Tuzzolino Wraps Up NCAA Title

Terry Tuzzolino of San Francisco State won the NCAA Division II national wrestling championship at 197 pounds last weekend in Brookings, S.D.

Tuzzolino, a senior who wrestled for Capistrano Valley High and Santa Ana College, defeated Trevell Smittick of Fort Hays (Kan.) State to earn his first national championship. Tuzzolino’s victory helped San Francisco State earn an 11th-place finish in the team competition, the school’s sixth consecutive top 20 finish.

Tuzzolino sustained what might have been a season-ending ankle injury about a month ago, but recovered in time to compete in the Western regionals.

“I wanted this last year to be perfect and nothing to happen,” Tuzzolino told reporters after the championship match. “But I hurt my ankle. It set me back. I couldn’t practice for two weeks.”

During his high school career at Capistrano Valley, he finished second in three separate state final events. He also was runner-up as a freshman and sophomore at the state community college tournament.

STRUTZEL WINS

Although indoor track and field is largely overlooked in sunny Southern California, several former county standouts had banner performances at the recent NCAA Indoor Championships held at the new $3-million Randall Tyson Track Center at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

UCLA’s Jess Strutzel, a 1996 graduate of Huntington Beach High, won the men’s 800 meters. He finished third in the state in the 800 as a senior at Huntington Beach and won the NCAA event in 1 minute 46.57 seconds. Derrick Peterson of Missouri was second in 1:46.85.

Arkansas won the men’s team title--its 35th NCAA championship and seventh consecutive men’s crown--in front of 5,000 hog-calling fans.

In the women’s competition, Tayyiba Haneef of Long Beach State, a 1997 graduate of Laguna Hills, finished sixth in the high jump with a leap of 5-11 1/4. UCLA’s Darnesha Griffith, a 1998 graduate of Trabuco Hills High, finished 12th in the same event (5-10), which was won by Harvard’s Dora Gyorffy (6-4 1/2).

NOTEWORTHY

Long Beach College continues to attract more and more county athletes, as evidenced by the Vikings’ women’s soccer team.

Michele Bannister, formerly of Canyon High, was selected an All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Assn. of America. She had 19 goals and led the state with 25 assists. Bannister, an attacker, was voted the team’s most valuable player and was first-team All-South Coast Conference. She led Long Beach to a 21-3-2 record and a final ranking of No. 15 in the country.

Three other former county standouts also shined for the Vikings.

Nikki Szlak, a halfback, was the team’s leading scorer with 20 goals and was a first-team All-SCC selection. She is from Los Alamitos High. Despite being out with injuries half of the season, former Griffin Nicole Mularkey scored 12 goals. Chrystal Hewitt (Canyon High) was a second-team All-SCC selection.

Staff writers Paul McLeod and Dan Arritt contributed to this report.

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