Looks good. One question, what was the story behind Alvarez leaving?
I wonder if he has transfer remorse. IIRC he left before Ol' Johnnie announced his retirement.
There's also Jamill Kelly who I believe never was never a state or NCAA champion but won an Olympic medal. I think that's pretty rare in freestyle, but not 100% sure
Thanks... I remembered an interview where Cassar said he couldn't even qualify for states when he wrestled in high school, but it looks like he qualified and won a title during his senior year
You could also try the yearbook and newspaper route.
I assume Larry appears in the OU yearbook wrestling team & class photos. Hard to tell if he's in the action shots, but there were only 10-14 guys on the roster so your odds aren't too bad.
1958 OU yearbook wrestling p.168-9
1959 OU yearbook wrestling p.340-1 and Varsity Club p.386-7
The OK Historical Society has the 1958-60 yearbooks and might be able to help you pull photos. I imagine there's more wrestling content in the '60 yearbook since OU won the title.
A photo of Larry from his high school days might appear in the Feb 12 1956 issue of The Daily Oklahoman. Your local library may be able to track it down on microfilm.
Good luck. Larry sounded like a great coach for all of his former students to come together like this.
I thought the story was that Lee's dad offered Kizhan Clarke a job opportunity at his law office after their NCAA finals match. He finished law school but idk if he's working there.
Or was Nick also planning on going to law school?
RBY doesn't have a problem with guys who try to muscle him around (like ADS) but doesn't do well against length and speed (Vito, Gross). His gas tank could give Spencer some problems, but I don't believe RBY when he says his cut to 57kg is easy. He looked all right at the Pan Am OGQ but not all right enough to beat a healthy Lee.
Really looking forward to seeing the women get after Japan this summer. If Helen wins gold over Fujinami/Sakurai that would be one hell of a way to cap a career.
He could go to grad school while coaching on the side. That would bring him closer to an administrative career. I think he'll keep competing internationally as long as his body is able to, though.
My feeling is that it would take a deep-pocketed alum or donor more than anything else. Support from the AD and dept is needed of course, but a wealthy booster could make that happen. Would the DT hire have been possible if the Paycom guy wasn't involved?
That would be pretty wild if it were to happen, but would also be a great lesson for guys who default out of WTT/OTT when they're out of the championship side. Finish the tournament, you never know what might happen.