THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 22, 1995 TAG: 9512200205
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 120 lines
THE WESTERN BRANCH wrestling team came in fourth out of 14 teams in last weekend's Rio Mesa Invitational in Oxnard, Calif., a mega-dual-match event in which each team wrestles 10 other teams in just two days.
With so much wrestling on their plates, it's not surprising the Bruins couldn't find time to scribble out a few postcards. But if they had been able to find the time, they might have read something like:
Hey, guys:
Having a lot of fun here. There are some tough guys, but I'm beating them all pretty good. Actually, there's been one or two guys who weren't all that tough, but all the other teams were really tough.
And the scenery! This might shatter my tough-guy rep, but everything looks so nice out here. You can see the mountains and everything. Plus it's sunny and the weather's warm. . . I've already gone to the beach and gone swimming. Got crashed by a wave, but that was OK, too.
The worst part was when we first got here. We had a match, then a bye, then four more matches non-stop. We didn't get out of the gym until after midnight. Then we had to be back at the gym by 8:30 the next morning. For two days it seemed like all we did was wrestle.
But you know, the team really came together through it all. It was great to see the way everybody sticks up for each other, roots for each other. Yeah, it's been a lot of fun.
Catch you later,
Sean Sanderlin.
Yo, people:
The trip's been everything I expected so far. We came out here for two reasons: To wrestle, and to have fun. We're doing a pretty good job at both. The (referee's) calls weren't always what they were supposed to be, but you're going to get that sometimes. . .
I got off to a tough start, because I hurt my ankle in the first match. But I wrestled seven more times and won them all. I forfeited two matches because we had big leads, the team didn't need me and I didn't want to take any chances. But when my team needed me, I was there. You just have to deal with the pain.
My favorite match was against Blackfoot. We were down, 27-21, when it came to me. I was nervous. I starting thinking, ``What if I mess up?'' But then I just went out there and did what I had to do. Pinned him. We won the match. The team got all fired up. After that, there was no stopping us until the next day.
After the last match on Saturday, some of us stayed up all night, playing poker and Super Nintendo. We didn't get to bed until 6 in the morning, then got up at about 7-something. We couldn't sleep. The guys were too hyped up. So we went to the Jacuzzi to work some of the soreness out.
I've gotten to see a lot of things out here. I've also gotten to see a lot of girls, too. Like I said, it's been everything I expected.
See ya!
Marcus Edmunds
Dear Western Branch supporters:
I've been in wrestling a long time, but I've never been through anything as grueling as this. And I didn't even wrestle! It's been incredible. We started at 2 p.m. and we didn't finish until midnight. The next day, we started at 9 a.m. and had the last match again. We closed the place down both times.
But the guys came through great. Little (Matt) Viola (9-1 tournament record) pinned seven guys and beat the individual winner, 7-0. (Matt) Peppers (8-2) wrestled his heart out. Chris Mendez (8-1)? Unbelievable. My freshman heavyweight, Marvin Urquhart (7-3), you're going to be hearing a lot from him down the line. And poor (Cory) Bauswell (8-2), the first match he wrestled was against the Arizona state runner-up, and seemed like everyone else he saw looked like Mr. Universe. But he only lost twice in 10 matches.
We were exposed to so many different styles of wrestling. Some guys were tremendously talented with their legs. Others were really good technicians. And the team from Blackfoot, after about 152 they all looked like full-grown men.
But we just kept winning. It was one emotional high after another. And when Marcus pinned that kid to give us the Blackfoot win, we were so pumped up it was incredible.
We were 8-0 heading into our match with the defending champions (Centennial). Now everybody knows I never complain about the referees, but the guy we had did a real homer job on us. I couldn't believe some of the calls. We didn't wrestle all that great, either, but it was going to be tough to win no matter what we did with some of the calls he hit us with. Come to find out, that ref was from the same region as Centennial. . .
After we lost that match, I tried to pump the guys up, telling them we could still go 9-1 and force a three-way tie, that we could still win this thing. But right as I'm telling them this, the guy comes over the PA and says, ``In the event of a three-way tie, Blackfoot wins, Centennial comes in second.
But overall, we wrestled extremely well. But the best part of it all has been that everywhere we've gone, on the plane, in the hotel, in restaurants, people keep telling me what a nice, well-behaved group we have. I'm really proud of the guys.
It's been a great experience, and although a few guys have some bumps and bruises, nobody's really gotten hurt. Still, it'll be good to get back home and relieve myself of the stress of putting this trip together. I don't even want to think about going to California next year.
Now, Las Vegas, that's another story. A guy from the Las Vegas school mentioned something to me about possibly coming to his tournament in '96. Hmmm. If we get a early jump on fund-raising, I get myself set at 189 and. . .
Never mind. At least for now.
Sincerely,
Coach Terry Perdew
SILVER TIGERS: Defending champion Oscar Smith took second in last weekend's Portsmouth Invitational Holiday wrestling tournament, but two Tigers retained their individual titles in the two-day tournament at Wilson.
Gary Lewis, the area's second-ranked 112-pounder, scored a 6-2 decision over Norfolk Academy's Ryan Ingram. Lewis pinned his other four opponents.
And at heavyweight, Raphael Butts picked up his second straight PIT crown by pinning Booker T. Washington's Raymond Bell in the first period. Butts and Lewis were the only two 1994 champions to mount successful title defenses.
Granby won the team title. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHRISTOPHER REDDICK
Oscar Smith's Gary Lewis, at top, takes control of Norfolk Academy's
Ryan Ingram.
by CNB