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Tuesday, October 29, 1985
Daily Nebraskan
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Page 9
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nnskers 6ipiB9 Inopes on youiing wrestlers
By Doug Carroll
Staff Reporter
j Nebraska wrestling coach Bob Fehrs
said his young, but experienced squad
jwill be "much improved this year."
I Fehrs entered last season knowing
ii nuuiu uc a icuuiiuni year tuier
losing some oi nis Dest wrestlers to
graduation, he said. But he didn't
anticipate an injury-riddled team that
would have seven freshmen in its lineup.
Freshmen usually aren't ready to wres
tle in varsity competition when they
first arrive on campus, Fehrs said.
Although he still has a young squad,
Fehrs said there is a possibility of his
team making it into the top 20 nation
ally, and possibly the top 10 by the end
of the year.
Having a lot of freshmen wrestling
on the varsity last year will help this
year's squad because they gained a lot
of experience, Fehrs said.
"Having gone through the gauntlet,
they know what it takes," he said.
The wrestling team has been prac
ticing since September and Fehrs said
that "for this time of year, the intensity
level has been up."
Fehrs said that Oklahoma is favored
to win the Big Eight title this year.
Oklahoma returns all but two wrestlers
from last year's team, which finished
second at the NCAA tournament. The
Sooners also have several excellent
redshirts, Fehrs said.
Nebraska opens its Big Eight sche
dule Nov. 15 at Iowa State.
Only five Big Eight Schools have wres
tling teams. Kansas, Kansas State and.
Colorado dbn't field squads. However,
the Big Eight has been among the
toughest conferences in the country,
Fehrs said. Big Eight schools are always
near the top of the wrestling ratings, he
said. '
The following is a rundown of Neb
raska's wrestling team by weight class.
Freshman Randy Headrick is listed
as the only eligible wrestler at 118
pounds. Headrick is a Colorado state
high school champion and won the
Western Regional Tournament this
summer.
At 126 pounds, sophomore Terry
Cook returns after finishing fourth in
the conference meet and qualifying for
nationals last year. Fehrs said Cook has
matured since last year. He said Cook
is not a "big" 126-pounder, but he will
be stronger than he was last year.
At 134 pounds, Gil Sanchez returns
after a redshirt season and will provide
some leadership, Fehrs said. Sanchez, .
a junior, and Chris Marisette, a senior
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.... Dan DulaneyDaiiy Nebraskan
Nebraska wrestling coach Bob Fehrs, right, gives instructions to Brian Dart (top) and Eon DeBoer during practice
Tuesday afternoon at the Bob Dcvaney Sports Center. Dart is a freshman and DeBoer is a sophomore.
who is listed at 142 pounds, may "flip-
flop during the season m order to give
each other a break from dieting, Fehrs
said.
Mike Balestrini is looking good as a
challenger for Marisette at 142, as is
Tim Kenney, Fehrs said.
Fehrs said he would "probably tab"
sophomore Keenan Turner as the top
wrestler at 150 pounds. Turner quali
fied as an NCAA wild card entry last
year and finished with a 25-14-0 record.
He was also a first-team selection to
Amateur Wrestling News' freshman all
star team.
Another challenger for the top spot
at 150 isjuniorBill Ferrie, who was also
a wild card entry last year. But a minor
shoulder injury will keep Ferrie out for
"at least a month," Fehrs said.
Jeff Coltvet leads the list of possible
starters at 158. Sophomores Bill Mer
rell and John Myers will also challenge.
Coltvetwon eight of his last 10 dual
matches last year as a freshman and
qualified for the NCAA Championships.
Sophomore Dan Boardman, a starter
last year, returns at 167 pounds after
compiling a 14-1 4 record. RonDeboer, a
redshirt freshman from Firth, may also
wrestle at this weight, Fehrs said.
At 177 pounds, Fehrs said that Cody
Olson will probably start, although "a
couple of people appear to be coming
on," Fehrs said. He said Ron DeBoer
may also challenge here.
Fehrs said the 190-pound class is
"the most improved weight." Injuries
last year caused it to be very weak, he
said. But both Mike Traynor and Joe
Malecek, who were recruited for this
weight class, have what Fehrs said is
"the potential to be excellent college
wrestlers." v
Gary Albright returns at the heavy
weight class for his final year of wrest
ling. Fehrs said Albright is looking better
than he has the last couple of years.
"He's got an excellent attitude this
year" Fehrs said.
Albright finished second at the 1984
NCAA tournament and will benefit this
year from having three other heavy
weights to practice with this year,
Fehrs said. One of them, assistant
coach Keith Hanson, was last year's
Division II heavyweight champion.
Having other heavyweights around will
give Albright a chance to work out with
people the same size his opponents
will be, Fehrs said.
Nebraska opens its season Nov. 9 at
the Bison Open in Fargo, N.D. Fehrs
said it is a "real good tournament" to
start the season with.
A I. n . . 4. o r A i. i ii i ,
nuuui oou wresuers win De compet
ing in the meet. Although the competi
tion is mainly Division II schools, Fehrs
said they are some of the best in the
nation In their class.
Since it is an open meet, teams are
allowed to enter more than one wrestler
in each class. Fehrs said he plans to
take the first and second seeded
wrestlers at each weight class to the
meet. He said he "won't know the posi
tions for sure until the challenge
matches start."
Challenge matches determine who
will wrestle at each weight class at
upcoming meets. The first one will be
Nov. 3.
