Acalanes High School - Aklan Yearbook (Lafayette, CA)

Pinpointing the Ups and Downs They race on to the mats, and a handshake marks their official greeting. The first horn sounds, and so begins a con- test that will eventually end when both wrestlers are com- pletely exhausted, one ahead in points, or the other the vic- tim of an agonizing pin. Thirty-two people, ranging lin weight from 100 to 200 pounds, called themselves wrestlers. Meeting everyday after school, they usually worked out past six o ' clock in practices longer than any other [high school sport. Their ' workouts were just that; they ' involved three hours of run- ning, weight lifting, and wres- tling. Scott Christensen, a Varsity wrestler weighing in at 169 pounds, explained, " At the beginning of the season, the workouts seemed horrible, but as the season progressed, they got easier. Don ' t get me wrong, they were still terrible. " Wrestling meets were held on Thursdays, and the few supporters who attended were in for a surprise. The pre-meet warm-ups, the spotlighted wrestlers, and the personal rivalries among wrestlers added up to a night of non-stop entertainment. " The meets were exciting when lots of peo- ple showed up to watch us, " explained 107 pound Don Marshall. " It seemed more worthwhile when you wres- tled while there were people watching you. " A wrestling match consisted of three rounds, each lasting two minutes. Six minutes doesn ' t sound very long, but to a wrestler, it was an eternity. " After finishing a match, every muscle in my body ached, and I felt totally drained, " com- mented Mike Massoni, jus t stepping off the mats. He con- tinued, " I always looked for- ward to that final horn and couldn ' t wait to hit the showers. " To take part in the meets, it was essential to keep one ' s weight within a certain range. It was common for a wrestler to shun food an entire day just to make weight for a meet. Craig Hertz explained, " If I thought I was too heavy going into a meet, I stopped eating and spent the whole day running around the track. " Wrestling was a sport that was different from any other kind of high school athletics. A wrestler had to have stamina, strength, and above all, the rig- orous dedication to stay in shape right up to the end of the Put on hold. Scon Christensen puts his Miramonte opponent in a tight-waist at the beginning of the second round. There were many different wrestling techniques, and each wrestler had his personal prefe Junior Varsity Wrestling Bottom row: |im Hayes, Mike Massoni, Todd Christensen, Matt Mackay, Chuck Whyte, Bob Perun. Second row: Coach lay Hirtzer, Alush Nushi, Todd Hensley, Jim Doxsee, Matt Greer, Sean Sullivan. Varsity Wrestling Bottom row: Shawn Cullen, Joe Hart, Tim McDonald, Eric Kim, Tim O ' Dea, Scott Cuthman. Second row: |ohn Suezaki, MattTrantham, DaveHiden, Mike Haley, Darren Scola, Paul Stark. Third row: Coach lay Hirtzer, Mark Souza, Casey Cadwell, Don Dalenberg, Scott Christensen, Pete Rivers, Coach Keith Brodders. 63 WRESTLING