IN THE BEST SHAPE OF HIS LIFE; VENTURA'S SMITHSON COMPETING FOR WORLD WRESTLING TITLE AT 41.Byline: Nevin Barich Nevin Barich (born August 6, 1979) is a former American sports journalist now working as the Senior Editor of The National Notary, a trade magazine based in Los Angeles with a circulation of more than 300,000 nationwide. Staff Writer Call John Henry Smithson the George Foreman George Edward Foreman (born January 10, 1949) is an American two-time World Heavyweight Boxing Champion. He is the oldest man ever to win the heavyweight title, and also has been named one of the 25 greatest fighters of all time by Ring magazine. of the wrestling world. It had been eight years since Smithson last wrestled, yet in 1992 he decided to step onto the mat again. He was looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. some fun. Seven years later, Smithson, a 41-year-old Ventura resident, is on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of the mountaintop moun·tain·top n. The summit of a mountain. . He'll be competing at the Freestyle Masters World Championships in Romania Sept. 2-6. Smithson is competing in the 128-pound weight class in the 40-45 age group. ``I think I have a chance,'' said Smithson, who works as an assistant coach for the Ventura High wrestling team. ``I think I really have an outside shot. I'm in pretty good shape for an old guy.'' In 1988, Smithson thought he was through with wrestling for good. After coaching the wrestling team at Buena High, his alma mater, for five years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time school hired a new coach. For the next four years, Smithson kept away from the sport that had been a part of his life for 15 years. But then two things happened. First, Paul Clemente, the wrestling coach at Ventura High, asked Smithson to be his assistant. And second, Smithson, a lover of boxing, saw fighters like Foreman at the apex of his comeback and ageless Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes (born November 3, 1949 in Cuthbert, Georgia) is a former world heavyweight boxing champion. don the gloves again. So he too decided to try competing again to see if he could recapture some past glory. ``It's really an inspiration,'' said Trevor Clocherty, who wrestled under Smithson at Ventura High until graduating last June. ``It just totally pushes you and it really motivates you when you see what he's doing. It's great because he's older. He's still going after his dreams.'' After getting himself back into shape by competing in small tournaments sponsored by the Tri-County Wrestling Association, Smithson surprised himself and a few others by winning the California Greco Roman Wrestling Roman Wrestling appears to have been an import of Greek Wrestling. However, the Romans seem to have scorned the nudity of the Greeks, and adopted loincloths. In the Northern reaches of the Empire, where the climate was colder, fully clothed versions may have been the precursors to Title in 1996. This past June, egged on by Clemente and his wrestlers, Smithson competed in the Veteran Nationals in Seattle. There, he beat every wrestler in his weight class to win the national championship and make himself eligible for world honors come September. ``I think it's fantastic,'' said Hector Martinez, who was coached by Smithson at Buena High from 1984-88. ``I've only seen him improve with time. Most guys just fade away Verb 1. fade away - become weaker; "The sound faded out" dissolve, fade out change state, turn - undergo a transformation or a change of position or action; "We turned from Socialism to Capitalism"; "The people turned against the President when he stole the as they get older, but if anything he's gotten stronger. He's in the best shape I've ever seen him.'' Smithson started racking up wrestling accolades in the mid 1970s. In 1976, as a 115-pound senior, he won the California High School California High School (commonly referred to as Cal High) is a public school located in San Ramon, California, a suburb of San Francisco, Oakland, and Silicon Valley. Its mascot is a Grizzly Bear. The school's newspaper is The Californian which is published monthly. Wrestling Championship. After competing at Long Beach State for the 1977-78 season, Smithson transferred to Cal State Bakersfield. There, in 1980, he finished sixth at the Far Western Freestyle Nationals in San Francisco. Three years later, he won the California Open Freestyle Championship. After graduating from Bakersfield in 1984, Smithson becamethe wrestling coach at Buena, leading the team to a Channel League title in 1986. He helped lead another team to the Channel League title when Ventura captured it last season. At the world championships next month, he's gearing up to take on 43-year-old defending champion Ali Reza Pabir of Iran. ``I think I can beat him,'' Smithson said. ``But right now, I'm just working hard and concentrating on doing well in this tournament.'' John Henry Smithson: One for the ageless. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1 - Ran in Conejo only) John Henry Smithson of Ventura is competing at the Freestyle Masters World Championships next week in Romania. (2 - Ran in Conejo and Simi only) no caption (John Henry Smithson) Michael Owen Baker/Staff photographer |
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