Junior National Memories: My first Junior Nationals in 1978, with Metzger, Whelan, Baumgartner among champions
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Chuck Yagla awards Andre Metzger of Michigan the Outstanding Wrestler Award in freestyle. Ben Bennett awards Khris Whelan of Illinois the Outstanding Wrestler Award in Greco-Roman. Images from Federation Wrestler newspaper.
To become a regular at something, a person must have a “first-time” in that activity. For sure, I have been a regular at the Junior Nationals during its first half-century. My first Junior Nationals were held in the Fieldhouse at the University of Iowa in 1978 after my senior year in high school. It was one of the transformative events of my life, giving me a jump-start to a solid college career, and fueling my passion for wrestling which led to a career in the industry. In Iowa City, I competed for Team New York in both styles, and my point of reference about that event was based on how I competed as well as my fellow New York teammates.
I wrestled for Section XI on Long Island for a smaller suburban school, Harborfields on the North Shore, just east of Huntington. To reach the New York high school state meet back then, you had to win your section. I was never close (but was No. 3 seed my junior year before an early upset loss). I was a spring and summer freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestler, which was a huge impact on me. After my senior year, when I once again did not reach states, I knew I was going to wrestle in college and wanted to make it to the Junior Nationals for the first time. I travelled to Johnson City in upstate New York for USWF States and did not place high enough to make the freestyle team. On the final day, I won the state title in Greco-Roman and punched my ticket for Iowa City. It was probably the single highest achievement in my competitive career.
The New York training camp was held on Long Island, and all the upstate kids stayed in the homes of the Long Island guys. We trained at Hofstra, I believe, and one of our workouts was on the beach on the south shore of Nassau County. Back in the day, nobody flew to Junior Nationals. Team New York hired a big bus, and we drove, stopping along the way for dual meets in Rockford, Ill. and Waunakee, Wis. It was in one of those dual meets that I hit the first five-point throw of my career, something that was of great pride for me and helped build my confidence.
Back then, the top six place winners were called All-Americans. Although the final brackets may not exist anywhere anymore, I know I went deep into the consolation rounds at 123 pounds. I was only supposed to go Greco, but there was an opening in my weight for freestyle and I jumped at the chance. According to Federation Wrestler, there were 46 entries in my Greco-Roman bracket and 80 entries in my freestyle bracket.
My memory is vague concerning my performance. As a wannabe writer, I kept a journal of the entire trip, but those journals no longer exist for me to refer to. I remember the loss that knocked me out of Greco-Roman All-American status was to a kid named Robert Wimberly of Florida, who finished third. The guy who won my Greco bracket was Jeff Kerber of Iowa, one of the nation’s best wrestlers and somebody I knew all about from the international-style circuit. In freestyle, I remember beating a kid from Washington I was not supposed to beat, Steve Hoglund, who in 1979 was named a Wrestling USA Magazine All-American. I have no idea any more who the two athletes who beat me in freestyle were. I would love to find a copy of the final bracket sheets to see who I wrestled.
I was excited that my New York teammate Bob Bury won my 123-pound freestyle bracket. Bury was the son of a coach and a state champion, and somebody who I wrestled many times in East Coast freestyle tournaments. He beat Kerber in the semifinals, then handled Randy Majors of Iowa in the finals. Bury went on to compete for Penn State. New York ended up with two Junior National champions that year. A kid from Rochester who had only done Greco-Roman once or twice before going to Iowa City became the 178-pound champion, Phil Lanzatella. He went to St. Lawrence and has been a friend for decades. Lanzatella competed in Greco-Roman in four or five Olympic Trials, with his first coming in 1980. There was also kid from Baldwin, Long Island who placed third at 165 in freestyle, Kevin Egelston, who became my teammate at Boston University in the fall. One of the stars of that New York team was Ed Banach of Port Jervis, who was third in freestyle at 178, and went to Iowa, winning NCAA titles and an Olympic gold medal.
The biggest star from my Junior Nationals as an athlete was Andre Metzger of Michigan, who swept the freestyle and Greco-Roman titles at 143 pounds to become the first five-time Junior Nationals champion. Metzger was a kid who competed as much as possible, legendary for entering events at multiple weight classes and competing against older kids. He went on to Oklahoma, won NCAA titles and World freestyle medals, and is now in the Wrestling Hall of Fame. The other big name was another double champion, Khris Whelan of Illinois at 114.5 pounds, who became the first three-time Junior National champion in Greco-Roman just a few matches before Metzger in the finals, and finished his career with four Junior Nationals titles and one runner-up position.
