James Whitcomb Riley High School - Hoosier Poet Yearbook (South Bend, IN)

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Wrestling 103

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A real pleasant surprise Wrestling is a sport you love and hate at the same time. The dieting, hard hours of practice, and pre- match nervousness all seem worthwhile when you walk off the mat after a match, knowing you ' ve done your best — espe- cially when your best is enough to win, stated Co- Captain Brendan Powers ' 83. What was first expected to be a rebuilding year for head wrestling coach Chris Clarke ' s Wildcat matmen resulted in one of his best seasons at Riley. Led by Co-Captains Mike Armey ' 83 and Brendan Powers ' 83 the relatively young grapplers compiled an im- pressive 7-3 season record. Powers, who wrestled at 167 pounds as well as Scott Vinson ' 83 (155) and heavy weight Darren Fish- er ' 83 were among Riley ' s top wrestlers, as each was an all-conference contend- er. Also impressive for Ri- ley were seniors Tim Con- nors (185) and Donny Hat- field (177), as well as ju- niors Mike Mersich (126) and Todd Ernsberger (145). Denny Wise ' 86, wrestling in the 105 lb. di- vision, was the top new- comer. The season as a whole was a real pleasant sur- prise, Coach Clarke summed up. I was expect- ing to finish more in the middle of the pack, but 7-3 is great. Competing in this conference, what more could you ask of these guys? ABOVE: Co-Captain Brendan Powers ' 83 illustrates his wres- tling ability as he turns his oppo- nent. 102 Wrestling Wrestling: First Row: K. Odynski, W. Badger, J. Reed, D. Taylor, M. Mersich, B. Powers, M. Armey, T. Wirt, T. Ernsberger, M. Strantz, S. Branchik, D. Swoverland; Second Row: L. Camp, D. Jozciak, D. Fisher, S. Vinson, T. Ross, T. Connors, R.W. Bartels, P. Jones, S. Elek, D. Floran, S. Cummings, D. Wise, C. Armey; Third Row: C. Dieter, M. Peters, G. Pink, B. Dickirson, J. Sweeney, G. Zorich, D. Dunlap, B. Woodard, R. Newbill, J. Powell, Assistant Coach Steve Warner, Coach Chris Clark.

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A learning season This year ' s team was plagued by inexperience at the beginning of the sea- son. As the season pro- gressed, the younger play- ers adopted their roles on the team, said Co-Captain Carter Reznik. With 15 re- turnees from last year ' s city winning B-team, the hockey team started off with a slow season. The team solved their problems and regained control by placing second in the Holi- day Hockey Tournament. The team ' s strongest point was defense with Co- Captains Carter Reznik ' 83 and Mike Rosenberg ' 83, leading the way. In addi- tion, goalie Todd Lehman ' 83 knocked pucks away from the goal. Underclass- men insure a good future for the Wildcats with the help of Gerry Sheets ' 84, Tom Bell ' 85 and Billy Ler- man ' 86 who displayed their potential this year. The best game of the year was against undefeat- ed Clay in the Holiday Tournament. Riley beat the Colonials by a score of 7-5 to play in the cham- pionship game. The next night Riley lost 8-7 to end the Holiday Tournament. Carter Reznik ' 84 added, After all the problems were worked out, the skat- ers ended with a respect- able season. 104 Hockey