State Wrestling : Bailey Gives It His Best, Still Can’t Beat Jackson

With just over a minute remaining in his State championship and realizing that he had done all that he could do, Richard Bailey raised his arms in supplication.

He admitted later he wasn’t seeking divine intervention. It probably wouldn’t have helped the Valhalla senior who became the 82nd straight victim to fall before Santa Monica’s octopus, Laurence Jackson.

“No, he’s not an octopus,” said Bailey, who battled vainly before falling, 10-4, in the 126-pound final before a crowd of more than 4,000 at Pacific. “He’s more like a wall. You keep banging against him and nothing works.

“I mean Laurence isn’t stupid you know. I tried one thing the whole match that I thought might give me an edge and it didn’t work. So, when I raised my arms I was kind of asking my coach what to do.”

Valhalla Coach Glen Takahashi had enough right answers to collect the team title with 63 1/2 points, ending Clovis West’s two-year reign. But no one has figured out how to handle Jackson, who ran his season record to 39-0 in winning his second straight State title.

Since he’s only a junior, he will have a chance to become only the second wrestler in State history to win three titles, the other being David Lee of Bella Vista.

“I started out a little nervous tonight,” said Jackson, who beat Bailey in the 112-pound final last year. “But once you get that first move in, you relax. This is nice but not as good as my first one. I’ll always remember that.”

Another wrestler who took advantage of a quick move was Edgewood’s Scott Schumm. He scored a quick takedown in the opening seconds of the first period and stayed in control throughout, defeating Valhalla’s Vic Gerardi, 8-3.

Schumm, who is entertaining scholarship offers from Wisconsin and Oklahoma State, completed a 43-0 season.

“I was really worried because I wrestled him before, but once you get into it you forget the importance of the match and just think about winning,” said Schumm, who finished second last year. “This makes it all worth it.”

Newbury Park’s Harvey twins led their school to a excellent second-place finish with 48 1/2 points, Keith defeating Covina’s Frank Trujillo, 3-1, in overtime in the 119-pound class, and Kevin finishing second to unbeaten Robert Tabarez of Calexico in the 112-pound division.

Trujillo was hoping to hit for an incredible four-year cycle, having finished fourth in 1982, second in 1983, and third in 1984. Tabarez, a junior, has won 39 in a row.

Senior David Cabral of South Hills came within seconds of upsetting unbeaten Bo Steinbach of El Cajon before falling, 7-6, in the 105-pound final and Torrance’s Junior Saunders, who wrestled well throughout the tournament, finished second to Valhalla’s other Gerardi, Mark, a sophomore who finished 41-3.