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SJSU Wrestling Archives The Spartan Daily 3-10-81 |
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Barnes Goes From Sub To Champion |
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by Billy Thomas |
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| When SJSU's wrestling team lost Wayne Jones, its number one 126 pound wrestler, they were faced with a dilemma.
Who would fill the gaping hole that remained in the lineup? Jones, who was virtually a shoo-in for the conference title and who was expected to score some valuable team points in the upcoming NCAA wrestling tournament, was lost for the season when he suffered an injury in the Spartans' history-making victory against Cal State-San Luis Obispo in February. Jones pulled a hamstring muscle and was told by a physician that he would be out for the season. After Albert Perez, who would have been the next man in line at 126 pounds dropped to the 118-pound weight class, there was no one left to fill the void except sophomore David Barnes. Head coach T.J. Kerr had solved his problem, he found a capable wrestler to fill the vacancy, but a more difficult task awaited Barnes. "I was happy but it was a lot of weight to lose and some big shoes to fill with the record Jones has," said Barnes who had been wrestling in the 134-pound wight class all season. When competing at 134 pounds, Barnes said he normally weighed 147 pounds. Up to this point, Barnes had little trouble filling Jones' shoes. He won his first conference title and the right to go to the NCAA tournament, which will be held at Princeton University in New Jersey this Thursday through Saturday. "It was nice but unexpected/ Since i was wrestling at 134 pounds, i didn't think i'd be wrestling in the PCAA tournament," said Barnes of his performance. Barnes was not the only one who thought the title was nice. "A lot of people are really pleased with Barnes," Kerr said. The fact that Barnes backed into his PCAA title would make a good success story, but what enhances it is the fact that Barnes' most important match is constantly being wrestled. From the moment he decided to make the drop to 126 pounds, Barnes knew he toughest match would be with his weight. Losing 21 pounds is no easy task and most wrestlers dread the thought of having to lose so much weight. "I'm usually ok until i get to about four pounds over then i get grumpy," Barnes said of losing weight. "He had to have motivation and be disciplined to get down to 126," Kerr said. The dual meet the Spartans had with Cal State-Fresno was the key point in Barnes' saga, according to Kerr. "He made 126s for that match, and he went out real aggressively and he kept pounding," Kerr said. Barnes' performance was not just an indication that he could lose the weight, but that he could also wrestle at that weight and win. According to Kerr, the weight loss has helped Barnes. "Before he would worry about the other guy's reputation, but now he just goes out and wrestles," Kerr said. "I'm anxious to see how he does," said Kerr in reference to the NCAAs. Barnes will be applying some of Kerr's philosophy when he wrestles in the tournament. "Kerr always says that 50% of the guys are just happy to be there, and if you get one of those guys, just go hard and maybe you will win," Barnes said. This has been a very good year for the Spartans, their best in fact. They defeated Cal Poly, a team that had not lost to a California team in 159 previous matches. The Spartans have been ranked among the top 20 wrestling teams in the nation for the better part of this season and have a good chance of finishing among the top 20 teams at the NCAA tournament. "I think the team will do well," Barnes said. "I'd say we will finish in the top 20 for sure and maybe in the top 10." No matter what happens at the NCAAs. Barnes has already accomplished more than he expected to. |
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