Winthrop Captures Title In Intramural Wrestling

Groans, grunts and growls filled the corridors of the I.A.B. yesterday as 36 intramural wrestlers fought it out for house and individual championships.

When the meet had ended, Winthrop was first with 24 points. Quincy came in second with 22 points, and Kirkland finished third with 16. The winner of each match collected five points, while the loser netted three. Winthrop rolled up three firsts and three seconds for their total, while second place Quincy had two victories and four runners-up.

Beach Pins and Wins

Ben Beach's pin in the 123-pound class was easily the most surprising win of the day. The Quincy star credited his victory over Winthrop's Mike Conaway to one thing--luck. "When we were rolling around near the end, I just ended up on top," he said.

Winthrop quickly avenged Beach's victory with a streak of three straight wins. Barry Finer out pointed Quincy's Eric Beherns, 7-2, in the 130-pound class, Walter Horak whipped Kirkland's Jeff Latham, 4-0, at 145, and Tom Howell edged Quincy's Bob Kirshner in the 152-pound division.

Bob Garrett picked up Leverett's five points with a 4-2 win over Winthrop's Bill Fitz in the 160-pound class, and in the next match. Tom Dryer decisioned fellow Quincy, grappler Os Erickson. In a battle of Kirkland teammates, Jim Dunn pinned Edward Lewis to decide the 177-pound champion.

Gridiron star Rick Frisbee of Eliot put his football moves to good use in defeating Winthrop's John Washington by a referee's decision. The 191-pounders were tied, 2-2, after the regulation period.

Behemoths Battle

In a battle of behemoths, Kirkland's 210-pound Eric Honick out-fought Dunster's 250-pound Tom Tranchina in a match eventually decided by the referee. Honick's longer riding time gave him the victory. The afternoon of violence came to an end as Lowell's Phil Elkins pinned Quincy's Steve Landau in an uninspiring match of 137-pounders.

As expected, Winthrop athletic secretary Joe Mullin was ecstatic over his team's victory. "We have this new activism here at Winthrop, and it's really making a big difference in our winter success. We think we can win the Strauss Cup because we try harder. Leverett (the current leader) has a good bunch of boys, but we've got the momentum now," he said.

A combined Massachusetts-Strauss team easily captured the freshman title with seven individual victories.