THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 14, 1994 TAG: 9412140582
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
If, as expected, the Virginia High School League adopts mandatory weight-loss guidelines for wrestlers in two years, First Colonial won't have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the program.
The Patriots are already there.
First Colonial is one of the schools that have entered a VHSL pilot program which uses body-fat tests in determining a wrestler's optimum weight-class, along with providing athletes and parents with nutrition and diet information.
The body-fat tests were administered to all First Colonial varsity wrestlers by Dr. Glen Snyders.
``As it turned out, most of our kids were already in the safe zone,'' First Colonial coach Joe Bothel said. ``In fact, some of them can actually go down another weight class if necessary.''
Snyders has also met with parents to explain about the program and about the difference between dieting simply to lose weight and dieting to become lean.
``There are a lot of horror stories out there about what coaches ask kids to do,'' Bothel said. ``This program helps assure the parents that I as a coach mean no harm when I suggest their son needs to lose weight.''
THEY'RE NO. 2: Great Bridge is ranked second among the country's top 50 high school wrestling teams of the last decade, according to the Dec. 15 issue of Wrestling USA Magazine.
Since 1984, the Wildcats have won seven state titles, four state duals titles and have compiled a 174-15 dual-match record.
``It's pretty prestigious to be ranked that high,'' said Great Bridge coach Steve Martin. ``Good publicity for the program.''
Coventry High in Rhode Island, winner of 14 consecutive state titles, is Wrestling USA's top team of the past decade. Grundy, winner of eight Group AA titles, checked in at No. 12 and was the only other Virginia school besides Great Bridge to make the poll.
TOURNAMENT WRAP: If the results of last weekend's Western Branch Invitational are any indication, the race for No. 2 in South Hampton Roads and No. 1 in the Eastern District should be among the area's most hotly contested.
Second-ranked Cox nipped third-ranked Western Branch by 8 1/2 points to win the tournament. Both teams finished well ahead of the rest of the 10-team field and have established themselves as clear front-runners for best team in the area this side of Great Bridge.
Despite winning the tournament, Cox still appears to be more formidable as a dual-match team. If the Bruins' six freshmen continue to improve, Western Branch could have the edge as a tournament team by season's end.
The two teams don't meet in a dual match this season, but could square off in the Eastern Region duals.
In the Eastern District, Granby appears set to pose a challenge to two-time defending champion Lake Taylor, based on the Comets' strong showing at Western Branch. The third-place Comets placed five wrestlers in the finals and Reuben Dio (103) and Trip Nofplott (130) came away champions.
It was also a strong tournament for First Colonial, which finished fourth, and Princess Anne (fifth).
The viability of Deep Creek (seventh out of 10 teams) and, to a lesser extent Indian River (ninth) can't be properly assessed until those teams get late-arriving football players.
In other tournament news, Cape Henry justified its hype as a worthy challenger to Norfolk Academy in the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools by notching a slim victory in the Cape Henry Invitational.
THIS 'N' THAT: It was a tough opening week for Kellam, which began the season ranked fourth in the area but will take an 0-4 record into tonight's match at First Colonial. A part of the Knights' problem has been their schedule - they've already wrestled Great Bridge, Northwest Region power Franklin County and Georgia's Westminister. But that doesn't explain Kellam's surprising one-point loss to first-year Ocean Lakes. . . . Having the top college and high school teams wrestle at the same time is another new feature of the 1995 Virginia Duals Jan. 13-14. The finalists in the National High School Invitational Dual Wrestling Championships and the college tournament will wrestle simultaneously on the four mats at Hampton Coliseum. Previously, the tournaments were staged at different times. According to tournament director Frank Lipoli, the new format will allow fans to see the best of both divisions and increase attendance for the college event . . . Western Branch's Byron Tucker (eight falls in nine matches) is an excellent pinner, but the fast-fall champ appears to be Norfolk Academy's Clay Weisburg, who pinned four wrestlers in less than a minute at the TCIS Showdown. ILLUSTRATION: RANKINGS
[For a copy of the chart, see microfilm for this date.]
by CNB