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SJSU Wrestling Archives The Spartan Daily 9-7-83 |
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Spartan Grapplers Remain Unknown Despite Great Success |
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by John Ormsby |
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| Despite winning nine PCAA championships in the past 11 years, T.J. Kerr's Spartan wrestling team still remains
pretty much an unknown commodity. "People don't realize that our program here gets better each year, but so does the rest of the league," Kerr said. "We couldn't have won the league last year with our 1975 team, even though that was a championship team." Kerr's ability to develop wrestlers from within the teams has helped keep him on top of the PCAA> "We tend to develop players once they enter the program," Kerr said. "We usually don't recruit many well-known athletes." The nucleus of this year's team will be returning PCAA champions Andy Tsarnas, David Barnes, Albert Perez, and Jay Slivkoff. Tsarnas, a 177-pound senior, has won two PCAA championships and finished second as a freshman. He posted a 33-10-1 record last year and is 84-31-1 in his SJSU career. Barnes won his first PCAA championship in the 1981 season and returned from a season as a redshirt to capture his second title last year. The 142-pound senior was 29-10-2 last season. Slivkoff and Perez both won their first championships last season. Perez returned to action after redshirting in 1982 and posted a 17-3 record on his way to the league title. The San Jose native has two years of eligibility remaining. Slivkoff also redshirted the 1982 season after finishing third in the PCAA in 1981. The 150-pound junior was 10-12 last season. Kerr also expects some good performances from some of his fast-developing returnees. Sophomore Mike Monroe will take over for the departed Jerry Morrison. Monroe is very coachable, according to Kerr. "He's got a great attitude," he said. "He's much more disciplined than most heavys." Another budding Spartan star is sophomore Darryl Pope. "Darryl broke into the lineup last year about midseason and did a real good job for us," Kerr said. "He's the best freshman we've ever had and we expect big things from him." Kerr usually avoids starting freshmen, but recruit Anthony Palomino could crack the starting lineup. Palomino won the state championship last year while wrestling at Independence High School. He was 47-0 on his way to the title and he finished third in the National Junior Championships. "He's one of the best recruits we've ever had," Kerr said. In addition to the impressive record, Kerr is pleased that Palomino comes from a local high school. |
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