February 25–The Brook goes wild as we win the Ivy League championship with five Ivy League Champions. Plans for making Mr. Marshall a national hero are discussed.

~ Daily Grind excerpt from Res Gestae 1961

On this day 54 years ago, the wrestling squad won the program’s third Ivy League Championship to cap a dominant 8-0-1 season. The Blue and White were able to win their first Ivy Title since 1955 thanks to the efforts of five individual champions: Warren Hannas, Ronnie Race, Jack Leax, Louis Szabados, and Geoff Woods. Dick Kuo, Dennis Daiker, and Read McLean each helped the cause by finishing runner-up in their weight classes while Dick Pierce and Jeff Sawyer earned points by finishing third and fourth, respectively.

The most exciting match of the afternoon was Woods’ victory over Bob Stetson of St. Paul’s. The two grapplers were knotted at 4-4 after regulation, then 2-2 after overtime. The result was decided by the referees who voted unanimously for Woods. Race also won a thrilling match in which he summersaulted in order to gain a reversal. The daring move gave him the win. Hannas and Szabados made strong runs to their individual crowns, pinning every single one of their opponents.

It was fitting that our team should win the tournament this year seeing that there were so many seniors on the squad. At the beginning of the season, Coach Dodd told them that they could be champions, and they took it to heart and worked hard toward that end. It paid off.

~ March, 1961 Blue and White

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