4 Men's Swimming vs. Wisconsin Friday, 4 p.m. Canham Natatorium The Michigan Daily SPORTS Thursday, November 17, 1988 Hockey vs. Ohio State Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Yost Ice Arena Page 10 M' has reason to look ahead to record season 'They got great team unity. They came in here, and they wanted to win this tournament really bad. They were all ready to go. I mean, you walk into their locker room, and they 'iad stuff all over the place. They had 'Michigan is going to do it, Michigan is going to dethrone Iowa.' They gave them a run for their money.' - Wisconsin wrestler Jeff Jordan after the Big Ten tournament last March at Crisler Arena. BY STEVEN COHEN If the Michigan wrestling team was hungry last March, it is absolutely famished now. Last season's sixth-place finish nationally and narrow loss to Iowa in the conference tournament has led to high aspirations. The entire team is working toward two major goals: the Big Ten championship and the national championship. Like a young Michael Jordan who just realized he could dunk and couldn't wait to perfect the reverse and tomahawk jams, the Wolverines are eager to start slamming their opponents. THE WOLVERINES' first official meet is Saturday at the Ohio Open in Dayton, Ohio. While the wrestlers would like to perform well, they have their sights set on bigger things than an early season tournament. Their high expectations are merited. Led by returning All- Americans John Fisher, Larry Gotcher, Joe Pantaleo, and Mike Amine, the team has the most returning NCAA championship points in the nation. Amateur Wrestling News has ranked the Wolverines No. 1 in the nation. In addition, Iowa, winners of the last 14 conference titles, lost its three most dominant wrestlers: Brad Penrith, Royce Alger, and Mark Sindlinger, due to graduation. "Our goal is not just to win the Big Ten title or to have a good season," said Michigan coach Dale Bahr. "Our goal is to win the national championship. It's like what Larry Gotcher said to me the other day. He said, 'Coach, you know we have got a great chance to win the national championship, and that doesn't happen every year."' THE LAST time the Wolverines had four All-Americans was 15 years ago. This year, Michigan hopes to seize the moment. The team's dedication to excellence has shown in practice and is evidence of their desire to set themselves apart. The squad is filled with early risers who run four days a week at 6:30 in the morning. In addition, several Wolverines wrestled in tournaments and in Olympic training camps over the summer. Fisher, Pantaleo, Mike Amine, Fritz Lehrke, and Justin Spewock were all impressive during their summer vacation. This has served to instill a certain apprehension in other teams about Michigan. "I think (other coaches) look at our team and say they don't have a real weakness," said Bahr. "They're thinking, 'Watch out for Michigan.' Everyone else is taking the summer off, and our kids are working hard." Mike Amine said: "The team is really motivated. It seems like everyone is willing to pay the price, and that's everyone - even freshmen are motivated." PANTALEO said: "We have the talent. We proved that last year. We ALEXANDRA BREZ/Doily Michigan's wrestling team, which finished sixth nationally last season returns All-Americans (from left to right) John Fisher, Joe Pantaleo, Mike Amine and Larry Gotcher. The Wolverines hope to climb to even greater heights this year. have a great chance. The key to any successful team is staying healthy and having guys wrestle at the right weights." The Wolverines are working to meet both of those criteria. The team has a rigorous training program in an attempt to find places for their 10 best wrestlers for its first true test, the Las Vegas Classic, on Dec. 2 and 3. The Wolverines, with heavyweight Bob Potokar and the four returning All-Americans, each ranking in the top five nationally in their respective weight class, will field a solid cast from top to bottom. A sixth Wolverine, Sam Amine, is expected to be ranked in the top five after defeating the fourth-ranked wrestler last week at the Eastern Michigan Invitational. "We think whoever is starting for Michigan is going to be very representative," Michigan assistant coach Joe Wells said. Wrestling coach builds winners on mat, in life BY STEVEN COHEN Last Friday, Francis Bentley, the longtime wrestling coach at Flint Northern High School and the former coach of Wolverine stars John Fisher and William Waters, was inducted into the Michigan Wrestling'is Association Hall of Fame. Judging by his accomplishments - a 215-41 coaching record and 20 city championships - it is easy to see why. He coached the first all-Black team to win a Michigan state championship in 1963. But the measure of a person is not only determined by wins and losses and state championships. Those who know Bentley, now the athletic director at Northern, know he is special for more than just his coaching talents. THOSE IN EDUCATION who have trouble relating to students would find a role model in Bentley who has related to students through diligence, devotion, and compassion. "I think when you put a lot into a sport, you get more things back then what you put in," Bentley said. If the admiration of those around him is a measure, than Bentley is certainly correct. "In all of Flint Northern, he was the one teacher everyone respected," said Fisher. Northern Principal Marvin Pryor said: "He's a tremendous, tremendous, person. He is totally dedicated to the young people. He's done so much for them, particularly William (Waters). His wrestlers love him. I hear it time and time again. They have tremendous respect for him ... He didn't just forget about them when they graduated." FISHER AND WATERS, two of Bentley's 15 individual state champions, are still close with him. When Waters, currently a graduate assistant coach, took a year off from Michigan in 1985-86, he lived with Bentley. "He isn't my legal father," Waters said. "I just call him it because he's been there for anything I've needed, anytime. He's given me guidance since high school. He's helped me out in every phase of life." Michigan coach Dale Bahr said: "He's a guy who never had a family in Flint. A lot of people shy away from the inner city, but he's related well to most of the kids. A lot of the kids at Flint were like his extended family. He treated them like they were his sons. He demanded respect, and in turn, they respected him because he respected them." Though most of the other white citizens in the neighborhood near the school have moved, Bentley has never found reason to leave the area where he has spent the last 32 years. "There should be more teachers who live in the areas which they teach in," Bentley said. "Some of these people just commute and do their job without really getting to understand the kids and situations." THE KIDS AND SITUATIONS have changed considerably in Flint, but his approach hasn't. In 1956, Bentley's first year at Northern, the school was 20 percent minorities. Today the school is 83 percent minorities, Pryor said. "I think you have to respect athletes as people and what they're trying to do, " Bentley said. "To be successful, the team has to believe in a coach, but they have to satisfy themselves first to be successful at anything." Fisher has known Bentley since he moved next door to him when he was five years old. Bentley got Fisher started in wrestling when he was in elementary school. Later, Fisher starred for his Black Cats wrestling program. See Bentley, Page 11 ATTENTION BSN CLASS OF 1989. 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