Charlie Lucas (28-8). 158: The Spartans' Dennis Shea (16-13-1) will have to come up with the finest effort of his career to come out on top of Portland State's Kevin Benson (26-1). Benson owns a win over SJSU star 177-pounder Brouhard. 167: An injury to Andy Tsarnas makes Randy Davis the SJSU participant in this weight classification. Another Portland State wrestler, Scott Mansur (25-5) looks to be the favorite in this class. 177: Despite the flu, Brouhard (27-4) would shock virtually all wrestling observers if he didn't win. Brouhard won PCAA titles at 167 and 177, and this is his last chance for All-America honors. 190: SJSU's Jerry Morrison is the defending champ in this class, winning the title last season as a freshman. Morrison's 27-8-1 record should make him the favorite, although Utah State freshman John Schebler (21-9-2) could provide trouble. Hwt: SJSU football noseguard Casey Gulliford won this title last season but didn't wrestle this season, so the task for defending the heavyweight crown in SJSU's honor falls to Guy Heath (20-8-3). Heath's toughest opponent could be another football player, Utah State's J.L. Coon (18-5-1), another nose tackle. |
||
