THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 16, 1995 TAG: 9512160435
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
Granby charged into a 13 1/2-point lead over defending champion Oscar Smith after the semifinal round of the annual Portsmouth Invitational Holiday Wrestling Tournament on Friday night at Wilson High School.
The Comets qualified seven wrestlers for tonight's finals, which start at 6:30. Oscar Smith advanced five.
Granby has 155 points, Oscar Smith has 141 1/2 and Churchland is third with 108 1/2 in the 12-team field, the largest in tournament history.
``I was looking for us to have about five in the finals,'' said Granby coach John Cerminara. ``So I'm pleasantly surprised.''
``I think we're still in this thing,'' said Oscar Smith coach Sid Savoy. ``We'll just have to dig down deep.''
Two defending champions were among the semifinal losers. Brian Masters of Salem pinned Oscar Smith's Rodney Worsley, the 1994 winner at 135 pounds, at 3:54.
Wilson's Steve Rahimpour, who won at 152 last year and is wrestling at 160, bowed to James Worrell of Churchland, 5-2.
Oscar Smith's Gary Lewis, last year's most valuable performer, won three matches by pins. Lewis (9-0) is the area's second-ranked 112-pounder.
Six other ranked wrestlers reached the finals. Churchland's Orlando Morton, No. 1 at 160, moved up to 171 pounds and registered a pair of wins by fall.
``We're going to try him at this weight for a while,'' said Churchland coach Joe Boone. ``He's had a little trouble cutting weight, and his practices weren't as sharp.''
Morton will go against Granby's William Thornton in the 171 title match. Thornton is South Hampton Roads' top-ranked wrestler at that weight.
Other ranked wrestlers in title bouts are Norfolk Academy's Clay Weisberg (119), Salem's Romon Copeland (125), Granby's Chris Martin (145) and Booker T. Washington's Duwyne Williams (160). Williams is a defending champion.
Two girls competed in the tournament and went out with early pins. Booker T. Washington's Sherika Sadler was pinned by Norfolk Academy's Ryan Ingram at 112 in one minute. Ingram was last year's 103-pound champion.
Churchland's Stephanie Looney moved up from the junior varsity and was pinned in 20 seconds by Academy's Weisberg, who is 14-0 this year.
Two other holdover champs are in the finals - Churchland's Tiree Murphy at 125 and Oscar Smith's Raphael Butts at 275.
Consolation wrestlebacks start today at 11 a.m. Third and fourth-place matches will begin at 3 p.m. by CNB