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SJSU Wrestling Archives The Spartan Daily 3-17-82 |
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Surprising Finish For SJSU Matmen |
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by Mike Jones |
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| The 1981-82 Spartan wrestling season was, as coach T.J. Kerr said, "unbelievable." After losing six seniors from last year's PCAA championship team and redshirting eight wrestlers, this year was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Spartans. Instead of rebuilding, the Spartans won their third consecutive PCAA championship, placing six wrestlers in the NCAA championships, landing two of them, Wayne Jones and Eddie Baza as All-Americans, and finishing ninth in the nation. So much for rebuilding... The Spartans began the unbelievable season with eight straight dual meet victories. In the first five meets, the Spartans scored 237 points while their opponents managed only 20. Included in that streak was a 39-0 victory over Humboldt State, which finished fourth in NCAA Division II last year. The first big test for the Spartans came on Nov. 24 when they hosted their arch-rivals from Southern California, Cal State-Bakersfield. In a hard-fought match, the Spartans edged Bakersfield 21-18. After Bakersfield, the Spartans placed first in the SJSU Mumby Invitational. After the Mumby, they rolled over San Francisco State 31-9 and took a first in the Beehive Tournament at Utah State. After their victory in the Beehive Tournament, the Spartans went to the Doc Peterson Open at Chico State. There, the Spartans took a third in the club division and a seventh in the college division. Next up for the Spartans was the prestigious Midlands Championships at Northwestern University. The Spartans managed to place only 29th, but Kerr said the Midlands were just as big as the NCAA championships. After the Midlands, the Spartans crushed UC Davis 42-3 but were then dealt their first loss of the season, dropping a close 23-17 to Oregon. After the loss to Oregon, the Spartans bounced back to beat Oregon State 18-15. They continued to roll as they easily defeated Fullerton State 41-3. Next up for the Spartans was perhaps their biggest competition in the PCAA, Utah State. The Aggies were undefeated, but the Spartans broke their winning streak with a 28-20 victory. SJSU had no time to celebrate the Utah State victory for next on the schedule was their other California arch-rival, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. Cal Poly proved to be no match on that night as the Spartans took a 25-14 victory. The Spartans then rolled in their next two matches, easily defeating Nevada-Las Vegas 41-9 and Portland State 39-6. Next came the Portland State Invitational. There, the Spartans surprised everyone by taking first. Baza was named outstanding wrestler in the tournament. After Portland, the Spartans were handed their second defeat of the year as they were soundly defeated by Bakersfield 37-5. In that meet, Jones and Baza were both beaten badly, Jones by a 12-5 margin and Baza 14-5. However, Jones was wrestling at 134 pounds and Baza at 142. Afterwards, Jones dropped down to 126 and Baza to 134. Next, the Spartans easily beat Stanford 40-12, but were then beaten by Cal Poly 34-9. Kerr said Cal Poly was extremely hot in this match. SJSU then picked itself up by beating Long Beach State 44-5, and Biola 43-4. The Spartans also placed third in the Biola Invitational. The Spartans then tuned up for the PCAA championships by easily defeating Fresno State 35-6. One week later in the PCAA championships, the Spartans won a team record six individual titles as they easily won the PCAA championship to finish the year. Baza was named PCAA wrestler of the year while Kerr was picked as coach of the year. Besides Baza, the other five wrestlers who won championships were Brad Gustafson (118), Wayne Jones (126) John Middlestead (142), Andy Tsarnas (167), and Casey Gulliford (hwt). One week after the PCAA championships, Kerr and his six champions were on their way to Iowa State for the NCAA championships. Kerr emphasized to his wrestlers that the tournament was "awesome" and that going to the NCAAs would be "as big as going to the Olympics." Kerr mentioned before he left that he would be happy if the team finished in the top 20. Much to his delight, the Spartans not only finished in the top 20, they broke into the top 10, finishing ninth. Their previous highest finish was 22nd in 1973. But that was only half of the good news. The other half was that Jones and Baza were both honored as All-Americans. Jones finished third at 126-pounds and Baza fourth at 134-pounds. Thus, an unbelievable ending to an unbelievable year. |
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