Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 1, 1991 TAG: 9102280175
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-9 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Several Hokies have hopes of qualifying for the NCAA championship March 14-16 at the University of Iowa. To do that, the wrestlers will need to win their weight classes at the Eastern Regional meet this weekend at Liberty University, or place second or third in their weight classes and hope to gain one of six wild-card berths to the nationals.
"That would be a light at the end of the tunnel," said Jerry Cheynet, who has coached the Hokies for 17 years.
The last Hokie to qualify for the national tournament was Jason Diggs in 1983.
The two wrestlers with the best chances to make it to the nationals are Dante Winslow at 150 and Bo O'Dea at 167.
Both have beaten nationally ranked foes this season. Winslow topped No. 7 Thierry Chaney of William and Mary. O'Dea defeated sixth-ranked Kevin Randleman of Ohio State. Winslow, a sophomore, has 34 wins in his two-year career and went 18-6-1 this season.
"This is what we've been training for," said Winslow. "It's what we want to do. This is what we've been waiting for. Everything else has been pre-season."
O'Dea, 21-7-0, led the team in wins. Ironically, the senior tri-captain will enter the regionals after losing for the first time in eight dual matches in the Hokies' season finale.
"I feel pretty confident going in," said O'Dea, who has 63 career wins. "I feel like a monkey is off my back [by losing]. I hadn't lost in a while and I forgot what it felt like to lose. It doesn't feel good.
Others with chances include senior tri-captains heavyweight Baird Kilpatrick (18-7-6) and 158-pounder Lee Culpeper (16-9-2) as well as 118-pound freshman Duke DiJoseph (16-7-1).
"A couple of weeks ago, we sat down - myself, Dante, Bo," said Kilpatrick, who broke Diggs school record with his 49th dual meet win in the season finale. "We decide this was going to be the year we were going to nationals. We decided this was the year we were going to do it."
A Hokie qualifying for the national tournament would help make the fact the squad did not meet its own expectations this year easier to take.
After tying the school record for dual match wins last year with 14, Virginia Tech hoped to break that record this year. Instead, it fell to 9-12 - the first time in five years the team had a losing record.
"At three weight classes we weren't competitive at all," said Cheynet. "We were giving up 15 to 18 [team] points a match. That's a lot of points to recover from."
The 126, 134 and 142-pound weight classes have doomed Virginia Tech. At 142, Ryan Patterson broke an ankle and Pat Craven was injured in an auto accident. Rob Henesy, who wrestled at 134 and later 142, left the team. And 126-pounder Bill Aschenbach suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Thus, the inexperience of the team at some weight classes hindered the Hokies' success.
"I think it took a while for some of the freshmen to get adjusted," said first-year assistant coach Jeff Brooks. "We have five freshmen starting, some out of their optimal weight class. But toward the end [of the season], they realized they had to work harder and they started to work harder."
But this weekend's regional tournament, with its emphasis on individual performance, is a different season. And for Virginia Tech, it is a chance to replace the memories of losing this season with the achievement of a wrestler qualifying for the nationals.
by CNB