Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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V. GAMECOCK TRIVIA George Rogers holds the Gamecock football record for single season and career varrlfi until 1 AQi anrl ^ 904. yards. But who holds the record for most yards in a single game? Track < * WBKf w" HI Special to The Gamecock Kevin Mannon will represent USC at the I\CAA Track Championship in the hammer, discus and shot put. 1-2 Former USC foe set to make W PWAYNE MCLEMORE Sports Editor If professional wrestling is like baseball, Columbia's Del Wilkes has made it to the major leagues. Wilkes, 35, has signed a three-year contract with the World Wrestling Federation, considered to be one of the country's "big two" wrestling promotions. The Irmo High and University of South Carolina graduate has been wrestling professionally since 1988, and his contract with the WWF begins June 9. There's a goodjriiance hell appear on the company's Raw Is War television program June 9. And according to his wife, Theresa, he is most likely to be wrestling as a heel, or bad guy. Playing a mean character will be nothing new for the former USC football _i 1 J.?c ??????? piayer, Wliu suuieu IUI 1UU1 acaauua between 1980 and 1984. Wilkes battled on the offensive line for the Gamecocks, including the memorable 1984 team that finished 10-2. Something he isn't mean about is the terms of his contract, which could pay him more than $750,000 over the three-year period, and possibly close to $1 million. Tm excited about it and look at it as a sense of accomplishment," he said. "I think the WWF is the best wrestling organization in the country." Wilkes has gained much of his notoriety in the wrestling world working SPORTS ON JUNE II SP >ff to N< DWAYIVE MCLEMORE Sports Editor While most students have settled jobs and internships, several members < teams have something else on their NCAA Championship. Sixteen members of the men's and \ team head to Bloomington, Ind., Wedz NCAA Outdoor Championship, two! team sent last year. The competition: Saturday. Representing the men's team will be 1 (shot put, hammer, discus), Jason LaBai Mattias Ohlsson (hammer), Jeff Shalaj Marvin Watts (800 meters), and Corey ] Mays, Jamie Price and Jamaal William Tferry Cousin-alternate). And for the women, Dawn Eller discus, shot put), Lisa Misipeka (har shot put), Crystal Brownlee (shot put), C (javelin), Erin Narzinski (heptathlon), Ux 1-3! )tball star Wilkes WF ring debut as The Patriot, a masked character dressed in red, white and blue. He equates his road to success to that of a major league baseball player, who works Ids way through the minors to get to the big leagues. And that road hasn't always been smooth. "Sometimes the strumrle to eet to the top seems more fun than when you actually get there," Wilkes said. After NFL tryouts didn't work out, Wilkes wanted to be more active than his job as a salesman would allow. He had often discussed becoming a wrestler with friends. So, he decided to turn his fantasy into reality. He got his start in the business in 1988 with Ail-American Promotions in Columbia, run by legendary women's wrestler, The Fabulous Moolah. Wilkes remembers his first match in Hampton, wrestling as one half of the tag team The Masked Grapplers. He estimated that 15 people were at the event, and two were his parents. "I even had a mask on then," he said. "Maybe someone was trying to tell me to hide that ugly face." Wilkes spent the early years of his wrestling career working other jobs with his wife to supplement his income. And his first big break came when he was discovered by the American Wrestling Association, a fairly large promotion out of Minneapolis, Minn. The AWA gave him national exposure S Catch up with the 1997 Game nn CAAs aft (400 meters) and Charmaine H into summer L )f USD's tmrlr ^Uerbe was the only Gam* minds-the in an event at last year's N hammer title. vomen's track competition comes abc lesday for the Gamecocks turned in a solid p less than the Outdoor Championship. Th runs through home third place, with Florida the men finished fifth, with i fevin Manncn The highlights of the weel "bera (javelin), three SEC titles and two recoi 'da (shot put), three titles for the men. Bridges, Shah Narzinski won the womei 3 (4x100 relay, a school record with 5,607 po 2:21.55 in the 800 meters put be (hammer, "I have a little touch-up v imer, discus, but I'm looking forward to it,' andy Mitchell Misipeka won the hamme rique Williams record with a throw of 206 fe ! i Del Wilkes stands beside a Japanei professionally since 1988 after playin on ESPN when he wrestled as The h( Hooper, a highway patrolman character, ve He became The Patriot when he hi entered the Global Wrestling Federation w< in 1991, during Operation Desert Storm, si He took the character to All Japan w Pro Wrestling, where he spent about two years. He signed a two-year contract 2t with World Championship Wrestling in 1994, the first he'd ever signed, for to $156,000 a year. But, he grew unhappy sa with management and walked out with fiv about six months left on his contract, as Wilkes returned to All Japan, where m icock football team re er soli dwell (400,800 meters) the ma second icock to take first place Bro CAAs, capturing the the sho thirdS nit two weeks after the "No erformance at the SEC BrownL e women's team took the titl t winning the title, and Wil Arkansas taking first. 400 me tend for USC included Howell rds for the women and the jav< herthi] i's heptathlon, setting For ints. Her lifetime best Commi ; her over the top. scores 1 irork before nationals, weeker ' Narzinski said. 6.75 ini r title, setting the SEC finishe et, 7 inches, breaking f! ma ..r^Ao^lSMAT outoimI In lata I 9c wrcbujul^ mttsu u mjuk uuo g football for Carolina betwi ; has been ever since. He has b ly happy with the organization, wi is brought him to Japan for thi sek "tours," during which he wres l days a week. He alternates the tc ith three weeks at home. "It's been a good job because I i weeks of vacation a year," he si But Wilkes will soon be adjust the schedule of the WWF, which id will have him wrestling foui e times a week. And it is still uncen to whether or not hell be wearir ask, although he doesn't want GAMECOCK FALL SPORTS As the temperatures cool off, four Gamecock teams will be heating up: the football, volleyball, and men and women's soccer teams. Keep an eye on OAML^U^R. sruitTS lor previews off these exciting teams. idSECs rk set by Ellerbe in 1996. Ellerbe finished at 203 feet, 11 inches. wnlee broke her own mark set last year in t put with a throw of 55 feet, 4.75 inches, her EC title in four tries. it winning indoors made me push harder," % said. 'This one feels good because I reclaimed e." liams ran a school-record 52.15 seconds in the sters, finishing second. The 800 meters saw take second with a school- record 2:03.84. In ilin, Mitchell's toss of 157 feet, 2 inches placed rd. the men, Mannon brought home the coveted issioner's Trophy, awarded to the male who the most points. Mannon's accolades for the id included SEC titles in the shot put (62 feet, ches) and discus (187 feet, 2 inches). He also d second in the hammer at 217 feet, 1 inch. TRACK page 14 K ; _ Ij dRlB y ^B \j tigg . t:.!^ ?w H ^^t\i T?& t&SI vB? tH H DWAYNE MCLEMORE The Gamecock Colombia home. Wilkes has wrestled pen 1980 and 1984. een IBs wife has always been his biggest lich supporter. And with the recent birth of *ee- their fourth child, she is glad he'll be ties wrestling in the U.S. again, wis Wilkes hopes to remain in wrestling as long as he can remain healthy, with got no specific age set for retirement. As aid. he recalls the roads he has taken to get ing to the major leagues, Wilkes is content i he with the choices he's made, r or "Overall, what I thought I could tain achieve, I have," he said. "And if I had ig a to go back and do it all again, Fd do it to. all the same way."