I remember a few things clearly about a couple of kids from New Jersey. The heavyweight champion was a big, strong guy named Bruce Baumgartner, who pinned a guy from Illinois in the finals. I remember hearing that this Baumgartner guy never won a New Jersey state title. Of course, big Bruce went on to win two Olympic titles, four Olympic medals, three World titles and 13 World or Olympic medals. I sometimes joke with Bruce about where I saw him for the first time. I also remember a tough and talented kid who Metzger beat handily in the freestyle finals named Daryl Burley. Less than a year later, he won the NCAA Championships for Lehigh as a freshman, beating Mike Land of Iowa State in the 134 pound finals. Burley finished with two NCAA titles.
For the first time in Junior Nationals history, a pair of brothers won national titles the same year. (There were earlier brother combinations but they did not win the same year). Out of Illinois, Bill Kelly was the 98-pound Greco-Roman champion and Jerry Kelly was the 132-pound freestyle champion. Billy Kelly went on Iowa State, where he famously pinned Brad Penrith of Iowa in the NCAA finals with a spladle. Jerry ended up at Oklahoma State and became a coach after his career. He received some recognition as the father of Mary Kelly, one of the greatest girls to compete in Illinois high schools, and later a Senior Women’s World Team member.
A few other names stand out from the champions list. The 105.5-pound freestyle champion, Adam Cuestas of California, won a few NCAA Div. I titles for Cal-Bakersfield and was a talented freestyler. The 132-pound Greco-Roman champion was Bill Nugent of Oregon, whose younger brother is Larry Nugent, who later worked many years on the USA Wrestling national staff with me. Names like Grant Smith, Perry Hummel and Randy Ohta still pop out to me as I read the articles covering my first Junior Nationals. It was fun going through the Federation Wrestler (now called USA Wrestler) and Amateur Wrestling News, which has helped spark my memories from that competition 42 years ago. I smiled seeing a black-and-white picture in Federation Wrestler of teammate Phil Lanzatella getting a pin in the Greco-Roman finals.
Short excerpt from Federation Wrestler, October 1978
Metzger, Whelan Sweep Junior Honors
Andre Metzger of Michigan and Khris Whelan of Illinois left a trail of broken records behind them as they dominated the U.S. Wrestling Federation’s eighth annual National Junior Championships July 25-29 at Iowa City.
Metzger won 17 matches with half a dozen falls and a series of superior decisions to sweep both the Greco-Roman and freestyle titles at 143 pounds for the second straight year and become the first five-time champion in National Junior history.
Voted the outstanding wrestler in freestyle, he is the first to win top individual honors at the Junior Nationals in both styles. He won the coveted trophy in Greco-Roman a year earlier.
Metzger’s new Greco championship is his third straight, but Whelan – by an hour or so – already had become the first USWF Junior to win three titles in one style.
Whelan’s Greco-Roman performance was superb, eight falls and a 21-0 decision in nine matches, for his third straight Greco crown, his second outstanding wrestler trophy and his second Gorriaran Trophy for the most falls in the least time.
Short excerpt from Amateur Wrestling News, September 16, 1978
Federation Juniors Swamp Iowa City
By Ron Good
The U.S. Wrestling Federation held its eighth annual National Junior Championships here July 25-29 with more than 1,000 entries from 38 states. Freestyle participants totaled 672 while Greco-Roman enrolled 331 in the five days of competition.
Wrestlers from Iowa and Illinois ran one and two in total place winners, with 21 and 20 respectively in both styles. Illinois had two freestyle champs and four Greco winners while Iowa crowned two in freestyle and one in Greco. Surprising Oregon had four Greco champions.
Andre Metzger, 143, Michigan, and Khris Whelan, 114.5, Illinois were both double winners this year and became the first to win three USWF Junior titles in one style with their third consecutive Greco titles.
1978 Junior National Freestyle Champions
98 – Tim Schultz (Iowa)
105.5 – Adam Cuestas (California)
114.5 – Khris Whelan (Illinois)
123 – Bob Bury (New York)
132 – Jerry Kelly (Illinois)
143 – Andre Metzger (Michigan)
154 – Grant Smith (Wisconsin)
165 – Scott Luschen (Kansas)
178 – Perry Hummel (Iowa)
191.5 – Rey Martinez (California)
Hwt – Bruce Baumgartner (New Jersey)
1978 Junior National Greco-Roman Champions
98 – Bill Kelly (Illinois)
105.5 – Randy Ohta (Oregon)
114.5 – Khris Whelan (Illinois)
123 – Jeff Kerber (Iowa)
132 – Bill Nugent (Oregon)
143 – Andre Metzger (Michigan)
154 – Kevin Benson (Oregon)
165 – Jeff Dillman (Illinois)
178 – Phil Lanzatella (New York)
191.5 – Ron Weaver (Oregon)
Hwt – Keith Paloucek (Illinois)
To become a regular at something, a person must have a “first-time” in that activity. For sure, I have been a regular at the Junior Nationals during its first half-century. My first Junior Nationals were held in the Fieldhouse at the University of Iowa in 1978 after my senior year in high school. It was one of the transformative events of my life, giving me a jump-start to a solid college career, and fueling my passion for wrestling which led to a career in the industry. In Iowa City, I competed for Team New York in both styles, and my point of reference about that event was based on how I competed as well as my fellow New York teammates.
