Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 30, 1992 TAG: 9201300470
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PHYLLIS A. FAIR SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
WRESTLING WITH SUCCESS
THEIR wrestling styles are as diverse as waltzing and break dancing, but their results are always the same - successful.Lord Botetourt's 125-pounder Dan Sell and 152-pounder Bryan Anderson approach wrestling from different angles, and they use those differences to defeat their opponents.
"Bryan has a stubborn mindset, and it carries over to his wrestling," said Cavaliers coach Mark Agner. "Dan has to outthink and outhustle you.
"Bryan is just a brawler. He'll mix it up and beat you down. He's real determined to win. He reminds me of the people who used to wrestle 20 years ago - real determined, gutsy, strong and arrogant at times.
"Dan is the opposite. He's not very strong, physically, but real intelligent. He's a strategist. He'll outmaneuver people. Dan's whole game is to maneuver and position."
Sell said he knows he is not going to win matches on strength because of his size.
"I'm pretty much skin and bones. I'm not a powerhouse," he said. "I got to use my brain more. Any match is sort of like a war. You have to plan out your strategy and get ready to make a big move. If he goes on the defensive, then you go on the offensive side."
Where Sell is an extrovert, Anderson is the strong, silent type with tons of brawn.
"He's a hard-nose kid. He's real physical, always attacking," said Brookville coach Paul Anthony. "He's hard to get away from. After a match, he makes you feel like you've been through a war. He leaves a lot of bumps and bruises on you."
While at Lord Botetourt, Sell and Anderson have had numerous successes.
Sell, a junior, is up two weight classes from 112 pounds a year ago, when he compiled a 19-9 record and was the Blue Ridge District runner-up. He also placed third in Region III, and he has a cumulative record of 48-18-1.
This season he is undefeated with a 15-0 record, and he beat Franklin County's Daniel Gearhart 4-3 to win the Big Orange Classic this month.
Sell said he felt particularly happy winning the Big Orange because it was only the second major tournament he has won. He won the Salem Iron Man in December.
"I've been going to the Big Orange since 1980. I always wanted to win it," he said. "My brother [Joe] had won it at 112. I was proud because I had won it."
Because of the way Sell has dominated his competition, William Fleming coach George Miller says wait until next year.
"He'll be totally awesome next year," he said.
While Sell's accomplishments are impressive, they haven't reached Anderson's level.
Last year Anderson had a 24-2 record, which included a third district title. He was the Region III runner-up, and he finished in third place in the state tournament.
Anderson also won the Big Orange.
Last year Anderson beat William Byrd's Brian Proctor 9-4 to win the Big Orange 152-pound championship.
This year as the defending champion, Anderson said, there was pressure to repeat his feat. He almost pulled it off, but Cave Spring's Todd Doughty beat him 3-2 in the final.
The loss was especially hard, Anderson said, because he had hopes of finishing his senior season with a perfect record.
"Since I've been wrestling, I wanted one undefeated season," he said. "It took me a day and a half to get it [the match] out of my head. If I had lost by five points, then I know I was dominated, but one point difference means I could have done something different."
Even with the loss, Anderson is 13-1 and has a cumulative record of 64-18-3. He is favored to win the district again this year and go on to the state tournament.
The loss does not refute the fact that Anderson is an excellent wrestler, Miller said.
In fact, Miller said, Anderson and Sell have exceptional ability, and the coach expects they will do well at the state tournament.
"Win, lose or draw, people will know they've been in a match with those guys," Miller said.
The reason they excel is the extra time they put into the sport, Agner said.
During the off-season, Anderson and Sell compete in tournaments inside and outside Virginia.
This past summer Anderson went to wrestling camp at the University of Iowa. In the past 16 years, the Hawkeyes have won 12 NCAA titles, including nine in a row.
"I spent every bit of my college saving to go to the Iowa camp," Anderson said. "It was worth it because it gave me the feeling I had been with the best."
Anderson said he hopes to be among the best again this fall when he enters the U.S. Marine Corps, and he hopes he can make the Marine team.
Miller said what makes Anderson so good is his competition at tournaments and camps like the one in Iowa and his tenacious assertiveness.
"Anderson is an animal," he said. "He's superaggressive. He'll go after people. He's always conscious of what he's doing. He's the aggressive type of person you want on your team."
Sell, on the other hand, is more methodical. He uses his finesse and technical skills to compensate for lack of bulk, Anthony said.
"In wrestling a lot of times the strongest wrestler doesn't always win," he said. "Most of the time the thinking wrestler will win. The kid who stays in good position scores the most points with a lot less effort. He very seldom makes mistakes."
Although they are as opposite as a Shakespearean sonnet and a rap, Anderson and Sell have a bond:
They are overachievers, wanting to be the best and doing everything they can to get there.
"I would like to place in the state this year and maybe win it next year," Sell said.
Said Anderson: "I want it all. I want to win the state.
"There's not a secret formula for hard work. When you lose, you got to take it to heart. You don't learn much by winning. You learn by losing, if you don't you keep losing.
"It's like asking a mountain climber why he climbs mountains - because it's there."
NOTE: See microfilm for statistics.