Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 12, 1993 TAG: 9304120086
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
SEMONES TOUGHEST OF A TOUGH LOT
HE'S WON 75 straight matches for Glenvar, but Brandon Semones will leave wrestling behind to play football next year at Virginia Tech.\ In a year that marked the rebirth of wrestling in Timesland, Glenvar's Brandon Semones emerged from the toughest classification to become the area's top performer.The Highlanders' 189-pounder proved a Group A performer can be Timesland's best wrestler as he came from a division that produced two unbeaten state champions and a once-beaten state third-place finisher.
Semones beat out North Cross' Aaron Lang and Rockbridge County's Joel Ides as he stretched his winning streak to 75 matches and three consecutive state titles.
The coach of the year is Northside's Fred Wagner, whose Vikings were Group AA runner-up after winning Region III and Blue Ridge District titles.
The honorees are selected by the members of the Roanoke Times & World-News sports department who cover high school athletics.
William Fleming had the most first-team selections, including juniors John Brandon (119) and Eddie Jones (171), along with senior Keno Shepherd (112), who was last year's runner-up for Timesland wrestler of the year.
Franklin County, regarded as Timesland's best team after winning Big Orange, Roanoke Valley District and Northwestern Region titles before a fourth-place finish in Group AAA, had two first-team selections in Aubrey Wright (140) and Ricky Young (heavyweight).
The only other underclassmen on the first team was William Byrd sophomore Patrick Henderson (125) who finished second in the state. The only Timesland Group AA wrestlers with better finishes were first-teamer Bryan VanRavestein (160) and second-team selection Kyle Hammon (heavyweight) of William Byrd who both won state crowns.
James River's Tony Bocanegra (103) completed an unbeaten season with a Group A title to make All-Timesland. The rest of the team included Lord Botetourt's Dan Sell (130), Magna Vista's Chad Edwards (135), Cave Spring's Andrew Osborn (145) and Martinsville's Matt Saddler (152).
Semones' honor was a continuation of a tremendous athletic year for the Highlander. He was Timesland defensive player of the year in football and also rushed for more than 2,000 yards.
Semones accepted a football scholarship to Virginia Tech and admits his wrestling career ended when he pinned Sussex Central's Ben Smith for the 189-pound Group A title.
"I'd love to play two sports in college, but I don't think I'll have time. My first concentration will be on football," Semones said.
Had Glenvar not gone to the Big Orange meet starting last year, Semones might never have reached this point in his career. There was a question whether Group A wrestlers were on the same level as those in higher classifications. This year, Semones left no doubt as he won the 189-pound title in the Big Orange.
"That was a key for me. I felt that was an opportunity to go against better wrestlers and I felt I proved myself," Semones said.
Semones didn't wrestle Lang, who won a state Virginia Independent School title. He also didn't come up against Ides, though last year the two were both Group A state titlists. Ides won in 189 while Semones was in the 171-pound classification at the time.
There were two other tough decisions. Saddler beat out Franklin County's Hansani Menefee simply because of the Big Orange 152-pound championship. Menefee, regarded as one of Timesland's best wrestlers, held a 9-1 lead when Saddler used an over-and-under throw to record his fourth consecutive pin of the tournament.
The other close call was in heavyweight where Young finished third in the Group AAA competition compared to Hammon's Group AA championship. Young got the All-Timesland nod because he beat Hammon 5-4 in a fiercely contested Big Orange finale.
Bocanegra's state title was a good finish after he had been state runner-up as a junior.
Shepherd moved up in weight and the tougher competition on that level kept him from competing as wrestler of the year. Still, he completed an outstanding career and earned All-American honors with a seventh place finish in a national meet for top high school wrestlers last week in Pittsburgh.
Brandon, Henderson and Jones are three wrestlers of the future who figure to compete for state honors next year. Henderson improved rapidly so that he went from runner-up finishes in the Big Orange and Region III to the state runner-up with a close 6-5 loss to Chris Shortridge of perennial power Grundy.
Sell was unbeaten coming into the state, but lost his final two matches. He pinned all four opponents in winning the Region III title and he wound up with 23 pins in his 28 victories for the season.
Edwards won the Region III title and earned a spot over Cave Spring's Mike Zirkle by beating him in a Christmas tournament. It was Zirkle's second straight year to place on the second team.
Wright used a Big Orange title to land his spot on All-Timesland while Osbourn was second in the Big Orange.
VanRavestein was outstanding in sweeping through the tournament competition and was regarded as the best of the Vikings' wrestlers in Northside's return to the status of a state power.