Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 18, 1994 TAG: 9402180223
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
If Grundy wins its eighth consecutive Group AA state wrestling championship this weekend, then coach Kevin Dresser believes it won't be hard for his school to extend that string to a dozen titles.
"If they're going to get us, they'd better get us this year," Dresser said. "We have only three seniors, and we have some good young kids coming along [from junior high]."
Beating this season's Grundy team won't be easy, though. The Golden Wave qualified all 13 wrestlers - a first for the school - for the state meet this weekend in Salem. All 13 finished first or second in the Region IV tournament, so all of the Golden Wave wrestlers will face lower-seeded opponents from other regions in the first round.
For the second year in a row, the Virginia High School League's Group A and Group AA wrestling championships will be determined side-by-side on mats at the Salem Civic Center. The new format introduced last year was a hit with fans and at the box office.
The first round starts at 11 a.m. today for both classifications. Quarterfinal matches are at 7 p.m. On Saturday, semifinals will start at 11 a.m., fifth-place bouts begin at 5:30, third-place matches at 6:15 and championship bouts at 7:30.
Grundy's main challenger will be Poquoson, the Region I champion. Northside, last year's runner-up, likely will fight Region II winner Broad Run for third place.
Grundy is in a different class than other Group AA schools when it comes to wrestling. Dresser points out, "Two of my poorer records are at 152 pounds and 162 pounds, where I have seniors. My 152-pounder [Michael Elswick] is 17-19, but he's been wrestling very well lately. Our 189-pound [Region IV] champion [Brandon Stevenson] is wrestling well now, but he's lost a dozen matches."
The reason for those records is that Grundy has taken on top teams from other states.
Grundy went 26-0 in the Region IV tournament until losing in the 112-pound championship match. The Golden Wave rolled to nine titles and would have had a 10th if 119-pounder David Looney had not forfeited the final match.
Poquoson had eight titlists in a more balanced Region I tournament and qualified 11 wrestlers for the state meet. That might be the difference in Poquoson's duel with Grundy's 13 wrestlers.
"I hope we can beat them," said Joe Boone, Poquoson's coach. "We've had a successful season so far. We were second to them in a tournament at Northern Virginia. The advantage is that they're more balanced than we are."
Northside had five Region III champions, but coach Fred Wagner says his team might have trouble finishing second again this year.
"We're just not that talented this year," he said. "I always tell the kids I want a top 10 finish, and there's a lot of places in the top 10."
Because of the seedings, Northside heavyweight Richie Oliver - fourth a year ago - might have the best chance of any Viking to make the final. Northside's Clifton Dunford, runner-up at 112 last year, moved to 125 but likely will have to reverse a 10-3 loss to Park View-Sterling's Mark Hernandez in the 1993 final.
William Byrd's Patrick Henderson was a 6-5 loser to Grundy's Chris Shortridge in the 125-pound championship match in what was nearly the upset of the 1993 tournament. Those two won't have to worry about each other this winter. Henderson comes in as the Region III 135-pound champion; Shortridge won at 130 in Region IV.
The Group A meet will be more balanced, with defending champion Brentsville District returning with 11 wrestlers, the same number as Riverheads. Region A's Mathews, the 1992 champion, qualified 10 wrestlers.
Grayson County is Timesland's best hope. The Blue Devils won Region C and have nine qualifiers, the same as Region C runner-up James River.
"It's balanced, so we've got a decent shot," said Grayson County coach Gary Horton.
The Blue Devils' top wrestlers are Nicky Arduin (119), the runner-up at 112 in 1993; Eric Rector (145); and Eric Montgomery (152). All were Region C titlists.
There are two other outstanding Timesland wrestlers. Jason Hamilton (125) won the 119-pound state title last year as a junior for Parry McCluer. He comes in as a Region C titlist, as does James River's Todd Washington (140).
by CNB