THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 13, 1995 TAG: 9512130510
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Emboldened by the success of last year's Virginia Duals' eight-team national high school tournament, meet organizers will go tournament-crazy in 1996. They've rounded up 32 high school teams to compete in three separate tourneys of varying skill levels.
``This is definitely Wrestlemania, amateur style,'' high school tournaments director Frank Lipoli said at a press conference Tuesday. The Virginia Duals will be held Jan. 12-13 at the Hampton Coliseum.
The featured bracket will be a 16-team national tournament to include six teams ranked among the nation's top 25 by various publications. The on-paper favorite: Nazareth (Pa.), No. 8 in USA Today and the team that pounded mighty Great Bridge two years ago.
Other top out-of-state teams include No. 19 St. Mark's of Newark, Del., and No. 24 Highland (N.J.).
Woodford County (Ky.), Tri-Valley (Pa.), Overton (Tenn.), Bakersfield (Calif.), Herndon, South Lakes and Grundy (No. 15 nationally) are also in the field. The local teams are No. 11 Great Bridge, Cox, Lake Taylor, Western Branch, Tallwood and Poquoson.
Sixteen other area teams will compete in either the ``Top Gun'' or ``Black & Blue'' divisions. They will be divided into eight-team brackets next month, based on early-season performance.
The finals of the three high school divisions and the college division will be contested simultaneously at 9 p.m. Jan. 13.
The college tournament features nine of the top 25 teams in the country as ranked by Amateur Wrestling News, including No. 5 Minnesota, winner of the last three Virginia Duals.
Also in this year's college field: No. 8 Oklahoma, where freshman Byron Tucker, a Western Branch graduate, has earned a starting berth; and No. 12 Michigan, which includes ex-Bruin Chris Viola.
SIDELINED: A badly dislocated elbow not only has wiped out Western Branch freshman Joey Hanel's season, but also cost him a trip to California.
Hanel, who suffered the injury during the Western Branch Invitational on Friday and was operated on that night, already had purchased his ticket and still planned to accompany the team to the Rio Mesa Invitational in Oxnard, Calif. But he must remain homebound for two weeks, and the Bruins leave for California on Thursday.
Hanel's spot in the lineup at 112 pounds goes to Daniel Moore. His seat on the plane now belongs to 215-pounder Marcus Edmunds, who originally had opted not to go.
SHOOTING FROM THE LIP: Also out of action this week, but for a distinctly different reason, is Churchland's Orlando Morton.
A returning state runner-up - and a senior who should know better - Morton launched into a profanity-laced tirade during his 160-pound bout Saturday against Great Bridge's Jason Byrum and was disqualified. Morton, who thought that Bryum was using illegal tactics, was ahead 6-3 at the time.
The disqualification carries an automatic one-match suspension. Making matters worse for Morton, the Truckers' next match is Friday's Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. He'll have to sit out the whole tournament.
SHORT SHOTS: The accolades continue to roll in for Great Bridge's Carl Perry, ranked No. 1 among 130-pounders in the country in the latest Matside/Super 25 poll. . . . Princess Anne's victory over Kempsville last week marked the first time the Cavaliers had beaten the Chiefs in school history. area's top 215-pounder, but he's got a long way to go. He weighed in for Friday's Western Branch Invitational at 245. . . . Best match on tonight's card: upstart First Colonial, a surprising second at the Western Branch tournament, hosting No. 3 Tallwood at 7:30. It's early, but the winner will have cleared a major obstacle towards winning the Beach District title. by CNB