John Carroll's rapid ascendency to the top of the Presidents' Athletic Conference in the sport of wrestling reached its pinnacle in 1967.

Two years prior, in their first wrestling season under coach Tony DeCarlo, the Streaks were 2-9. In 1965-66, they were 4-7.

In 1966-67, with just one senior on the squad, captain Stan Obernyer, and no juniors, the Blue Streaks perhaps arrived on the scene as the dominant team earlier than expected.

Not that anyone wearing a Blue and Gold singlet would complain. 

The Carroll News documented the first of 23 consecutive PAC championships in their March 23rd, 1967, issue:

Carroll's constantly improving wrestling squad reached its peak two weeks ago as the Streaks surprised everyone by grabbing the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship.

It was the first mat title for Carroll, which has had a team for only the past three years, all under coach Tony DeCarlo. 

The Streaks landed three individual weight championships, but the winning points came on sophomore Tom Kirchner's decision in the heavyweight consolation match. Carroll was trailing defending champion Washington and Jefferson by one point but the Presidents had no representative at heavyweight. 

So Kirchner's 4-0 verdict over Case's Tom Engle, which he gained on a takedown and riding time gave Carroll a 79-78 edge over W & J for the team title. Third with 55 points was Allegheny, followed by Case Tech with 50, Thiel with 49, Bethany with 13 and Western Reserve with nine. 

Carroll's trio of individual kings was comprised of sophomores John Parsons and Frank Obernyer and freshman Jim Schoen. 

All except Oberneyer drew byes for the quarterfinal round. Frank had little trouble with his initial foe, gaining the 9-1 decision over the 167-pound representative from Bethany. 

He also swept through a semifinals tussle with an 8-2 verdict over his Allegheny foe. Obernyer also led all the way in his championship victory over Case Tech's Terry Nusser, a junior. He posted four takedowns and outlasted Nusser, 11-8.

Parsons started off with an 8-2 decision over Case Tech's 160 pound entry in the semifinals and was also on top all the way in his title victory. Pasrons earned his championship with a 5-0 score over Allegheny's Jim Ruppert, on a takedown, an escape and an edge in riding time.

Schoen also met a Case Tech opponent in his semifinal bout, and came away with a 4-1 decision. 

He was trailing in the battle for the 145-pound crown, 2-0 with senior Ken Miller of Allegheny. Schoen regained the lead quickly, however, and led the rest of the way in gaining an 11-6 verdict. 

Two other Streaks made it to the championship matches. Freshman Don Korb earned a berth with a 5-3 decision over his Thiel opponent in the semis. In the 123-pound finals, he lost to W & J's Tom Benic, a three-time PAC champ. Korb beat Benic earlier this season but this time Benic earned a 4-0 decision on a takedown and riding time.

The other Carroll finalist, Dan Minnis, pinned his semifinal opponent from Bethany in 4:12, but lost 10-3 to the 191-pound champ, Harry Black, an Allegheny junior who has been unbeaten in two years of dual competition. 

Kirchner was one of four consolation winner for the Streaks, who had wrestlers survive the semifinal action in all but one of the 11 weight divisions

Freshman Mike Kelly, at 177 pounds, achieved three pins in his matches, losing only in the semis by a narrow 5-4 decision. He had a fall at 5:51 in the quarterfinals, one at 3:49 in the consolation semifinal and a third at 5:39 over Allegheny's Bull Duda in the finals. 

At 115 pounds, freshman Jim Roberts lost 9-2 in the semifinals, but earned 8-0 and 6-0 shutouts in the consolation bracket, beating W & J's Wayne Peeler in the final. 

Captain Stan Obernyer, Frank's brother and lone senior on the Streak squad, won 5-4 in the quarterfinals, lost 2-1 in overtime in the semis, but beat Allegheny's Dave Leffke, 4-1, in the consolation final at 137 pounds. 

Three members of Carroll's PAC wrestling champions carried the Blue Streaks for the first time to the small college NCAA wrestling championships at Wilkes College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

The trio was Parsons, Frank Obernyer and Minnis. Although none of the three broke through, they started another proud JCU wrestling tradition - wrestlers at the national tournament.