THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 29, 1995 TAG: 9501290243
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
Many variables were predicted to play roles in Saturday's Beach District wrestling championship between Cox and Tallwood.
A lack of energy, however, wasn't one of them.
But that's what turned out to be the deciding factor in the Falcons' 32-22 decision over a Lions team that featured several wrestlers gasping for air throughout the third period of their matches.
``I hadn't seen them wrestle,'' Cox coach Jud Stokes said. ``But we heard that some of them died out in the last period.
``Every break went our way tonight, and our kids made their own breaks.''
Stokes' team started the match in the hole, writing off the 119-pound bout because of Jeff Kramer's 104-degree temperature.
And after Tallwood started with decisions by Winston Escalante and top-ranked Mike Mercado, the Falcons found themselves down, 12-0, heading into the 125 division.
But No. 3 Cox (14-2, 9-0 in the Beach) closed the gap to 12-6 with Wes Lewis' second-period pin of Jason Kraft and tied the contest with a pair of upsets at 130 and 135 - with C.J. Franzitta netting a 10-6 decision over Ryan Gibson and John Atkinson scoring a 5-3 victory over Kenny Smith.
It was Atkinson's first varsity appearance as a freshman.
``A lot of people let us down,'' Tallwood coach Don Robertson said. ``Especially our seniors. We never should have lost to a first-time guy in a match like this one.''
Cox built a 21-12 advantage after victories by No. 3 Jesse Correll and Kevin Sullivan at 140 and 145, respectively, but Tallwood (11-3, 8-1) managed to cut the lead to 21-19 with victories at 152 and 160. Chris Brasher's 5-4 win over Doug Dolenti at 160 came on a reversal with 10 seconds remaining.
But Cox 171-pounder Ike Tucker killed the momentum by shocking Alvin Wilson with a technical fall with 52 seconds left in the second period to give his team a 26-19 lead.
``I really wanted to go out there and pin for the team,'' Tucker said.
Tallwood then failed to get a pin out of second-ranked John Vann at 189.
At that point, Robertson conceded defeat and chose not to wrestle defending Group AAA heavyweight champion Brian Wilson. by CNB