I wrestled for Section XI on Long Island for a smaller suburban school, Harborfields on the North Shore, just east of Huntington. To reach the New York high school state meet back then, you had to win your section. I was never close (but was No. 3 seed my junior year before an early upset loss). I was a spring and summer freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestler, which was a huge impact on me. After my senior year, when I once again did not reach states, I knew I was going to wrestle in college and wanted to make it to the Junior Nationals for the first time. I travelled to Johnson City in upstate New York for USWF States and did not place high enough to make the freestyle team. On the final day, I won the state title in Greco-Roman and punched my ticket for Iowa City. It was probably the single highest achievement in my competitive career.
The New York training camp was held on Long Island, and all the upstate kids stayed in the homes of the Long Island guys. We trained at Hofstra, I believe, and one of our workouts was on the beach on the south shore of Nassau County. Back in the day, nobody flew to Junior Nationals. Team New York hired a big bus, and we drove, stopping along the way for dual meets in Rockford, Ill. and Waunakee, Wis. It was in one of those dual meets that I hit the first five-point throw of my career, something that was of great pride for me and helped build my confidence.
Back then, the top six place winners were called All-Americans. Although the final brackets may not exist anywhere anymore, I know I went deep into the consolation rounds at 123 pounds. I was only supposed to go Greco, but there was an opening in my weight for freestyle and I jumped at the chance. According to Federation Wrestler, there were 46 entries in my Greco-Roman bracket and 80 entries in my freestyle bracket.
My memory is vague concerning my performance. As a wannabe writer, I kept a journal of the entire trip, but those journals no longer exist for me to refer to. I remember the loss that knocked me out of Greco-Roman All-American status was to a kid named Robert Wimberly of Florida, who finished third. The guy who won my Greco bracket was Jeff Kerber of Iowa, one of the nation’s best wrestlers and somebody I knew all about from the international-style circuit. In freestyle, I remember beating a kid from Washington I was not supposed to beat, Steve Hoglund, who in 1979 was named a Wrestling USA Magazine All-American. I have no idea any more who the two athletes who beat me in freestyle were. I would love to find a copy of the final bracket sheets to see who I wrestled.
I was excited that my New York teammate Bob Bury won my 123-pound freestyle bracket. Bury was the son of a coach and a state champion, and somebody who I wrestled many times in East Coast freestyle tournaments. He beat Kerber in the semifinals, then handled Randy Majors of Iowa in the finals. Bury went on to compete for Penn State. New York ended up with two Junior National champions that year. A kid from Rochester who had only done Greco-Roman once or twice before going to Iowa City became the 178-pound champion, Phil Lanzatella. He went to St. Lawrence and has been a friend for decades. Lanzatella competed in Greco-Roman in four or five Olympic Trials, with his first coming in 1980. There was also kid from Baldwin, Long Island who placed third at 165 in freestyle, Kevin Egelston, who became my teammate at Boston University in the fall. One of the stars of that New York team was Ed Banach of Port Jervis, who was third in freestyle at 178, and went to Iowa, winning NCAA titles and an Olympic gold medal.
The biggest star from my Junior Nationals as an athlete was Andre Metzger of Michigan, who swept the freestyle and Greco-Roman titles at 143 pounds to become the first five-time Junior Nationals champion. Metzger was a kid who competed as much as possible, legendary for entering events at multiple weight classes and competing against older kids. He went on to Oklahoma, won NCAA titles and World freestyle medals, and is now in the Wrestling Hall of Fame. The other big name was another double champion, Khris Whelan of Illinois at 114.5 pounds, who became the first three-time Junior National champion in Greco-Roman just a few matches before Metzger in the finals, and finished his career with four Junior Nationals titles and one runner-up position.
