Page Four
THE MICHIGAN. DAILY
Tuesday, August 27, 1968
Pa9e Four THE MICHIGAN DAILY Tuesday, August 27, ~ 968
-*,0
Balance ley to success for grapplers
By PAT ATKINS
The outlook: cloudy, clearing by
midseason.
Since forecasting is a favorite
sport for everyone hot to challenge
soothsayer Sonny Elliott, wrest-
ling could hardly escape the pte-
dilection for prediction.
In weathering the swarm of
sophomores eager to stop up the
gaps left by graduation, the Wol-
verine wrestling team may meet
uncertain and unseasonable con::
ditions where only certainty swirl-
ed a season ago.
With a fairly stable lineup
headed by national heavyweight,
champ Dave Porter, coach Cliff
Keen's wrestlers mowed down ten
opponents last year, including a
38-2 drubbing of Purdue, while
lsing only to Oklahoma and Mi-
chigan State.
The team tied for second in the
B ig Ten with three second-place
finishers and two men in third
spots, then wound up ninth in the
NCAA tournament with a first
and a fifth.
But Fred Stehman, Wayne Han.
son, Bill Waterman and Porter, all
regulars on last year's mat squad,
were also all seniors.
Quizzically, the weight divisions
that lost no matmen will be the
areas of greatest contention this
year. The lower weights of 123,
130, and 137 pounds are loaded
with depth.
Assistant coach Rick Bay wise-
ly notes, "I wouldn't even specu-
late on the starters."
With ten wrestlers vying for the
three slots, that's understandable.
The inside track in the three
lower weights naturally belongs to
the returning lettermen - Steve
Rubin and Bob Noel at 123, Lou,
Hudson at 130, and Geoff Henson
at 137.
However, the graduates of the
freshman team - Tim Cech, Jer-
ry Hoddy, Dave Brook and Mike
Denies, hope to dislodge their up-
perclass cohorts.
-Cech, like the other m;
mentioned, can break in
lineup at any of the lower wx
but will probably be statio
the lead-off class at thec
A tough state champ fromS
Illinois, Cech may be part
reason why Bay predicts,
for big things around 123."
Hoddy, who is closer to 1
cording to Bay, will be a w
addition in the Michigan a
during tournament compe
Last year's 115-pounder tra
red before the beginning o
meets and left Michigan wit
wrestler ,for that tourname
vision.
Seniors Rubin, who was t.
the Big Ten, and Noel bol
starts at 123 last year, and
got experience at 130 when
son was sidelined with an
Rubin finished the dua
season in spectacular f
winning his last five ma~tch
will be hoping to ride the c
his success wave into the s
123 position.
But it won't be al thate
"It's going to be tooth an
in the 123-pound division,
Bay. "Challenge matches a
ing to change the starter
week.
"And any time a fella
he has to put out to stayt
team, it's sure to help keep
performance."
Hudson, with a fine rook
son' of 14-3-1 and a second
finish in the conference t
began the dual-meet seaso
a string of four decisions
draw before being taken d
the flu.
He came back to win fiv
bouts, two in tournamentc
tition, although Bay feels t
wasn't back to pre-flu forr
Hudson will be strongly
lenged by Mike Rubin, a tr
from Lehigh and brother of
Rubin.
atmen The task of replacing Stehman coming campaign, Cornell will
to the at 152 may fall to Jim Sanger, a again start at 177.
eights, j m.nior. Last season he wrestled ex- Wayne Wentz will also go in
ned in clusively at 145, but seems to wres- that position.
outset. te stronger when he doesn't have Heavyweight-the battle that
Skokie, to cut his weight. Michigan fans have gloated over
of the When Sanger was not in the for three years-will fall into the
"Look lineup at 145, letterman Tim Mc- hands of Pete Drehmann.
