21,1955 THE MCHIGAN DAILY 21, 1955 TIlE MICHIGAN DAILY WrestlersCaptureBig 10 Title BY JOHN HILLYER There's much more to the manly art of wrestling than grunting and groaning, as Michigan's 1955 squad so thoroughly demonstrated. Coach Cliff Keen's surprising heroes came from virtually no- where to take the Western Con- ference wrestling title in as dra- matic finale as has been seen in many years. Start With Win The season got off to a fine start, from a Michigan point of view, at the important Wilkes Col- lege Open Tournament, held an- nually over Christmas vacation at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. This meet consistently draws over 300 participants, representing over 50 different organizations, and is rec- ognized as the nation's biggest invitational tournament. All the Michigan entrants did was to place four men in the finals and two others in consolation matches to amass an amazing total of 63 points, good for first place. Probably the greatest individual accomplishment of the meet was Michigan's feat of qualifying both men for the final match in one division. In the 147-pound class, Don Haney, who went on to a per- fect unbeaten season, whipped Wolverine teammate and Captain Andy Kaul for the championship * in that division in a wild title match. It was Kaul's first loss in almost two years of intercollegiate competition. Other Maize rand Blue perform- ers were junior Frank Hirt and sophomore Max Pearson, both of whom reached 'the finals before losing, and 157-pounder Mike Rod- riguez and 123-pounder Dan Dep- pe, both of whom reached and won consolation matches to take thirds. Win Dual Opener The dual-meet season opened on the first Saturday after Christmas vacation with a seemingly impossi- ble obstacle in the form of the Big Ten champs of 1954--Purdue's Boilermakers. But the scrappy Michigan grapplers scored an over- whelming 28-7 triumph, winning all but two of the eight matches. Deppe, Kaul, Haney and Rodriguez all pinned their opponents, and at this point, Michigan seemed to have all the potential of a Big Ten championship squad. Between semesters, the Wolver- DON HANEY MIKE RODRIGUEZ ... undefeated champion . .. new captain ines continued to impress, scoring wins over Indiana, 22-8, and Pitts- burgh, 17-9. Pitt was Michigan's closest rival in the Wilkes-Barre meet, finishing 11 points behind the winner, and this meet served :the purpose of proving to the Pan- thers that the earlier defeat was no fluke. Pittsburgh is a perennial Eastern power. Illinois Surprises The second semester then moved in, however, and with it came events of near-disastrous propor- tions. The inspired Ann Arborites, riding high and possibly intoxi- cated. by their own success, ran headlong into a tough crew from Illinois, and the always-dangerous Champaign entry burst Michigan's bubble with a bitterly-contested 14-11 conquest. This defeat, coming on the first day of the new term, seemed to stem from the Illini's discovery of the Wolverines' big weakness. Cliff Keen's men, accustomed to an ag- gressive, swiftly-moving style of attack, found that the Orange and Blue insisted upon cramping their style with a methodic, slow- moving, defensive approach. Only Kaul and Haney remained unbeaten in dual-meet competition with decisions over their oppon- ents. Deppe, carrying an excellent record into the meet of three consecutive falls,'was outpointed, 5-3, by Illinois' Dick Meeks. Frank Hirt, the Wolverines' adept 130- pounder, was held to a tie by Illini Norb Sargent. McMahon Returns The only encouragement on the Michigan side of things, except for Kaul and Haney victories, was the return to form of 177-pound John McMahon. McMahon, sidelined by injury for much of the season up to that point, came through with an impressive victory over Steve Szabo of Illinois. The following Saturday found the Wolverines at Iowa City to compete against one of the pre- season favorites - the powerful Iowa Hawkeyes. And a powerful aggregation they turned out to be, dealing Michigan a crushing 24-5 setback. The Iowans won six of eight matches and tied in another, Han- ey emerging as the only victorious Wolverine, still undefeated. Kaul's dual-meet string was snapped by Hawkeye Jerry Salmon, 8-2. About-Face Also a discouragement was Mc- Mahon, who demonstrated a com- plete about-face from his fine form against Illinois in the previous meet. The 177-pounder was pinned in just 53 seconds by Leroy Berry- hill. The fiery Rodriguez also bow- ed in the 167-pound division to the Big Ten's defending champion, flashy John Winder. The Illinois and Iowa matches combined, however, seemingly made the Michigan wrestlers aware of the fact that it would be tough going from then on. The following Saturday at Evanston they gave Northwestern's squad a thorough lesson, 21-8, and closed the dual- meet campaign the week after with a resounding 27-5 humiliation of Ohio State. The stage was set. The following week end-March 4-5-the Big Ten Championships were held at Minneapolis. Iowa entered as the heavy favorite, and justly so. But it was Cliff Keen's thirtieth year as head of Michigan wrestling, and the boys were determined to make it a happy one. Four Big Ten Champs And a joyous occasion it was. The fired-up Wolverines came up with four Western Conference champions-Pearson, Kaul, Haney and Rodriguez, to nip the second- place Iowa contingent, 50-46. In addition to these tour, valu- able points were also gained by Deppe, who took third in the 123- pound class, and Tom Krause, who placed fourth in the 177-pound division. Michigan's four winners were its only finalists, however, and when Rodriguez pinned Jerry Seel5er of Wisconsin in 4:44, three matches remained, with Iowans in all three, fchigan having finished its com- petition and registered its 50 points. The drama of the situation was tremendous, with the Michigan participants cheering on the Hawkeye's foes. And they came through, with Larry Ten Pas of Illinois defeating Harlan Jenkin- son -for the 167-pound title, and Wisconsin's Bob Konovsky whip- ping Ken Leuer for the heavy- weight crown. Only John Winder among the three Hawkeyes was a winner, beating Dick Anthony of Indiana for the 177-pound su- premacy. It wasn't enough. Thus Keen, one of the country's foremost wrestling mentors, came up with his fifthBig Ten champion to help climax one of the most interesting winters in the history of Michigan sports. .4 a E4 's GLEE CLUB, A Michigan's "ESQUIRE FEflTURE" Store TOURS STAGE RADIO TELEVISION MOVIES A at MICHIGAN since 1848 . . over 100 years It's a Michigan Tradition for Michigan Men to do their shopping at Wagner's. Fine apparel, carefully selected for use by University men and shown in a pleasant maner . . . at fair prices. I Vzs RYO T Tuesday, Sept. 27 7:15 P.M. Union Ballroom q9?urJ STATE STREET AT LIBERTY. II