Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 16, 1994 TAG: 9402160175
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DUBLIN LENGTH: Medium
Even Franklin County head coach Kris Kahila, whose team won its seventh straight RVD title with a near-dominant performance, felt bad about seeing Miller's William Fleming squad go home as runner-up.
Sort of, anyway.
"I really have mixed feelings about this," said Kahila. "I think the world of Coach Miller. . . . But we needed to prove something to ourselves, too."
Franklin County took a commanding lead heading into the final round, then held off an emotionally charged Fleming squad to win the tournament, 183 1/2 points to 171 1/2. Cave Spring was third with 120 1/2, Pulaski County fourth with 78 and Patrick Henry fifth with 34.
The Eagles, who lost a regular-season match to William Fleming earlier this season, placed 10 wrestlers in the finals and won five individual championships. Franklin will go for its third straight Northwest Region title next week at Woodbridge.
"We've got all the pictures of the championship teams on the wall of our wrestling room, and I was wondering if we were going to put one up there this year," said Kahila.
William Fleming extracted some satisfaction out of the finals by beating the Eagles in four out of five head-to-head matchups.
"I'm proud of the way the kids hung in there," said Miller, who is stepping down as wrestling coach after 20 years in the Fleming program, the last 15 as head coach.
After the match, Miller received goodbye hugs and handshakes from his own wrestlers and from Franklin County's entire squad.
"It's all hit me just now, after the heavyweight match," said Miller.
Franklin's Brian Saul won the 103-pound title by beating Pulaski County's Lee Pannell 17-8, then the Eagles' 112-pounder, Trung Nguyen, beat Cave Spring's Scott Salliss 9-4 in overtime despite nearly not completing the match in regulation due to a stomach ailment.
"In overtime, the other guy is just as tired as you are, so I just sucked it up," said Nguyen.
Fleming bested Franklin four times in the finals: Mosi Coleman beat Scott Sink 13-0 at 119, Shannon Wilson beat John McPhail 9-6 at 125, Herbert Kasey nipped Brian Jones 4-3, and Derrick Bryant pinned Shaun Ferguson in 5:49 at 145.
"We never gave up hope, but we pretty much knew we had to win them all to have a chance," said Kasey, who improved to 29-1.
Fleming's Edward Jones also moved to 29-1 by beating Patrick Henry's Richard Mason 7-0 to win the 189-pound title.
by CNB