Caslin, also a junior, was. And it Drehmann appeared in the Wol-
15, ac-may be McCaslin that Tom Hines verine arena only once last year,
from Ypsilanti will be challenging. but left with a fast pin of his Illi-
arsenal Denies could also be in the nois opponent. A former Pennsyl-
etition. race at 145, so the position is ano- vania state prep champ, he should
ansfer- ther question mark on the score- be a capable replacement for the
if dual card. departed Dave Porter.
hout a Giving Sanger competition at Followers of Michigan's wrest-
ant di- 152 will be two wrestlers from ling fortunes have for three years
Walled Lake-junior John Hellner depended on the big win at heavy-
y'rd inand sophomore Denis Fitzgerald. weight, and its alignment as the
bh had In his only dual meet appearance, last match of every dual-meet
d both Hellner wrestled superbly to an card was a natural climax for the
zHud- f .} ' 11-4 decision. meet.
illness. "He does better in his matches Even when the clash of Michi-
I meet RI(K BAY than in practice so it is hard to igan and Oklahoma turned into a
ashion, evaluate his progress," explains runaway for the visiting Sooners
es, and "Because of the transfer, Mike Bay. "And Denis has also proven (the score was 21-3 going into the
rest of had to sit out a year," informs to be a good fighter.' final bout) Wolverine fans stayed
tarting Bay, "but in practice he's shown The replacement for the gradu- to see their favorite son regain
that he has the ability." ated Hansen at 160 "will be pick- some Michigan pride.
Sophomore Brook, from Willa- ed from two or three," says Bay. When Sooner coach Tommy Ev-
easy. mette, Illinois, rounds out the list "The leading candidate is Tom ans elected to forfeit the last
nd nail of good wrestlers stationed at 130. Quinn, our only champion in the match rather than risk the pin,
says "Our big hope is that Lou boun- freshman tourney. He's a former he was roundly booed.
ire go- ces back," summarizes Bay. state champ from Flint Central. Porter ended his illustrious ca-
s each One of the iron men of the Wol- "He still has a lot to learn, but reer as a Wolverine wrestler by
verine mat squad, Geoff Henson physically he's as strong as any- grabbing the top spot in the NC-
knows wrestled in every dual meet last one I've ever coached. And he has AA championship meet, a crown
on the season, a claim that only three exceptional balance." he had also worn as a sophomore.
up his of his teammates could make, but Two others will also be gunning "We lost only four or five wrest-
Henson is the only one that ap- for the 160 slot - junior Lane lers from a total of almost 40,"
ie sea- peared every time at the same Headrick and senior Rick Deitrick. notes Bay, "and that's les sthan
d-place weight. In his only start last season, we normally lose. But we lost
ourney, While the 137-pound senior held Headrick pinned his opponent in some awfully good talent. It's not
n with an impenetrable monopoly last two minutes. "He's a slow starter," going to be easy to replace them,
and a season, Bay expects him to be ser- notes Bay, "but he has great phy- and they'll be missed-especially
own by iously challenged this year. sical strength and he'll be right in the early part of the season."
Mike Denies, who did an out- in there." The season will start earlier
e more standing job in the freshman The battle at 167 starts the up- this year than last, with a meet
compe- tournament according to Bay, lost per weights. Junior Charles Reilly scheduled with Pittsburgh before
hat he to the eventual titlist by one lioint and sophomore Bob Cassel seem the Midlands Tournament.
m to take third to hold the favorites' roles, but "Most teams don't want a meet
chal- "He showed depth-real good Bay notes quickly that both Head- in November," explains Bay. "We
ransfer potential-and should-keep Hen- rick and Quinn could very well
f Steve son on his toes,"'comments Bay. join in the thick of the fray.
Another senior, Jim Kahl, term- Pete Cornell, the fourth member
- ed "a little inexperienced" by Bay, of the quartetsthat wrestled in fl.r
will also be shooting for the 137; every meet last season, started
Iposition.. the year at 177. Near the close of
The middle weights appear to be competition he was moved to 167,B H B
just as unsure as the lowers. Both where he took a third in the Big - .
Stehman, second in the Big Ten, Ten and a fifth in the NCAA tour- There is something slightly dis-
and Hanson were in every dual ney. gusting about finishing second.
meet, and both were seniors. Captain of the team for the The pure frustration of being so
_________.______._.................._._ close to the top without winning
has driven good men to far worse
than drink.
