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Sampson looks past Chandler to Tempe, McClintockBy KEN RYAN Sun SportswriterDave Sampson is about as subtle as a slap in the face. Ask him a question and he gives you a direct, honest answer. Strictly meat and potatoes. He is not happy that his Kofa wrestling team must travel to Chandler Thursday night (7:30) for a match with the Wolves.Bad timing, he says.The Kings have a crucial double-dual meet Saturday (alongwith Yuma) against No. 1-rated Tempe and McClintock in the Yuma gym, so they don’t need any distractions. And a distraction is just what Sampson, Kofa’s head coach, deems the Chandler match. The importance of it, in Sampson’s view, lies somewhere between little and none.“How can you get fired-up for Chandler,” asks Sampson, visibly annoyed. “They’re terrible.”But rather than totally disregard the Chandler match, Sampson allows that it could be a “tuneup”for Saturday. Still, the thought of it, the long bus trip there and back, the missed practice time, leaves a sour taste in Sampson’s mouth. “I'd rather not make the trip at all, he said. “I’d like to have a whole week to get ready for Tempe and McClintock.”There are a few changes in the Kofa lineup. Victor Alvarez, 107 pounds, will replace freshman Randy Harmon, who filled in admirably during Alvarez’ absence; Craig Labistre and Carmello Perezwill be contending for the 114-pound class; the 140-pound class, which is wide open, is undecided for Thursday, as is 193 where Tony Badilla is still recovering from a severe cut on his finger. Sampson lists Badilla as “a question mark” for Thursday, but says Badilla should be ready for Tempe and McClintock.“I’m glad to have Alvarez back, he’ll help our lineup,” said Sampson. “The important thing is that he gets enough matches so he gets his fine tuning down. The Kings are coming off last Friday’s hard-fought 30-28 loss to highly-touted Coronado. A week earlier, the Dons were within two matches of knocking off Tempe. “I was definitely pleased with the Way we wrestled. We’re definitely improving, said Sampson. “I don't think we've peaked yet. We’ve had different guys pick up the slack at dif.'erent meets, but we haven’t had everybody put it together at once But we’ll have to wrestle to the best of our ability to beat Tempe, there’s no doubt about it.”
Newspaper Details
Yuma Sun
Yuma, Arizona, US
Wed, Jan 23, 1980
Page 19
Full Page
Clipped by
Jenny J.
USA 28 Jan 2025
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