I remember a few things clearly about a couple of kids from New Jersey. The heavyweight champion was a big, strong guy named Bruce Baumgartner, who pinned a guy from Illinois in the finals. I remember hearing that this Baumgartner guy never won a New Jersey state title. Of course, big Bruce went on to win two Olympic titles, four Olympic medals, three World titles and 13 World or Olympic medals. I sometimes joke with Bruce about where I saw him for the first time. I also remember a tough and talented kid who Metzger beat handily in the freestyle finals named Daryl Burley. Less than a year later, he won the NCAA Championships for Lehigh as a freshman, beating Mike Land of Iowa State in the 134 pound finals. Burley finished with two NCAA titles.
For the first time in Junior Nationals history, a pair of brothers won national titles the same year. (There were earlier brother combinations but they did not win the same year). Out of Illinois, Bill Kelly was the 98-pound Greco-Roman champion and Jerry Kelly was the 132-pound freestyle champion. Billy Kelly went on Iowa State, where he famously pinned Brad Penrith of Iowa in the NCAA finals with a spladle. Jerry ended up at Oklahoma State and became a coach after his career. He received some recognition as the father of Mary Kelly, one of the greatest girls to compete in Illinois high schools, and later a Senior Women’s World Team member.
A few other names stand out from the champions list. The 105.5-pound freestyle champion, Adam Cuestas of California, won a few NCAA Div. I titles for Cal-Bakersfield and was a talented freestyler. The 132-pound Greco-Roman champion was Bill Nugent of Oregon, whose younger brother is Larry Nugent, who later worked many years on the USA Wrestling national staff with me. Names like Grant Smith, Perry Hummel and Randy Ohta still pop out to me as I read the articles covering my first Junior Nationals. It was fun going through the Federation Wrestler (now called USA Wrestler) and Amateur Wrestling News, which has helped spark my memories from that competition 42 years ago. I smiled seeing a black-and-white picture in Federation Wrestler of teammate Phil Lanzatella getting a pin in the Greco-Roman finals.
Short excerpt from Federation Wrestler, October 1978
Metzger, Whelan Sweep Junior Honors
Andre Metzger of Michigan and Khris Whelan of Illinois left a trail of broken records behind them as they dominated the U.S. Wrestling Federation’s eighth annual National Junior Championships July 25-29 at Iowa City.
Metzger won 17 matches with half a dozen falls and a series of superior decisions to sweep both the Greco-Roman and freestyle titles at 143 pounds for the second straight year and become the first five-time champion in National Junior history.
Voted the outstanding wrestler in freestyle, he is the first to win top individual honors at the Junior Nationals in both styles. He won the coveted trophy in Greco-Roman a year earlier.
Metzger’s new Greco championship is his third straight, but Whelan – by an hour or so – already had become the first USWF Junior to win three titles in one style.
Whelan’s Greco-Roman performance was superb, eight falls and a 21-0 decision in nine matches, for his third straight Greco crown, his second outstanding wrestler trophy and his second Gorriaran Trophy for the most falls in the least time.
Short excerpt from Amateur Wrestling News, September 16, 1978
Federation Juniors Swamp Iowa City
By Ron Good
The U.S. Wrestling Federation held its eighth annual National Junior Championships here July 25-29 with more than 1,000 entries from 38 states. Freestyle participants totaled 672 while Greco-Roman enrolled 331 in the five days of competition.
Wrestlers from Iowa and Illinois ran one and two in total place winners, with 21 and 20 respectively in both styles. Illinois had two freestyle champs and four Greco winners while Iowa crowned two in freestyle and one in Greco. Surprising Oregon had four Greco champions.
Andre Metzger, 143, Michigan, and Khris Whelan, 114.5, Illinois were both double winners this year and became the first to win three USWF Junior titles in one style with their third consecutive Greco titles.
1978 Junior National Freestyle Champions
98 – Tim Schultz (Iowa)
105.5 – Adam Cuestas (California)
114.5 – Khris Whelan (Illinois)
123 – Bob Bury (New York)
132 – Jerry Kelly (Illinois)
143 – Andre Metzger (Michigan)
154 – Grant Smith (Wisconsin)
165 – Scott Luschen (Kansas)
178 – Perry Hummel (Iowa)
191.5 – Rey Martinez (California)
Hwt – Bruce Baumgartner (New Jersey)
1978 Junior National Greco-Roman Champions
98 – Bill Kelly (Illinois)
105.5 – Randy Ohta (Oregon)
114.5 – Khris Whelan (Illinois)
123 – Jeff Kerber (Iowa)
132 – Bill Nugent (Oregon)
143 – Andre Metzger (Michigan)
154 – Kevin Benson (Oregon)
165 – Jeff Dillman (Illinois)
178 – Phil Lanzatella (New York)
191.5 – Ron Weaver (Oregon)
Hwt – Keith Paloucek (Illinois)
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