But there is no group that has
born the excruciating pain of
SAVEsecond-place finishes more ad-
mirably than the 1968 Michigan
track team.
The Wolverines were champing
at the bit at the season's outset,
only to be shaded in both the
indoor and outdoor conference
championships by shadow-thin
Ir margins.
ANN A RBOR'S FRIWENDLY BOOKSTORE isconsin was the antagonist at
the indoor meet in Columbus,
where Michigan lost by two and
one-half points in the final event.
And it was like pouring brine
in the wounds when the Wolver-
in Share the Action ines took second outdoors, a single
point back of Minnesota's sur-
prising Gophers.i
But the squad took it all in
m - R 1 1 V V e stride, showing real style in the
two defeats. No team displayed
greater depth than Michigan's,
versity broke Tom Harmon's season rushing mark last year by be- and now the Wolverines must re-
g Wol- coming the first Michigan player in history to rush for more group and prepare for another
ur fall than 1,000 yards. And Dennis Brown, the scrambling quarter- season.
serving back, is back to improve on a pair of total offense marks he Michigan takes to the cinders
excite- established last year. Throwing and running, Brown is just staff, led by former assistant Dave
about the busiest quarterback in college football. Martin. Appointed over the sum-
i i t te - - - - - -
4
MICHIGAN'S WAYNE HANSEN makes his move against his 160-pound opponent in last year's
loss to Oklahoma, one of two defeats suffered by the Wolverine matmen. Hansen-eventually lost this
this match and Michigan dropped a humbling 21-8 decision. He was one of four seniors lost through
graduation; and replacing them will be the biggest headache for coach Rick Bay this year.
have to wait for the ,Midlands,
which puts us at a disadvantage,"'
The Midlands tournament, held
annually between Christmas and
New Year's Day, will be preceded'
this fall by the Wolverines' meet
with Pittsburgh on November 20.
In the Big Ten, Michigan State
will again be the team to watch,
according to Bay. "They had a
good freshman team," he recalls.
"Iowa and Northwestern have
t :en coming on strong, and Ohio
State and Indiana should also be! Wolverine grapplei's have re-
tough." corded a 255-89-11 dual meet rec-
"We have a lot of depth in the ord since Keen took over in the
lower weights," summarizes Bay, 1924-25 season, and have won
"but less and less as you go up. nine conference crowns since of-
We'll start with a good team. ficial championships were begun
"The problem is that we're not in 1934.
as strong as last year-at least The weather does not look as
not to begin with. But you can seasonable for the wrestlink team
never tell how a bunch of guys as it has at times in the past.
will progress; it's too difficult to
even speculate how they'll be at But you know how often the
the end o° the year." weatherman is right.
*-
ted thinelads count losses
14K Gold-Filled Watches
der
1 1 3 South University
r Ann Arbor, Michigan
mer, Martin will be aided by a
pair of former Wolverines, shot-
putter Jack Harvey and sprinter
Ken Burnley.
The new coaching alignment
will allow the staff to" give more
individual help to team members.
Harvey will work mainly with
field events and Burnley with
sprinters and hurdlers, while
Martin continues to help distance
men.
In addition, Harvey will be re-_
sponsible for helping with the
organization of local track meets,
and Burnley takes on the duties
of freshman counselor.
"It's something we haven't done
before," explains Martin. "We
think that kids just coming in
can use some help sometimes,
and Ken will be available to give
them a hand when they need it.
"The problem is that freshmen
Parents
cu
See 'M' Footb
Parents, you have a grand opportunity to join uni
life here in Ann Arbor by watching Michigan's promisin
verines in action on six Saturday afternoons. Schedule yoi
entertainment with your sons and daughters now by res
a seat for all the intersectional and Big Ten football
ment in Michigan Stadium.
You can have one of those 101,000 seats by sendin
coupon at the bottom of this page. Prompt action will
good ticket location.
If you order individual game tickets, you'll miss thel
gan State game here, but you can see the Wolverines and
tans clash merely by purchasing a season ticket.
