Sia at the Game

There may be no other Harvard coach as frustrated as wrestling mentor John Lee. In the fall practices, he had a team that looked like contenders for the Eastern championship. Now with less than ten days left in the regular season, Lee's squad may finish with a losing record.

"I'm not sure what happened," Lee said Tuesday. "The guys look great in the practice room. They're always working hard. They have no problems with morale.

"The thing I can't figure out is why the guys look worse in the meets. I know they can give a good performance, but a lot of the guys just don't wrestle to their potential."

The Crimson's schizoid wrestlers include five freshmen who came to Harvard with a plethora of well-deserved athletic credentials. So far, none of the freshmen--Bill Haley (126), Mitch Silverman (126), Ty Richardson (134), George Baker (142) and Jim Strathmeyer (177)--has had a winning season.

"Stage Fright"

Lee said in December that the freshmen suffered from "stage fright." He hoped the first three or four matches would snap the grapplers out of it, but after the team's eleventh meet last Saturday, Lee admitted he calculated wrong. "They may still be adjusting to college-level wrestling," he said. "I hope they do better next year."

Baker and Strathmeyer began to show late improvement in matches against Maine and MIT when they both evened their records, 5-5. But after the Maine and MIT wins, they both fell to Princeton opponents by committing several crucial errors. Lee said he has "faith" in Baker and Strathmeyer, but "can't rely 100 per cent on winning at 142 and 177."

Lee can't rely on winning at 150 or 158 either. Sophomore Mike Dee (150) and Junior Rock Hinkel (158) are winless. Dee, a three-time Indiana high school champ, frustrates Lee. "He works so damn hard in practice. He can win; I know he can," Lee said. "I don't know what happens to him in the meets."

Sophomore John Keough reduced from 167 to 158 pounds to replace Hinkel but was too weak in his first two matches to salvage any wins. Yet Lee remains optimistic that Keough will snare some wins at 158 before the season ends.

Weak at Heavyweight

The other weak spot in the Crimson lineup is at heavyweight. Carl Culig traded duties with Paul Downing early in the season and the two compiled a 2-6 record before Downing left school for National Guard duty. Culig, who often encounters oversized opponents, now has trouble keeping off his back. Lee hoped Ohio state high school wrestling champ Bob Kristoff would turn out after football for heavy, but Kristoff chose to devote more time to studies.

Throughout the season, Lee has been happy with the performance of what he calls his "solid core of wrestlers"--Dan Blakinger (118), Carl Biello (134) and team captain Richie Starr (190). They are the only consistent performers on the squad and have pulled off impressive victories against top-ranked grapplers in the East. Bruce Johnson (167) has his share of losses, but has copped key wins in difficult meets.

"We have the toughtest wrestling schedule in Harvard's history," Lee said. "I guess we haven't been able to make the most of it. We're in a rebuilding year. We have a young, talented team. It's frustrating as hell."