McCluer North High School - Polaris Yearbook (Florissant, MO)

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Preparing for his fiftieth straight win, Pat Jansen, senior, poses by a “Good Luck” banner. Watching his opponent’s every move, Carl Murray, junior, prepares to move in and bring him down. 1983 Wrestling Coach: Bob Blanner i McCluer 45 Belleville West 18 54 Granite City N. 8 43 Hazelwood West 24 58 Riverview Il 36 Hazelwood East 33 32 Ritenour 39 46 Hazelwood Central 17 44 Pattonville 25 St. Charles After a tough match, Jeff Mastrioanni, junior, is named the winner.

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174 At 2:15, most of us looked forward to a quick trip home, a snack, and a few hours of relaxation. This was not so for mem- bers of the wrestling team. After six hours of tests, lectures, and studying, the wrestling Stars had 21 2 hours of practice to look forward to. The team began doing stretches at 2:30 to prepare their muscles for the daily work-out. For warm-up and conditioning, they ran up and down stairs and around the school. To improve coordination and balance, time was spent on spin drills and skills were also developed by “live” wres- tling and practicing moves. A daily Looking for a quick pin, Kevin Mabrey, sophomore, holds his contender on the mat. weight-lifting program was also included in the workout in order to build wrestlers’ strength. What gave these guys the drive to put themselves through this “self-punish- ment’? “Knowing it’s the only way to get the benefits of victory,” said Steve Sex- auer, junior. ‘It’s a way for me to prove to myself that | have the self-discipline to push to the limit,” said Jeff Mastrioanni, junior. “If you win, you get all the credit, but if you lose, the only person to blame is yourself.’’ Pat Jansen Conditioning was not the only demand- ing requirement the wrestlers faced. Maintaining weight also called for a lot of self-discipline. Sticking to three meals a day, omitting snacks, not eating at all, and working off calories at practice were a few techniques used to keep within weight restrictions. Losing 5 pounds a day was not an unusual happening at practice. The reward for all this hard work? Sometimes they won, sometimes, they lost, but either way, the satisfaction of knowing it was their best felt good. a EET At state competition, Pat Jansen, senior, awaits the starting signal from the referee, ready to bring his opponent down. Working for a fall, Fred Jones, senior, tries to out- maneuver his opponent.

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A growing season “At times, team spirit reached its ulti- mate point. Then there were times when we were down,” said Jim Jones, junior. The season started off slow. The very first game was played against University City. The players were shaky and didn’t have the confidence or the experience needed to defeat the opposing team. “The team this past year was very inex- perienced, which showed in our first cou- ple of games, but with practice and some patience, we pulled ourselves together after only a short while and began to play as a team,’ said Ed Kretzler, junior. It was not that McCluer North didn’t have good basketball players, but instead of working and cooperating together, each team member did his ‘“‘own thing” — at least early in the season. The team consisted of sixteen players, which was quite large for this particular sport. An average team usually consisted of at least twelve members, but Coach Pete Waldo kept a large and youthful squad. The main force behind any team was the head coach. ‘‘Mr. Pete Waldo is an excel- lent coach because he tries to get us to work to the best of our ability, like hus- tling, trying to get us to hit the open man and just play aggressive defense,” said Jim Jones, junior. “We are a very young and inexperi- enced team who make a lot of mis- takes that experience will help overcome.’’-Pete Waldo Another force behind any team was the aggresssive audience that lifted the spir- its of each and every team member. ‘Stu- dent support is needed to give enthusi- asm to all, and generally make life miser- able for the opposing team,” said coach Pete Waldo. All in all, team spirit and fan spirit were the main necessities for a victorious team. Taking a free throw, Wayne Henderson, senior, gracefully launches the ball toward the basket. During the jump ball, Calvin Dixon, sophomore, strives to tip the ball to one of his teammates. cca ‘ et OS E Fn Trying to block the opponent from nabbing the re- bound by spreading his arms is Ed Kretzler, junior. 176 Boys’ Basketball