Thomas Prepares 20 Freshman Grapplers For January Opening

Although their first meet is no scheduled until early in January, some 20 energetic and eager Yardling grapplers are working out every afternoon in the Indoor Athletic Building under Freshman Coach Jay Thomas, who is quite pleased with some of his baby wrestlers.

A source of special joy to Thomas is a 155-pounder in the person of Sandy Jones, twice state champion from Oklahome, where wrestling is a main sport all year around. Both Thomas and Varsity Coach Chief Boston agree that, "Jones is the best Freshman wrestler we've had around here in ten years."

Candidates for the other seven slots on the team though they do not measure up to Jones caliber bid fair to make the Freshman wrestlers a hard outfit to beat. At 121 is Jim Waddell, a matman with experience at Andover while at 128 Frank Harris from Milton and Jim Westfall, another Oklahoma product, are trying out.

Andover Contributes Grappler

Bill Currier, a matman at Andover last year, is the leading candidate for the 136-pound class with Walter Perry looking for a position on the squad at the 145-pound weight. Former Milton football captain and an undefeated wrestler there last year, Yardling Rogers is slated to fill the 165-pound class.

The two heavier positions, 175-pound slot and unlimited, are still in too fluid a condition for Thomas to name the top contenders although he says there are some possibilities for both positions. With only four meets now arranged, the full schedule will be announced in several weeks.