Viking_Yearbook_69

1968-1969 varsity wrestling scores Utah 21 ......... . .. . .. . .... PSU 6 Oregon State 20 ......... . ... PSU 8 PSU 20 ..... . University of Oregon 11 PSU 21 ......... . .. . Washington 6 P U 2 . . ... .. . Washington State 6 PSU 31 .. .... Central Washington 0 Oregon la l 15 ..... . . . ... . PSU 13 PSU 28 .. .. .. C ntral Washington 2 PSU 34 . ... . ........... Stan ford 3 PSU 32 . . ... . . . .. ... Fresno State 2 Cal Poly 27 .. . . .. . . . . .. ..... PSU 6 PSU 28 .. ...... .. .. ... Wyoming 8 PSU 17 .. .. ....... .. Washington 11 Oklahoma 21 .. . .. .. .... .. .. PSU 8 Oklahoma State 29 .......... PSU 6 Brigham Young 20 . . . ... . ... PSU 11 Howard Westcott, PSU's wrestling coach, may have been a little apprehensive at the start of the 1969 season, and with cause . The eligibility of Rick Sanders and Masaru Yatabe had expired and the two NCAA college division champions auld only remain on the squad as advisors. Half of the 1969 twenty member squad had no prior experience with Westcott 's team and six of the twenty could claim only one year with the university 's var sity. In spite of these odds Westcott ventured two predictions for th season: a 9-8 win-lose score f or the r egular season and a fourth place win at the NCAA College Division Championships in California. The squad upheld the latter forecast. But the regular season score amounted to 9-7. There were no replacements for Sanders or Yatabe. For Westcott, the young team lacked the necessary maturity- maturity in competition experience on the college level, which shapes such champions. However, Viking team captain Chuck Seal won the 145-pound title at the NCAA tournament, and Rich Wright was a 167-pound runner-up at the same meet. Koji Watanabe concluded his Viking wrestling years with a record of 43-12-1 and a total of 15 pins. This was Westcott's sixteenth season as the Viking wrestling coach. Over the years he has worked his teams to a composite record of 131 wins, 40 losses, and 4 ties. 65