THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 4, 1995 TAG: 9501040525
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
How much difference will a couple of pounds make in the performance of area wrestlers? On Jan. 15, we start finding out.
That's the day wrestlers will be allowed to add up to two pounds over their competing weight, provided they have certified at that weight by Friday. In other words, the next time Lake Taylor's Joel Jimenez and Granby's Trip Nofplot square off at 130, both wrestlers can weigh up to 132 pounds.
Some coaches predict the approaching certification deadline will trigger a flurry of individuals dropping down a class. But an informal poll of wrestlers at last week's Deep Creek Hornet Holiday Classic seems to indicate most of the top competitors are locked into their present weights.
The two most noteworthy drops to date, Western Branch's Lee Butler from 112 to 103 and Ocean Lakes' R.J. Davis from 130 to 125, appear to have been driven by the same forces which have fueled these moves for years - the desire to find a weight most conducive to winning big.
According to Great Bridge coach Steve Martin, the biggest advantage to the new guideline may be psychological, particularly for guys who've already had to lose a lot of weight.
``It'll make it seem easier to get at a weight when you know you've already gone two pounds lighter,'' Martin said.
HEAVY DUTY: Keep an eye on First Colonial heavyweight Pat McDowell. The two-time All-Tidewater football lineman didn't wrestle last season but has rolled to a 10-3 record to date, including a second-place finish in the Deep Creek Hornet Holiday Classic.
``I wanted to concentrate on lifting weights last year,'' McDowell said. ``But this is my last year. I'm also doing it because I have a lot of respect for Coach (Joe) Bothel.''
McDowell relies on power and quickness but has also displayed some nifty wrestling instincts. In the Hornet quarterfinals, he allowed Great Bridge's Shawn Curl to take him down, then quickly reversed the Wildcat and rolled him up for a 1:16 pin.
McDowell's emergence helps make the heavyweight division, which includes Cox's Brian Wilson and Kempsville's Kevin Eaton, one of the strongest in the Beach.
TOURNAMENT WRAP: Salem placed fifth in the 10-team Herndon Classic over the holidays. Jesuit, the state champions from Louisiana, won the event.
Daemon Shultz, the area's No. 3 189-pounder, led Salem with a first-place finish. Other top-three Sun Devil finishes: second-ranked Ramon Copeland (third at 125), Jeff Walck (third at 171), Anthony Fradillada (third at 160), and Steve Wilder (third at heavyweight).
Wilder's placing was a bit of a surprise, since he's the backup heavyweight to Eric Ramsey. Ramsey sat out the tournament with a separated shoulder, but should be ready to wrestle tonight at First Colonial. Salem coach Mike Taylor hopes he's ready, as Wilder is banged up and won't be able to go.
Salem competed in the tournament without star 119-pounder Chip Reyes, who went to California for the holidays to visit his father. But Taylor dismissed speculation that Reyes would return as a 112-pounder.
``That's not the plan,'' he said. ``But if he's going to do it, he'd better hurry up.''
VANN'S BACK: Tallwood's Jonathan Vann, a state placewinner a year ago, will return to action Saturday when the Lions join Bayside, Princess Anne and Kellam in a quad at Kellam.
Vann tore ligaments in his thumb in Tallwood's season opening match against Green Run and hasn't wrestled since. Vann, who played football at 220 pounds in the fall, wrestled heavyweight in the Green Run match but expects to compete at 189 this season.
This year most likely represents a final hurrah in wrestling for Vann, a senior who said he's likely to concentrate on football in college. In fact, his wrestling season will be interrupted by a series of football recruiting visits, starting with a Jan. 13-14 visit to the University of Houston which will cause him to miss Tallwood's appearance in the Virginia Duals.
CRACKING THE CHARTS: After opening the season without a national ranking for the first time in years, Great Bridge debuts at No. 20 on the latest USA Today Top 25 poll. But respect is still slow in coming for this year's Wildcats. They've still yet to crack the Amateur Wrestling News poll, which ranks Group AA champion Grundy 14th. And Great Bridge has been seeded fifth out of eight teams in the Virginia Duals National Invitational Team Wrestling Championships, behind Grundy, McEachern (Ga.), Line Mountain (Pa.) and Parkersburg South (W.Va.). by CNB