Gone, Lost & Forgotten: Their Best = San Jose State

When University president Gail Fullerton & athletic director Vern Wagner announced that after 52 years Spartan wrestling was coming to an end, San Jose State offered the only ROTC in the state of California.  Mike Christy the head coach of nearby Leland High School said that with SJSU wrestling discontinuing his kids & the kids of other local programs no longer had a place close to home to wrestle.  He said that it would have a negative effect on the local high school programs, the local CCCAA programs and other collegiate programs in the state.  Wagner fired back that it was hard to keep wrestling as other schools had already dropped and it made scheduling difficult.   Shane Baum who had came to SJSU after finishing as the state runner up for Belmond high school in Iowa, said that there weren't many places for someone to wrestle in a warm climate.  Now there was even less.

The San Jose State Spartans were a powerhouse in the state of California at the conference level.  They won four Pacific Coast Conference South Division titles, seven BIG WEST Conference titles and in their last thirteen seasons, won ten Pacific Coast Athletic Association team titles.   Altogether 21 conference titles & they finished in ninth place at the 1982 NCAA's.

Even with the wrestling coach offering to coach without a salary & the wrestlers on the team who were on scholarship offering to wrestle without scholarship, Wagner stated that wrestling would not continue unless $60,000 was raised by June 30th.   The announcement to drop wrestling was made in April.

With the vast amount of high school talent the state of California has produced & the dwindling of collegiate programs for the kids to wrestle at, I could go on and on with my anger and frustration.   Yet, I'm not writing these articles to focus on the negative. I write them to focus on the positive.  San Jose State produced some phenomenal talent.  Let's take a look at some of them.

118 lbs
Don Kida

A four time Sectional champion out of Monte Vista high school, to give you an idea of how much Don Kida loved SJSU wrestling he was the head coach who offered to coach without a salary when the program was dropped in 1985.  A two time All American for the Spartans he finished in fifth place at the 1973 NCAA's and in 4th at the 1974.  He made the Pan-American team in 1979 and later coached at Steele Canyon high school.

126 & 134 lbs
Eddie Baza

A native of Sunnyvale, Baza was one of the best in Spartan history.  Winning four PCAA titles he placed fifth at the 1981 NCAA's and finished off his career with a fourth place finish at the 1982 NCAA's.  Also placing sixth at the Midlands tournament, Baza had a 133-27 record.

142 lbs
Robert McDowell

After placing fourth at the California state championships in 1974, McDowell was a two time NCAA qualifier for SJSU placing third at the Midlands tournament on two occasions.

158 lbs
Darryl Pope 

A state champion out of Escalon High school Darryl Pope would finish in fifth place at the NCAA's in 1983.  He later transferred to Cal State Bakersfield where he finished as the NCAA runner up in 1987.   His son Kyle wrestled for Wyoming a few years ago.

150 lbs
Reggie Thompson 

An NCAA qualifier for the Spartans in 1981, Reggie Jackson placed twice at the Midlands earning fourth and third place finishes.

167 & 177 lbs
Dave Brouhard

A graduate of Salinas high school, Dave Brouhard had a standout senior year in 1981 for the Spartans.  He placed fifth at the prestigious Midland's championships and then placed eighth at the NCAA tournament.

177 lbs
Marvin Jones

A graduate of Santa Ana Valley, Marvin Jones placed fourth at the Midlands and eighth at the 1984 NCAA championships.

167 & 190 lbs
Andy Tsarnas

A legend at Healdsburg high school, when he took third in the 1980 California state tournament, he became the first wrestler in the history of Greyhound wrestling to place at state.  He took his 85-15 record to San Jose State where he won three PCAA titles & a fourth place finish at the Midlands accumulating a 127-23 career record.   His sons Andrew and Matt both won three league titles a piece for Healdsburg.

HWT
Don Jackson 

Jackson was a three time NCAA qualifier for the Spartans

HWT
Jerry Morrison

A state champion for Leland High School, Morrison qualified for the NCAA tournament on three occasions.


As you can see SJSU provided a great home for nearby local high school talent to continue wrestling while pursuing a higher education. It's a shame we lost a program with such a rich history that was clearly beloved.