Michigan's offense figures to be one of the most ex
in the Big Ten this season with All-American halfback
date Ron Johnson shooting for more records. Capt. J
DAVE MARTIN RON KUTSCHINSKI
insure
Michi-,
Spar-
plosive
candi-
ohnson
And that defense also-carries a punchiwth Tomnuirs
equalling the all-time conference -high in pass interceptions.
He stole seven of them as a sophomore. Tom Stincic, an All-
Big Ten linebacker, makes the Wolverine defense even more
formidable.
This all adds up to one of the most attractive football
packages offered here in years. Make Michigan football your
weekend highlight by ordering tickets now.
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FASHION GUIDES
FOR M
sometimes don't tell anybody
when they do need help-they let
little injuries or grade problems
go by because they might not
know exactly what to do. Now
we'll be able to do something to
prevent a lot of these problems."
The staff will have a solid corps
of returning lettermen to use as
a nucleus for the '69 squad, al-
though graduation losses will not
go unnoticed.
Among those departing were
former . Big Ten discus champ
Bob Thomas, distance ace Jim
Dolan, long and triple-jumper
Carl Flowers, and high jumper
Rick Hunt (another former con-
ference titlist).
"Guys like that are nice to have
around," notes Martin. "But we'll
move people around and things
will balance out pretty well.
"We'll have more strength ir.i
the shot this year (it was the
team's weakest event last sea-
son)."
Returning lettermen will include
Ron Kutschinski, an Olympic
hopeful in the half mile, two-
time Big Ten high jump champ
Gary Knickerbocker, and defend-
ing long jump titlist Ira Rus-
sell.
Kutschinski astounded track
followers in, June when he ran
the world's fastest half mileroan
the season (1:47.1) in Houston. A
leg injury prevented him from
placing in the NCAA champion-
ship, but he was one of 16 ath-
letes allowed to attend the final
trials at Lake Tahoe without
qualifying.
Missing from the squad will be
last year's captain, Alex McDon-
ald, who won the 600-yard run in
the Big Ten indoor meet. McDon-
ald was the star for two seasons
of Michigan's record - breaking;
two-milerelay quartet.
The other members of the four-
some, Kutschinski, Paul Arm-
strong and Tom Kearney, will
all be back for another go at the
record books.
Another returnee will be hur-
1 dler Larry Midlam,, holder of the
school record for the highs and
a placer in the national indoor
championships in Detroit.
Martin singled out sprinter
LeonGrundstein as the biggest
surprise of the 1968 season.
Grundstein, a sophomore, took
third indoors in the Big Ten 300
and second outdoors in the 220
and found time to anchor the
mile relay team on occasion.
Other sophomore standouts re-
turning will be Sol Espie, one of
the.Big Ten's top dash men, half-
miler Armstrong, pole vaulter
Ron Shortt, and Russell in the
long jump.
New to the varsity squad will be
a number of potential champions
from last year's freshman team.
Bruce Curtis, Norm Conwell,
and John Thornton will all be
tried at the half mile; Lorenzo ti
Montgomery (a former state
champ) and Ron Clark are 440
specialists; Guilio Catallo may be
the answer to the Wolverine shot
shortage.
Incoming freshmen who have
considered going out for track
should contact Martin, either by
writing or calling the Athletic
Here's the 1968
Wolverine
Program
Sept. 21 - The opener with
a capable California team and
one of the biggest musical spec-
tacles anywhere with 150 high
school bands 'joining Michi-
gan's famed Marching Band.
Oct. 5 - Ambitious Navy
brings in a veteran squad, in-
cluding its top three ball car-
riers,
Oct. 12 - Michigan State in
a classic intrastate rivalry.
Oct. 26 - Minnesota, the
Little Brown Jug and home-
coming-a truly colorful week-
end. The Gophers are title con-
tenders again.
Nov. 9 - Illinois, optimistic
and with a stable of fleet run-
ning backs moves in.
Nov. 16 - Wisconsin has
experience, size and some in-
teresting sophomores. It's the
home season roundup.
IENNIS BROWN
Set Offense Mark
t-
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