Originally appeared in the August 15, 2010 issue of Amateur Wrestling News.

Ron Good was a longtime editor for Amateur Wrestling News and received the Order of Merit award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016.

By Ron Good

It’s always fun for me to look back at an old classic wrestling match from the past. This particular one was of special interest to me at the time.

Rewind to December 7, 1965, an early dual at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania between Oklahoma and Lehigh. The 123-pound. Match featured Lehigh legend and National Wrestling Hall of Fame Distinguished Member Mike Caruso vs. Oklahoma sophomore Bryan Rice. You see, Rice was a teammate of mine at John Marshall High School in Oklahoma City. Or better said, I Was a teammate of Rice! He was about as fast as they come. I spent a lot of time watching him zip around for countless takedowns in practice.

Caruso was the defending national champion for the Engineers and on his way to three titles.

“Yes, I remember Bryan Rice,” recalled Caruso in a June phone conversation. “I remember that night. I almost lost at home. I thought I was wrestling a decent match, but looked up and it was 3-2. Then it was 4-3. I guess I escaped with narrow win. I said to myself; just let me get out of here with one in the win column”

Caruso jumped out to an early lead, and held on for a 6-5 win.

Rice would win three Big 8 Conference titles for the late Hall of Fame coach Tommy Evans.

“He was cat quick and a good competitor,” Caruso. said. “I recall there were several outstanding wrestlers in our weight class that year.”

One was Army’s Bob Steenlage who beat Rice at nationals. In fact, Steenlage was the only wrestler to beat Caruso in college.

“Steenlage was one of the biggest lightweights I've ever seen,” said Rice teammate Wayne Wells, a 1972 Olympic champion. “I remember during weigh-ins at nationals, I thought he (Steenlage) was in the wrong line!”

Sooner Wells wrestled 152 pounds the night of the Lehigh-Oklahoma match and said Rice’s performance gave the team a great start even though he lost.

“Bryan wrestled the defending national champion close,” Wells said. “It was a tough crowd. The fans were right there almost 100 close to the mat. We couldn’t even sit down. It was a very tough environment.”

There was a reason they called the old Grace Hall the snake-pit.

Oklahoma won the dual 20-8 with three John Marshall high school wrestlers in the
lineup - Rice, Wells, and 145-pounder Dickie Haxel.

So what did Bryan Rice remember about the match?

“Everything happened so fast. 1 recall thinking the match lasted about a minute. He had a great fireman’s carry. He could work that move from many different angles. He tried it several times, but somehow I stayed out of it.

“I was certainly in awe of him, but I was happy I wrestled a good match. I thought I was pretty good as a sophomore and had a lot of confidence. I had several opportunities to run around him, but just didn’t get it done. It was a heck of a match.”