THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 13, 1996 TAG: 9601130473
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMI FRANKENBERRY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
The Old Dominion wrestling team wanted to face a solid team against which it could test its unblemished record. Friday in the Virginia Duals, top-seeded Oklahoma became that team.
The Sooners, ranked No. 5 in the latest Amateur Wrestling News/National Wrestling Coaches Association poll, won the first six weight classes for a 31-6 win over the Monarchs in the opening round at Hampton Coliseum.
Old Dominion's only winners were Jamie Kelly at 167 and Nick Hall at heavyweight, who both won decisions. The Monarchs (7-1) will wrestle today at 10:45 a.m. in the consolation bracket.
Hall, the nation's fourth-ranked heavyweight, scored a 3-1 win over John Henry Ward to extend his record to 20-0 this season.
``This match kind of shined a light on us,'' Hall said. ``Obviously we're not as strong as Oklahoma, but it shows the areas where we need improvement and lets us know where our conditioning is at.''
Kelly, also a 3-1 winner, needed overtime to beat Frank Trigg.
``The main difference between them and us is that they're just a little bit stronger,'' Kelly said. ``They're a lot more physical.''
The Sooners (5-1) jumped out to an early lead, winning three of the first four matches by three points or less. Oklahoma's Justin Breeden (118) topped Jun Jun Blancaflor 11-6 before Alfredo Varela (126) beat Erick Shaw 7-5, Bo Eubanks (134) outlasted Randy Devlin 3-2 and Rodney Jones (142) decisioned Wendell Turner 4-1.
``A lot of the matches we were right in there and in two or three of them they just blew us away,'' ODU coach Gray Simons said. ``When you wrestle the No. 5 team, this is usually what happens. Their conditioning was good, and we were just outmanned.''
At 158, Oklahoma freshman Byron Tucker, a former Western Branch standout, scored an 11-2 win over ODU's Chad McPhatter.
``This is just business,'' said Tucker, who won two matches at last year's duals and went 38-0 en route to a state championship at 152 for the Bruins. ``It's nice to be here because I've got a lot friends and family, but this is a business trip.
``I just came here expecting the same thing I expect everywhere else - a win.''
Oklahoma's Biff Jones (150), ranked No. 11, scored a technical fall over Curt Krazer, while Zack Randell pinned ODU's Josh Fannon and Tom Minogue (190) won a 14-2 decision over Old Dominion's Brandon Vera.
In today's matches, Old Dominion will face Wyoming at 10:45 a.m. in the consolations. