Here is what people don't realize about Jimmy Carr in regards to his collegiate career at Kentucky (his brother Fletcher coached there and both Jimmy and Joe wrestled, and AA'ed, for Kentucky - this was at a time when only 6 wrestlers made AA. Joe was a two-time AA in 75 and 76 taking 3rd at 167 both years. Jimmy AA'ed in 1977 taking 5th. The 1975 Championships, 74/75 School Year, was Jimmy's first year of competition. He was seeded 2nd going into the tournament, but aggravated his knee injury in one of the last matches of the season - he was undefeated going into the match I believe. In any event, he lost in the Champ Quarters, but wrestled through winning his R12 match, but losing his Consi-Quarter. He would have AA'ed under current format and wrestled OU's Nelson for 7th/8th.). I don't believe Jimmy even wrestled NCAA in 1976 (i.e., 75/76 school year) as he was focusing on Freestyle and an effort to again make the 1976 Olympic Team. He AA'ed in 1977. I believe he quit wrestling after the 1977 NCAA Season as his body was just completely beat up and slowed from wrestling the much more "physical" International Freestyle discipline - against adults twice his age - from the age of approximately 12.
Many don't realize this, but Jimmy ripped up his knee just prior to, and training for, the 1976 Olympics - he probably shouldn't have even gone, but he never let the US Olympic Committee know how serious his injury was because he wanted to go so bad. He re-aggrevated that knee his Freshman year at Kentucky just before the NCAA Tournament (he went into the 1975 NCAA Tournament seeded #2). Jimmy never really focused on mat wrestling when he went to Kentucky because his only ambition was to rejoin the 1976 Olympic Team and back then, there was no OTC - the only way you could train at that age was to join an NCAA Program. Again, he didn't even wrestle NCAA in 75/76 school year opting for International Freestyle events in an effort to make US Olympic Team - he took 2nd at the 1976 Olympic Trials and didn't make the team. At the 1972 Olympics, Carr had seriously hurt his leg just prior to competition, but went anyway - then at the Olympics, Carr dislocated his shoulder in an early round match, but continued to wrestle the tournament. He did not medal, but refused to medically forfeit.
After the finishing 2nd in the 1976 US Olympic Trials, Jimmy returned to Kentucky and wrestled the 1976/1977 school year (i.e., 1977 NCAA Championships). He was a shell of his former self having wrestled the extremely physical International Freestyle circuit at the highest levels for almost 10 years at this point. He ended up taking 5th place and he called his career quits at that point having only wrestled 2 years of NCAA eligibility (but having made the 1972 Olympic Team and finishing 2nd at the 1976 Olympic Team Trials) - his body was broken and hobbled after after a decade of elite-level International Competition (and having 6 children & a wife at the time I believe) at an age where most NCAA guys would only be initiating their International Freestyle careers at the elite level.
