The Santa Rosa Junior College wrestling team has a brand new look with 20 new faces and eight returners hitting the mat in 2014. Team co-captain sophomore Richard Morris and freshman Freddy Duerr, a former SRJC football player, are both recovering from injuries and looking to make their mark this year.
Morris, a Santa Rosa High School graduate, is returning to the team after two years off from athletics to concentrate on his mathematics major.
He began wrestling six years before coming to SRJC, where he has always to be.
In 2011, Morris competed for the Bear Cubs, placing seventh in the State Championships.
“Morris is really strong for his weight and good at riding legs,” said Daniel Larman, a former wrestler for the team.
“He’s fast and knows what he is doing,” said Isai Guzman, who wrestled for the team last year. “He has a good chance of winning State.”
It hasn’t been an easy comeback for him this year, battling neck and knee injuries, but neither adversity has stopped him from becoming one of the best wrestlers in the state once again. With a 9-1 record, Morris sits fifth in California Community College Wrestling team and individual rankings.
Head coach Jake Fitzpatrick said Morris should be ready to go in the second half of the season. “As long as he is healthy, he should have a good finish,” Fitzpatrick said.
When Morris is not wrestling, you can find him outdoors, often fishing.
“It’s something that is both exciting and relaxing,” Morris said. “Every fishing trip is an adventure for me. It’s always nice to get out and explore.”
On the weekends he loves watching TV, mainly sports. The Oakland A’s and the Oakland Raiders are his favorite teams.
“He’s a good team captain,” said Duerr. “Every match he gives it 100 percent.”
Morris is a family man, whose entire family drives him to pursue his dreams.
His father, who especially plays a big part in his life, keeps Morris going.
“He’s my support. I don’t know what I’d do without that guy,” he said.
After his final year on the SRJC team, he is set on transferring to Oregon State.
Another star on the wrestling team this year is Duerr, who graduated from Montgomery High School in 2008. Duerr then made his way to SRJC where he strapped on a helmet for the football team in 2009.
After one season playing for the Bear Cubs, Duerr transferred to San Francisco State University and graduated in three years, and is now working on his master’s degree in kinesiology online through Fresno Pacific University. He he wants to teach at SRJC or another institution that will hire him.
Duerr came back to SRJC to join the wrestling team after graduating. He just couldn’t stay away, he said, because he loves sports, having been a student-athlete his whole life.
“Freddy is a fresh man for wrestling,” Guzman said. “He’s strong and a good wrestler.”
Like Morris, Duerr has had some minor setbacks. Earlier this season he sprained his knee, which affected his conditioning and led to a slow season start with only six matches under his belt, while his teammates have competed in 15-18 matches.
Even though Duerr is behind this year, Fitzpatrick is confident in his skills. “He has great ability, a great background from his high school wrestling days and I think he’s going to do pretty well here when it comes to the end of the season,” he said.
Duerr credits his brother for getting him into wrestling at a young age, saying that wrestling is his true calling.
“Wrestling has been a part of my life since I was a little kid,” Duerr said.
During free time, Duerr loves to relax, eat, exercise, work out, ride dirt bikes and snowboard.
“Snowboarding is my winter activity to relax with friends,” Duerr said.
Currently Duerr has won an honorable mention in the 197-pound class for the CACC rankings in the state of California.
Both Morris and Duerr have brought some new energy on the 2014 team despite the fact that many of the wrestlers from last year are redshirting or have moved on.
The Bear Cubs’ next wrestling meet will be at 9 a.m. Nov. 1 at the Lassen Invitational in Reno.
