https://therecord-online.com/site/a...OTYj9YYQ2GnkwYtxuksENT7K1I1YctySA5cFBkO88Utks
Great wrestler and a great guy. Went to elementary and high school with Jerry. He wrestled, I played football. Worked on his families farm one summer baling hay. Back in those days, LHHS was a very good District 6 team and had many great battles with BEN, Penns Valley, Bellefonte, etc. The 1961 team was very good winning 4 state championships in 10 weight classes. Given what we saw in Detroit, seems a little Penn Stateish
. Hoping to see Jerry at our 60th reunion in May.
I was at the '61 state championships at Rec Hall. Lock Haven won 4 of 12 titles (not 10). That was one of the greatest states I ever attended. I was in 8th grade. Several went on to have outstanding NCAA careers, including Jerry Swope. Almost every winner was outstanding. (Except the one kid who won from my high school. He was kinda boring, to be honest.)
I thought it was cool that Jerry Swope and Gary Cook met each other in the NCAA consolation finals. I think Swope won. 2 guys from the same school. Pretty cool.
Bob Kopnisky from Shaler won Nationals for Maryland. Jim Nance of Indiana was 2x NCAA Champ for Syracuse. Mike Johnson was a finalist, but gassed big time in the finals (sucking too much weight imo).
1) Mike Johnson was kinda the god of wrestling in PA by '61. He was a 4xer.
2) The PIAA created the unlimited division for Jim Nance. He was one of the best wrestlers in the state and didn't have a weight class. (that was '60 I guess)
3) At a company I was consulting with pre-covid, a guy there wrestled for Clearfield in the late '50s. I asked if he knew Mike Johnson. He said, "Little Mikey. Sure. I beat his brother." Little Mikey? And I thought he was a god (see above).
I had a friend who lost to Lee Dietrich of Lock Haven in the semi's. He had Dietrick in a headlock for the last 10 seconds and got no points. I still think he was screwed, but it allowed Lock Haven to win 4 titles.
The post I quoted said there were 10 weight classes, and in reality there were 12 weight classes. But the was a 13th weight class slipped in as well. Believe it our not, it was 85 pounds! District 7 still was carrying that weight class in '61, so the WPIAL finalists, I think, had an exhibition bout at states. I was wrestling 85 pounds Jr Hi at the time. I remember insisting that "I could beat that kid." Yeah, right.
Lockhavenlion3:
A question that's been bugging me forever about Lock Haven. I was told that along with 4 state champs, all of whom placed at Nationals, there was a 5th LH wrestler who qualified for Nationals but didn't make states.
AND, I was also told that even with 4 state champs, LH didn't win their league.
Is any of that true?