THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 3, 1995 TAG: 9503030507
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Long : 107 lines
The wrestling season was still two weeks away. But in one stunning series of impromptu matches, a Lake Taylor-Western Branch scrimmage was transformed into a prelude to the remarkable season turned in by Western Branch's Byron Tucker.
The idea of the scrimmage was to give each wrestler a little competition. The problem was, when it came to Tucker, there was no competition.
After whipping the Titan at his own weight, Tucker set out to bag bigger game. Lake Taylor's 160-pounder took a beating next. Poundings to the 171- and 189-pounders followed. Finally, the Titans' heavyweight took his share of lumps.
``He was really doing his thing, having his way with our guys,'' Lake Taylor assistant Russell Flynn said. ``And we've got some pretty good guys up there.
``I'm thinking, `This kid is big-time.' ''
Tucker, a two-time state placewinner who transferred last fall from Dinwiddie High, rolls his eyes and breaks into a shy smile when the preseason scrimmage comes up. He's uncomfortable being known as the guy who dominates matches, overwhelms opponents and dazzles the fans.
It might help if he'd stop dominating matches, overwhelming opponents and dazzling the fans. He has won all 34 of his matches - 30 by pin or technical fall - without being taken down.
But it's not just the victories that have earned him the nickname ``Flash.'' It's also the staggeringly efficient way he has pulled each one off, leaving some of the state's best wrestlers without a clue as to how to fend him off.
Take Great Bridge's Christian Basnight, ranked second only to Tucker among area 152-pounders by The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star. Tucker showed just how wide the gap was between Nos. 1 and 2 by scoring a technical fall victory in the Southeastern District final.
Great Bridge's Billy Allred placed fifth in the state at 160 last year and is a two-time Eastern Region champion. A little over a month ago, Tucker bumped up a weight and took Allred apart, 15-4.
Maury's Orlando Morton, fifth in the state at 145 last season, took an unbeaten record into a highly anticipated 152-pound region final. Tucker swooped in on three single-leg takedowns in the first minute, moves so sweet it was as though Morton's feet were glued to the mat.
``And you know what? The kid doesn't know how good he's going to be,'' Western Branch coach Terry Perdew said. ``He can learn a whole lot more about wrestling.
``That's the scary part.''
After seeing Tucker pounce on opponents with startling quickness and flow seemingly effortlessly from move to move, it's easy to conclude that the majority of his talents are God-given.
``A lot of people think that,'' said Dinwiddie wrestling coach Gordon Batson, who was Tucker's coach until he transferred to Western Branch last fall. ``But the truth is, he's just a pretty good athlete with a 110 percent work ethic.''
It runs in the family. Tucker's older brother, Warren, didn't crack Dinwiddie's starting lineup until his senior year, yet went on to place second in the nation among Division II colleges at Virginia State. Another brother, Odell, finished fourth in the high school state tournament as a senior.
``None of them were superlative athletes,'' Batson said. ``They were just such hard workers, they made themselves great athletes.''
Batson added that the Tucker's early performances bore little resemblance to the dynamic, high-scoring attack he now employs.
``When he first started out, his goal was to not make any mistakes,'' Batson said. ``He didn't pin very many people and most of his matches were low-scoring.''
Tucker qualified for the state tournament his freshman year, then reached the state semifinals as a sophomore before bowing in overtime, 5-3, to Indian River's Norman Smith. Unable to focus after the defeat, Tucker fell in the consolation semifinals before regrouping to place fifth.
Last season, a 152-pound Tucker went undefeated without being taken down and returned to the state semifinals. This time, he lost by a point to Mount Vernon's Scott Rankin. Once again, he was unable to rebound in the wrestlebacks.
``I was crying when I went out to the mat,'' he said. ``I just couldn't pull myself together.''
He went on to lose, 4-3, to Douglas Freeman's Scott Budlong, a wrestler Tucker had defeated, 15-4, in the Central Region final. Again, he settled for fifth.
Tucker was set to return to Dinwiddie until his father landed a job in South Hampton Roads. Tucker said he had long followed the wrestling success of Great Bridge, but knew almost nothing about the program at Western Branch until he arrived.
He said it was tough leaving his friends, but he credits the move with providing some much-needed polish to his wrestling attack.
``I've really learned a lot,'' said Tucker, who has trained with Keith Moreland and Joe Boone in addition to Perdew. ``Last year, I went through the whole district and region with just one shot, the outside single. I still like to use that, but I can do a lot more things.''
Although Tucker enters today's Group AAA state tournament as the overwhelming favorite to win at 152, he refuses to get involved in any ``what if'' scenarios. And while he knows a lot of things can happen this weekend, Tucker likes to believe that the end of the world isn't one of them.
``One of my teachers put a slogan on the board one day that said, `If you make everything a life-or-death situation, you'll die an awful lot,' '' Tucker said. ``I like that, and I know it's true.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN/Staff
Byron Tucker, who was a fifth-place finisher in state for the past
two years at Dinwiddie High, has won all 34 of his matches this year
- 30 by pin or technical fall.
by CNB