THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 18, 1995 TAG: 9502180754
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
Cox dominated early, then held off Tallwood through an action-packed semifinal round to grab the early lead in the Beach District wrestling tournament Friday at Green Run.
The regular-season champion Falcons led by 38 points through the quarterfinals, but finished the day with only a 6 1/2-point lead over the hard-charging Lions. Cox will have four wrestlers in Friday's final, one less than Tallwood.
``We got a lot of pins in the first couple of rounds and that helped us out a lot,'' said Cox's Doug Dolenti, a 10-4 loser to Princess Anne's Bobby Julian in a 160-pound semifinal. ``But like Coach (Jud Stokes) said, we're going to win or lose it in the wrestlebacks.''
Cox finalists are Andy Simons (112), Wes Lewis (125), Kevin Sullivan (145) and defending heavyweight state champion Brian Wilson. Tallwood has Winston Escalante (103), Mike Mercado (112), Ryan Gibson (130), Joe Kerr (152) and Jonathan Vann (189).
Action resumes today at 1:30 p.m. with consolation matches, followed by fifth-place matches (6 p.m.), third-place matches (6:45 p.m.) and finals (7:30 p.m.).
Although a team title is at stake, the primary focus for most teams is to qualify as many wrestlers as possible for next week's Eastern Region tournament. The top four finishers in each weight class advance.
Still, Dolenti said he won't be satisfied with a second-place finish.
``We took the dual-meet title, and everyone is gunning for us, so to win this would give us a great feeling,'' he said.
Salem, in third place with 114 points, and defending tournament champion Kempsville (102.5) are also in the championship hunt. Like Tallwood, the Sun Devils placed five wrestlers in the finals, including returning state champion Chip Reyes, the unbeaten 119-pounder who won both of his Friday matches by fall.
Another Salem finalist, 189-pounder Daemon Schultz, will compete in perhaps the most anticipated final when he takes on Vann. Both wrestlers placed in the Group AAA state tournament last year. In their only meeting this season, Vann held on for a one-point victory.
Schultz, ranked second in the area, looked sharp Friday in dispatching Kellam's Ryan Anderson and Kempsville's Brandon Reed by fall. Vann scored a lightning-quick 2:40 technical fall over Jose Araiza in the quarterfinals, but appeared to wear down in his 14-8 decision over Cox' Jeff Balisle in the next round.
``I'm not in the kind of shape I want to be, and I know coaches are telling that to their guys, but I'll be ready,'' said Vann, who has yet to lose this season. ``It'll be a good match, though. Daemon wrestles me tough.''
Other intriguing finals are at 125, where Cox's tough Wes Lewis faces second-ranked Ramon Copeland; and heavyweight, where the unbeaten Wilson will face Kempsville's Kevin Eaton. Eaton gave Wilson one of his toughest matches when the two met during the regular season.
Princess Anne (three finalists), Ocean Lakes (two), Green Run (two), Bayside (one), First Colonial and Kellam (one) round out the field.
Of that group, First Colonial had by far the most frustrating day. The Patriots had four wrestlers seeded second and another third going in, but finished the day as the only team without a finalist.
Making matters worse, several of the losses were nail-biters. Second-seeded Kyle Magyar (103), second-seeded Jeff Bernd (125) and Mike Butler (160) all lost in overtime, while Josh Balsly (152) dropped a two-point decision to Green Run's B.J. Franklin. ILLUSTRATION: GARY C. KNAPP
Tallwood's Mike Mercado, top, controls Brett Nichols of Green Run on
the way to a victory at 112 pounds in the Beach tournament.
by CNB