Wrestlers Select Next Year's Captains

Juniors Kip Smith and Milt Yasunaga were elected co-captains for next year's varsity wrestling team at the annual wrestling banquet held last week.

It was the first time in its history that the squad had chosen more than one captain, but coach Johnny Lee said yesterday that he is very pleased with the joint selection.

In addition to his election as co-captain, Smith was named the team's most valuable wrestler.

Smith has started in the heavyweight class for the Crimson ever since his freshman year and has shown incredible improvement during his three year career. He lost 15 of 16 decisions in his disastrous initial campaign, but improved to 8-8 last year. In the season just completed, he turned in a team-leading 11-4 record.

Yasunaga's career, on the other hand, has been marked by consistent success. Wrestling at 126 lbs., he has racked up more than 30 career wins. He was 5-5 as a freshman and last year went 10-3-1 to win the most valuable wrestler award. This season, he was hampered by the flu and a knee injury that kept him out of the Eastern championships. Nevertheless, he finished just behind Smith with a 9-3-1 record.

Several other awards were made at the banquet. Sophomore Jim Corcoran, who finished with a 7-5-1 record and two pins at 158 lbs., was named the most improved member of the team.

Each year, several awards for "second effort" are given in the memory of John Emrie, a former Harvard wrestler who drowned in the Colorado River.

Generally, they have been awarded to members of the J.V. squad, but Harvard wrestled very few J.V. matches this year. So, two varsity lettermen, sophomore Tom Bixby and blind freshman Ed Bordley, received the award.