NORTHSIDE WRESTLERS DOMINATE BLUE RIDGE DISTRICT TOURNAMENT

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

DATE: SUNDAY, February 9, 1992                   TAG: 9202090260
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: D12   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: PHYLLIS A. FAIR SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
NORTHSIDE WRESTLERS DOMINATE BLUE RIDGE DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
It was like a flashback to 20 years ago, when Northside dominated high school wrestling in the state.
The Vikings showed glimpses of yesteryear Saturday night at William Byrd High School, winning the Blue Ridge District championship.
Northside scored 200 1/2 points to outdistance second-place finisher Lord Botetourt, which had 184 points. The top four wrestlers from each weight class will advance to the Region III championships next weekend in Rustburg.
It was Northside's first district title since joining the Blue Ridge District; last year, the Vikings finished second to Alleghany.
"Last year, we lost in the finals; this year, we won in the finals," Northside coach Fred Wagner said. "I think we're a better team [this year]. Last year taught us a lesson that it's not over until it's over."
In 1991, the Vikings placed eight wrestlers in the finals, but seven lost. Northside put 10 into the finals this year, and four won.
Lord Botetourt put eight wrestlers in the finals and six won, but even with the large number of wrestlers in the finals, the only way the Cavaliers could have come back was to win all their matches by pin and for Northside's finalists to lose.
Trailing 182 1/2-157 heading into the finals, Lord Botetourt had only one pin.
"The finals are where it [championship] should be decided and that's where it was," Wagner said.
The Cavaliers narrowed it to 191-178 after nine matches, but the Vikings won two of the final four matches.
Two of the Timesland's unbeatens kept their records intact. Lord Botetourt's 125-pounder Dan Sell (21-0) won 5-4 over Alleghany's Jeff Cody, and Salem's 119-pound Luqman Wade (17-0) decisioned Northside's Don Hodges 4-0.
Defending champion Alleghany didn't do well.
The Mountaineers came in fifth with 45 points and had only one wrestler, Cody, in the finals.
"We lost 11 people" from last year, Alleghany coach Doug Dunavant said. "We lacked a lot of experience this year. We have young kids.
"We're two years away from being competitive again. [We've] got to catch up to Northside."
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by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB