THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 8, 1995 TAG: 9512060152
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 26 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER, CURRENTS SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
THE ANNUAL PORTSMOUTH Invitational Holiday Wrestling Tournament will be held at Wilson High School this year and will feature a 12-team field, the largest in its history.
The two-day competition is scheduled for Dec. 15-16.
In addition to the three Portsmouth schools, the field includes Oscar Smith, Bayside, First Colonial, Booker T. Washington, Granby, Cape Henry, Norfolk Academy, Catholic and Currituck (N.C.).
The Friday competition will start at 2 p.m.
Saturday's matches will begin at 10 a.m. The finals will be Saturday evening.
Tickets are $4 per session or $10 for all three sessions. The $10 tournament pass will entitle those attending to come and go during each day.
Last year's meet at Churchland had 10 teams and was the biggest yet. Oscar Smith, coached by Sid Savoy, won the championship. Bayside was runner-up.
The Tigers have dominated the meet in recent years. Oscar Smith was runner-up in 1993 and won titles in 1991 and 1990.
The Tigers had six champions in the 13 divisions last year. Gary Lewis (112), Rodney Worsley (135) and Raphiel Butts (275) are back. A victory by Butts in last year's final match locked up the crown for Oscar Smith.
Lewis was the MVP in last year's tournament. He had pins in the quarterfinals and semifinals and beat previously undefeated two-time TCIS champion Clay Weisberg of Norfolk Academy in the final, 2-1. Weisberg, a senior, also returns to the Portsmouth tourney this year.
Four other champions are back from the 1994 matches, making this one of the most talented tournaments ever.
The other holdovers are Norfolk Academy's Ryan Ingram (103), Churchland's Tiree Murphy (125), Wilson's Steve Rahimpour (152) and Booker T. Washington's Duywne Williams (160). Ingram, only a sophomore, is a Virginia Prep League champion.
Ingram has moved up to 112 this season. Rahimpour will compete at either 160 or 171. Murphy and Williams remain at the same weights.
Murphy racked up 25 victories last year in 29 matches. In the 1994 tourney, he beat Bayside's Fred Jasmin in the final by decision, 15-6. Jasmin had entered that match with a string of nine consecutive victories by pins under his belt.
This year, Jasmin is wrestling at 135 pounds.
With Granby joining the field, the tournament will have the area's No. 1 145-pounder in Chris Martin. He was a state runner-up last year.
Churchland has added Orlando Morton, who is ranked No. 1 in South Hampton Roads at 160 pounds. He was a state runner-up at Maury last year.
En route to his title at 152 last year, Wilson's Rahimpour registered the fastest pin in tournament history with an eight-second pin. ILLUSTRATION: Orlando Morton
No. 1 in South Hampton Roads
by CNB