Nebraska's first home meet will be
the Husker Duals on Dec. 7.
Columnist makes early picks
Huskers to crush Lions in Orange Bow.
The bowl season is drawing near
(well, sort of), so it's time to pick who's
going to go to which bowl game.
I have two reasons to pick the bowl
match ups this early.
First, I want to be the first one to get
mV Dicks nn tha lino Tt mirth IaaIt
; foolish in a mnnth hut tWc Half tha
- iviiv4i KSMU a lltUA bills
fun of the these bowl prediction
columns.
Bob
Asmussen
j Second, the bowl representatives
i are scouring the backroads of the Uni
m States in search of the perfect
. Several bowl representatives were
j lr the press box for Nebraska and Colo
do Saturday.
L UJtsl conference titles are assured,
i ne mwI representatives will watch the
if earns in each conference in hopes of
j'unng teams to their particular bowl.
c aemng or the bowl games them-
selves has become big business. The
Fiesta Bowl now is sponsored by Sun
kist and will be known as, unofficially
mind you, the Sunkist Fiesta Bowl, or
something similarly disgusting. Maybe
the Cotton Bowl will be sponsored by
Texas Instruments and call itself the
Calculator Bowl. Maybe NBC will pick
up on the popular success of its televi
sion shows and change the name of the
Orange Bowl to the "Miami Vice" Orange
Bowl. Perhaps Ted Turner will pur
chase the Peach Bowl and change its
name to the Captain Courageous Bowl
or the Atlanta BravesCNNUnited
Artists Owner Bowl.
Enough of the name changes, let's
get to picking those bowl games.
Orange Bowl: Nebraska vs.
Penn State. At last look the Orange
Bowl was played on a regulation field,
too bad for Penn State. The Nittany
Kitties were meowing by teams at an
average of four points a game until they
trashed West Virginia 27-0. Nebraska
will win the Big Eight and when they
beat the Nittany Lions on the regula
tion field they will give Tom Osborne
his much deserved first national title.
Eose Bowl: Ohio State vs.
UCLA. Calm down Iowa fans. The
Hawks simply aren't going to win the
Big Ten. Ohio State is the best team in
the conference and Iowa is the lucki
est. UCLA has sort of gone unnoticed in
building a 6-1-1 record. The tie was
against Tennessee after the Vols had
built a huge lead. Of course, once it
comes to playing this game, tradition
will dictate that the less-talented
Bruins will easily beat the Buckeyes.
Maybe Iowa will be glad it isn't here.
Cotton Bowl: Baylor vs. Miami
They'll probably have to change the
name of this bowl game to the Who
Cares Bowl. Miami would be in great
shape for an Orange Bowl bid except
they were there two years ago and were
a real drain on the city's expected
financial bonanza. Baylor has a good
team and one of the country's best
coaches in Grant Teaff. Higher profile
teams like Arkansas and Texas simply
don't have the offense to stay with Bay
lor. Look for this game to be one of the
most exciting of the day, probably not
the most watched but the most exciting.
Sugar Bowl: Auburn vs. Iowa.
This is a match-up that everyone but
Hayden Fry will love. Auburn has a
high-powered offense led byKeisman Trophy
winner Bo Jackson. Iowa also has an
explosive offense led by quarterback
Chuck Long and running back Ronnie
Harmon. But for Iowa to play in this
game, it will mean the Hawkeyes will
have to lose. That's why Hayden Fry will
be unhappy. Ohio State should burst
Hayden's bubble this week, but if it
doesn't there is always Purdue or
Minnesota.
Fiesta Bowl: Air Force vs. Okla
homa. Oklahoma has got its offense
back in gear with freshman quarter
back Jamelle Holieway. But, when it
comes down to the game with Ne
braska, look for the freshman to crack
underpressure and Nebraska to win. Turn
overs have been the problem for Okla
homa in the past and with a freshman
at quarterback they will probably con
tinue to be a problem. Air Force, thank
fully, won't be forced to play in the
Holiday Bowl. The Falcons will likely be
undefeated going into the Fiesta Bowl.
With a win against Oklahoma, Air Force
will have a legitimate claim to the
national title. Don't hold your breath
though, the Sooners should rebound
from its loss to Nebraska.
Gator Bowl: Michigan vs.
Arkansas. Michigan coach Bo
Schembechler wants to be at this game
about as bad as he wants to get Dutch
Elm disease. He'll take out his frustra
tions on the poor defenseless Razor
backs, who fooled themselves into think
ing they would win a national title.
Think again guys.
Liberty Bowl: Illinois vs. Flor
ida State. Illinois, after a horrendous
start, will be happy to spend the holi
days anywhere but Champaign-Urbana.
Florida State was cruising along until
Auburn and Mr. Jackson blew them out
in the fourth quarter. The Seminoles
will likely lose to Miami as well.
Florida Citrus Bowl: Texas vs.
Notre Dame. Whether or not this
game and a hot finish save Gerry
Faust's job is still up in the air. The
Irish blasted Southern Cal and that
was a good sign. Another good sign
would be a win against a Texas team
that can't move the ball, but at the
same ti-ne won't allow anyone to move
the ball against it.
Peach Bowl: Kansas vs. Geor
gia Tech. Both these teams were
thinking they'd be in better bowls than
this one at the beginning of the season.
But Kansas blew any thoughts it had of
Please see BOWLS on 10
