Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 7, 1992 TAG: 9202070151
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-13 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Ray Cox
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
NEW PULASKI WRESTLING COACH HAS TOUGH IMAGE, TOUGH JOB
The finest hours of Pulaski County High wrestling had come and gone prior to this year.The Cougars limped into the current season low on numbers and short on equipment.
Furthermore, they had chronic problems with stiff necks, the product of looking up to Roanoke Valley District ruffians Franklin County and William Fleming.
And they had a new head coach.
Freddie Blevins, who replaced Tommy Hale, is new to Cougars wrestling.
But he's no rookie.
Nor is he a pushover, as could be expected from a two-time Virginia state champion who spent his formative years in the Great White North.
To further strengthen his tough-guy credentials (not that he needed to), he is in charge of the new Pulaski County alternative education program. Blevins, 42, helped with the organization of the program for students who have been identified as being in danger of dropping out of school or otherwise having problems.
The program started in the fall.
Certainly, working with such an academic program is a challenge. So is reinvigorating Pulaski County wrestling, which is down to 14 athletes this year.
"When we started, we had a poor turnout and the mat was almost worn out," he said. "Now, [Pulaski County Principal] Dr. [Thomas] Debolt has seen to it that we have a new mat, we have a new wrestling club, and things are looking better.
"In two or three years, we'll be competitive with the Franklin Counties and William Flemings."
An optimistic view, for sure. But such an outlook on life isn't unusual for one who's done everything from wrestling in the brutal Big Eight Conference, to competing in the 1972 Olympic Trials to working and coaching in the harsh frontier of Alaska.
It's been a long and twisty road for a man who grew up right here in Pulaski County, attending both Dublin and Pulaski high schools. Blevins earned both his state championships (as a 138-pounder) at Pulaski.
From there, Blevins went to Guilford (N.C.) College, where he wrestled for a while. He also dropped out of sight, as far as many back home were concerned.
"A lot of people didn't know what had become of me," he said.
No wonder. From Guilford, Blevins packed his bags for the University of Colorado. He competed for the Buffaloes in what could be the toughest top-to-bottom collegiate wrestling conference in the country. Also, he took a shot at making the 1972 Olympic team before coming up short.
The next year, he was sixth at the nationals of the United States Wrestling Federation (the former name of the national governing body for amateur wrestling).
Next up on Blevins' lists of travels and adventures was his migration to Alaska, where he lived from 1977-88. During that time, he worked as both a commercial salmon fisherman and as a wrestling coach at Kenai Central High School, which is south of Anchorage.
Blevins then returned to Virginia to get a graduate degree at Virginia Tech. That's how he found his way back home.
"It's been neat coming back," he said. "But a lot has changed."
Not the least of which is his Pulaski County speaking accent. He doesn't have one anymore.
But he does have a growing wrestling program. Just this week, he had an organizational meeting for a wrestling club, a sort of grass-roots development program for wrestlers ranging in age from the very young to adults. Thirty-five showed up, even though the meeting had been little-publicized.
As for this year, the Cougars are thin in both numbers and potential to inflict much damage at the state level. But there are bright spots, such as 189-pounder Jeff Linkous, who has only three losses.
As the man said, things will get better. You get the feeling he knows what he's talking about.
Basketball-player-of-the-year voting in the Mountain Empire District this year could be as interesting as it's ever been.
Who do you like?
Jeff Spells of Galax is capable of a monster performance any time out. Kenny Dow of Shawsville, the leading rebounder in Timesland, will have support from some voters because he has little support from his teammates. Brian Lampkins from Fort Chiswell will get some votes. And pluck Brian Sale, the league's leading scorer, out of Auburn's lineup and where would the Eagles be?
But Rick Cormany of Grayson County says if the balloting were held right now, he'd push for Travis Crawford of Floyd County.
"All I know is that he's the one player who has absolutely killed us," Cormany said. "He's the reason that they kicked our tail twice. We tried everything to stop him. Nothing worked. I don't know what we'll do if we have to play them again.
"We've even tried junk defense on him to wear him down. But the kid is in super shape. We get tired chasing him around. You saw what happened. Obviously that didn't work."
Short stuff:
Nobody keeps track of this sort of thing, but it was the first time in memory that a crowd at Blacksburg High saw four dunks in one basketball game when it happened a couple of weeks ago as the Indians edged Franklin County. The Indians and Eagles had two each. Franklin County's belonged to Alessandro Lima and Chris Mattox and Blacksburg's to Kevin Schug and Jon Maher. Mattox's, which came at the horn, was the show-stopper. He made a steal, them pivoted in midair to jam it in backwards over his head. . . . Chris Smith has returned to the lineup for the Indians. Smith was reported to have been ineligible, but as it turns out he was ineligible only for a week pending issuance of grades. His marks turned out to be good enough to pull him through. Smith has other problems, though. He might have a time crowbarring Schug out of the starting five. Schug has played very well since moving into the top group. . . . Radford basketball coach Brenda King, whose girls won two state championships, called her boys' team's 49-46 victory over Christiansburg last week "one of the great wins for me personally. It wasn't so much who it was that we beat, but that we needed the win so desperately." The euphoria was short-lived. Alleghany hammered the Bobcats 64-45 at the beginning of this week and gloom descended again. . . . Chris Ruble is back on the Christiansburg bench after being out for three weeks with mononucleosis. After being cleared by a doctor, he played Tuesday. He had not practiced since falling ill. He scored two points as Tazewell was winning 55-47. . . . Auburn has won four straight going into tonight's game. . . . Auburn's Todd Collins set a school record with six three-pointers in a victory over Narrows last week. Collins went 6-for-7 from three-point range; 0-for-4 from inside the arc.
Ray Cox covers New River Valley sports for the Roanoke Times & World-News