Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, July 9, 1990                   TAG: 9007090076
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

FAMILY STRIKES GOLD, SILVER AND BRONZE

And just about everywhere they went, they won medals.

Villorente, his wife, his sister, two nieces and two nephews competed in the four-day State Games, which ended Sunday. Six of the seven won medals - a total of nine - in archery, karate and synchronized swimming.

And the Portsmouth resident's 15-year-old niece, Candy Villorente, missed a bronze by only .05 point Saturday in the Level 8 gymnastics uneven bars competition.

"I was really down because Candy didn't win one," Villorente said Sunday as he shot his way toward a gold with his recurve bow at the archery field in Salem. "But we did all right. We'll be back next year."

Villorente's brother-in-law, Joe Jesolva, also was involved in the State Games as a karate official. He is a black belt in the sport.

"It's nice this is something the whole family can do together," Jesolva said while watching his brother-in-law hit the bull's eye repeatedly. "It's kind of funny that we go this far to all get together."

Villorente's wife, Leela, won a silver medal in archery Sunday. His sister, Zeny Jesolva (Joe's wife), took gold and silver in karate. Jesolva's sons, Johnny and Joey, won a silver and a bronze in karate, respectively. Their sister, Jozenne, won two golds and a silver in synchronized swimming.

Of those competitors, Benny, 41, has been at his sport the longest. A native of the Philippines, Villorente was a U.S. citizen at birth because his father was a naturalized citizen. When he was 17, Benny came to the United States for Navy boot camp in San Diego. Then he spent two years in Vietnam.

Villorente got into archery 11 years ago after he went bow hunting for deer.

"A friend told me we could go hunting 30 days before gun season started," said Villorente, a government ship inspector who checks contractors' work. "I went to K mart and bought a compound bow. Cost me $69."

Now, what Villorente calls "my rig" goes for about $1,000. "I always pack two, just in case," he said.

Villorente is a two-time state champion. The left-hander and Salem's Johnny Grace are the only two Virginians who competed in the 1988 Olympic trials.

While he was concentrating on winning his gold, Villorente also was keeping an eye on his wife's shooting a few yards away at McClelland Street Park in Salem.

"When I bought my first bow, I bought her one, too," he said.

She said, "I wasn't interested at all."

Now, Leela Villorente, like her husband, is a two-time state champion.

"The whole sport is mental," Benny said. "It's nerves. Once your brain breaks down, everything breaks down.

"You shoot in wind, rain, sun, and you have to be able to concentrate. You don't stop in this sport until lightning bolts are seen.

"Once you get the basics of the mechanics, it's a matter of who has the best concentration. The person who can visualize the arrow hitting the bull's eye has taken a big step."

The Villorentes and Jesolvas returned to the coast Sunday evening, their cars a little heavier with those nine medals.

"The family came up here in three cars this weekend," Benny said. "Before we left, we said we wanted to make it a clean sweep. We almost made it."

So, which one of the family is the best at his or her sport.

"I would say me," Benny said with a modest smile. "So far, I'm the only one who's made the Olympic trials."

But Candy, 15, leaves soon for Hungary for another gymnastics meet, then will go to Canada later this summer.