Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 3, 1995 TAG: 9503030103
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Group AA and A tournaments will be held together at the Salem Civic Center for the third consecutive year. First-round action starts at 11 a.m., with second-round championship matches scheduled for 7 p.m. The semifinals and championships are Saturday.
Grundy will be seeking its ninth consecutive Group AA title. All 13 Golden Wave wrestlers qualified for the state meet - 11 as Region IV champions. Only Poquoson, runner-up a year ago, has a chance to slow Grundy's run. The Islanders will bring 11 wrestlers to Salem.
The Group AAA tournament will be held in Chesapeake, where Franklin County is looking for its best finish ever and dreaming of dethroning perennial power Great Bridge. The Chesapeake school will be seeking its fifth consecutive title and eighth in nine years.
In the Group AA meet, Region III powers William Byrd and Northside won't be involved in the title fight. Each team does have some individuals who could do well.
Byrd, which won a state title in 1982, is looking for its best finish since then. The Terriers won the Region III championship on Feb.25, but they also won the region in 1987 and finished 12th in the state. Byrd was 10th in last year's Group AA meet.
``We're taking seven guys, and three or four of them are capable of placing,'' said Barry Trent, the Terriers' coach. ``It'll take three or four places for us to get in the top 10.''
David Anderson (23-4) at 125 pounds and Pat Henderson (27-3), who was upset in the Region III final at 152, appear to be the best bets for Byrd.
Northside has finished second and third, respectively, in the past two Group AA meets. The Vikings finished second to Byrd in the Blue Ridge District and Region III tournaments, but beat the Terriers in a dual meet.
The Vikings are led by 130-pounder Leland Keeling (26-2), 119-pounder Brad Hungate (28-2) and 189-pounder Chip Nininger (29-2). Nininger was third at 171 and Keeling fourth a year ago.
Radford, in its first year of Group A competition after dropping from Group AA, reaped the benefits in wrestling. Had the Bobcats still been in Region IV, they would have had little hope in state competition.
Radford brings five Region C champions to Salem. Only Northampton, with seven, has more regional titlists in Group A. The Bobcats' first three - Ryan Hall (103), Stephen Murphy (112) and Benjy Fry (119) - have won 66 matches and lost only five times among them. The other two Region C winners from Radford are Jason Abercromie (145), who is 17-4, and Peter Lee (152), who is 16-7.
James River, the Region C titlist, qualified 10 wrestlers for the Group A meet. The Knights are led by 130-pounder Robert Spangler (19-2) and 160-pounder Michael Broughman (17-5) who won Region C crowns.
In Group AAA, Franklin County's talk of beating Great Bridge seems far-fetched, considering the Eagles were mauled 49-16 by the Wildcats in the final of the state duals competition two weeks ago.
``We need to go with the intention of winning the state title. Our chances [of beating Great Bridge] are better in this tournament than face-to-face,'' said Kris Kahila, Franklin County's coach. ``We have the whole state going against Great Bridge'' to help us.
The Eagles finished fourth in Group AAA two years ago. Franklin County is taking six qualified wrestlers to the state and two fifth-place alternates. ``We've always carried fifth-place wrestlers. In my career, we've had two who got to wrestle,'' Kahila said.
Trung Nguyen (103), Brian Jones (140) and Landon Cuff (189) are the Eagles' strongest hopes.
``Trung is the hottest at this time. He's unbeaten at 103,'' Kahila said.
Nguyen pinned every opponent in the regional and state duals, and also pinned the opposition in the individual district and regional championship matches.
Jones is undefeated at 140, and Cuff has been outstanding in the tournaments.
``This team is right on line to be my best individually,'' Kahila said. ``I'm hoping we'll give it one last huge effort. We've been real flat in practice this week, but at least we've recovered [from injuries].''
by CNB