Small Colleges / Alan Drooz : Cal State Bakersfield’s Wrestlers Back on Top

It took Cal State Bakersfield three years, but the Roadrunners have taken the wrestling crown back from Southern Illinois Edwardsville.

Bakersfield, whose seven-year national reign was ended by Edwardsville, returned the favor over the weekend, snapping their opponents’ three-year national string by winning in three weight classes and placing second in another.

At the Division II meet in Edwardsville, Bakersfield finished with 90.5 points to 69.5 for the defending champions. It was Bakersfield’s eighth national wrestling title.

The Roadrunners also took top individual honors, with 177-pound senior Darryl Pope earning recognition both as the outstanding wrestler and for most falls, and Coach T.J. Kerr being named Division II coach of the year.

Pope (40-0) was one of three champions and one of five Roadrunners to qualify for at-large berths in the Division I meet. Senior Eric Mittlestead (38-1) won at 190, sophomore Junior Saunders won at 142, sophomore Mike Dallas was runner-up at 126 and senior heavyweight Mike Monroe qualified as a wild card.

This will be the last year that Division II and III wrestlers will go to the Division I meet as at-large selections. Beginning next year, their seasons will end at their own national tournaments.

Bakersfield will try to make it two titles in two weeks at the Division II swimming and diving meet Wednesday through Saturday at Belmont Pool in Long Beach. Coach Ernie Maglischo’s defending champions are rated fourth nationally behind Oakland, Cal State Northridge and Chico State, but have a strong contingent in the finals, having qualified the maximum 18 swimmers.

The top Roadrunners include Bartt Frey and Rick Graves, the California Collegiate Athletic Assn.’s co-most valuable swimmers. Frey is a junior freestyle specialist, and Graves, a sophomore, is the team’s top individual medley swimmer. Senior captain Jeff Miller qualified in six events and will swim three, as will junior Bob Mertz, the team’s top distance freestyler.

Northridge is favored to win the women’s title.

The Cal Poly Pomona women will begin the quest for their third straight NCAA women’s Division II basketball title tonight, playing host to Cal State Chico in Kellogg Gym at 7:30. The winner will play at home Friday against the winner of the North Dakota State-St. Cloud State game.

Pomona (26-2) has had nine days off since winning the CCAA tournament. The Broncos have an NCAA playoff record of 16-2 and are making there sixth straight tournament appearance. They also have a 24-game home winning streak, and it took Cheryl Miller and USC to inflict the last loss in 1985.

The Broncos are ranked second nationally behind Delta State of Mississippi. Chico (23-6), the Northern California Athletic Conference champ, is rated 17th and qualified to meet Pomona by beating Eastern Montana, 76-67, in the NCAA opening round.

Biola is seeded third in the 32-team NAIA basketball tournament which runs from Wednesday through Tuesday at Kemper Arena in Kansas City. Biola (29-1) will open Thursday against St. Joseph’s of Maine (25-5). The Eagles are seeded behind Oklahoma City (33-0) and Charleston, S.C. (30-1).

Coach Dave Holmquist will take his second-best record into the tournament. His team was 35-0 and top-seeded in 1982 and finished second. Two years ago, Biola went to the tournament with a 29-3 mark.

The 32-team format means that the NAIA, in essence, plays its regional and final rounds under one roof, a setup Holmquist enjoys.

“The ratings don’t mean as much in NAIA as in the NCAAs because teams don’t play much outside their area, so you’re never really sure till you get back there how you compare,” Holmquist said. “It’s really a great tournament--you have everybody together in one place and the attendance is great. There’s so much excitement and enthusiasm because there’s so much good basketball. I think this tournament is the strength of the NAIA.”

Biola is averaging 84.8 points a game. Scoring leader Johnny Griffin is averaging 19.5 points while shooting 62% from the floor.

Small College Notes Occidental women’s center Krista Staff scored a school-record 34 points against Redlands, making 15 of 18 shots, and led the SCIAC in scoring with a 21-point average, also an Occidental record. Teammate Sharon Wada, a freshman guard, set a season record for assists with 158. . . . Cal State Bakersfield senior Paul Phifer ended his basketball career in style, getting 32 points and 16 rebounds, both season highs, against Cal State L.A. . . . Cal State L.A. junior Steve Hesla set a school baseball record by going 6 for 6 against UC San Diego.