Iolani product captures national wrestling championship
By Dennis Anderson
Advertiser Staff Writer
Vail Minn won a national collegiate wrestling championship a year after his team was cut out from under him.
The Hawai'i Homegrown Report appears every Wednesday. If you know of any Hawai'i athletes at Mainland colleges, give us their names, high schools, colleges and sports. We'll check them out. To reach us: e-mail: dennis@lava.net, sports@honoluluadvertiser.com Dennis Anderson's fax: 236-4195
Minn, a 1997 Iolani graduate from Manoa, had a year of eligibility left when Southern Colorado dropped its men's varsity wrestling program last year.
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It followed dozens of colleges that have cut men's wrestling to balance budgets and/or meet gender equity requirements.
Minn decided to stay at Southern Colorado and graduate, rather than transferring and adding a year to his college time.
Southern Colorado formed a self-financed club team, but there were no other colleges in the Rocky Mountain area to wrestle, so the team members just wrestled each other.
"We couldn't set up anything. We couldn't find any tournaments," Minn told Wrestling USA magazine.
Along came the National Collegiate Wrestling Association, composed mainly of club teams and non-NCAA schools.
Minn won the NCWA's 157-pound national championship — the biggest title of his career — and his team finished fourth in the association championship meet.
It was glory long delayed for Minn. He was the top-seeded 157-pounder at the 1997 Hawai'i high school championships with a 34-2 record, but was stricken with bronchitis/pneumonia a few days before the meet.
He tried to compete, but lost a double overtime decision to the eventual champion.
"He is as tough as a junkyard dog," said his high school coach, Carl Schroers.
FOOTBALL
• Washington State: Quarterback Jason Gesser (St. Louis '98) has committed to play in the 78th Annual East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 11, 2003 at Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco.
Washington State's Mike Price will be head coach of the West team. Gesser said last month that he "probably would" play in the Hula Bowl Feb. 1 on Maui.
VOLLEYBALL
• Southern California: If Josh Day (Kamehameha '99, Hilo) is to start at middle blocker for the Trojans for the third straight year, he will have to overcome the challenge of three taller teammates, new USC head coach Turhan Douglas said. Day is 6 feet 5 and the players who want his spot are 6-7, 6-10 and 6-11, Douglas said.
Day, a high school All-American, "jumps pretty well," however, Douglas said. He can touch 11-5 with a two-step approach. Day led USC in blocking this year with .98 per game. In 2001, he led his team in hitting percentage at .406 and won honorable mention on the All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation team.
