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SJSU Wrestlers Suffer Disappointing Setback
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by Ron Haynes
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| After dropping a Friday night decision to Fresno State. the SJSU wrestling team completed a busy weekend with some
success at Saturday's San Francisco Tournament. |
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| Friday's contest resulted in a disappointing 26-16 loss as the Spartans were unable to maintain pace with a more
experienced Bulldog Team. |
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| The Spartans led early in the contest when Joel Chew, in the 126-pound weight class, accepted a Fresno State forfeit
when his scheduled Bulldog opponent, Mike Armistead, was unable to compete because of an injury. |
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| Going into the fourth match, the score was tied at six. Two matches later, the Bulldogs took a narrow 11-9 lead. |
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| The Spartans regained the advantage when Joe Zamlich, paired against Fresno's Alonso Harrison, took a close 3-2
decision in a battle of the 142-pounders. |
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| The Bulldogs quickly responded by winning three consecutive matches, extending their lead to 2-9. |
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| That score in no way indicated SJSU's effort to close the gap. In the seventh match, Shane Baum, up against the
Pac-10's top-rated Vince Walker, fell behind 2-0 as the first period ended. He recovered nicely in the third period
to tie the score at 3-3 before eventually losing in a hard fought 4-3 decision. |
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| "I came up a little short tonight," Baum said, who is beginning to look toward the Pac-10 Championships
scheduled later this month in Fullerton. |
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| A success there would qualify him for the mid-March NCAA Championships at Aames, Iowa--the ultimate contest for
top college wrestlers. In order to get there, Baum indicated that he would probably have to go against Walker again
in the Pac-10 contests. |
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| In the 177-pound weight class, Scott Benson out-pointed the Bulldogs' Randy Cunningham to bring the Spartans to
within seven points of tying the match. |
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| Hampered by a sore ankle he injured running to class, Benson was pleased with his win, but admits there are areas
of his play that need improvement. |
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| "I need to work a little bit more on my takedowns," he said, referring to the third period of his match
when he allowed Cunningham to score points. |
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| The Spartans closed to within four points as an inexperienced Jesse Macias beat Kelly King in the 190-pound weight
class. |
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| Fresno extended its lead by taking the heavyweight class in the 10th and final match when Bulldog Paul Mirmingos
pinned Brent Smith. |
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| Saturday, both teams headed north to partake in the San Francisco Invitational where the Spartan's Joe Zamlich
placed first among the 142-pound wrestlers. Benson placed fourth in his weight class marking an end to competition
triumphs until the Pac-10 Championships begin later this month. |
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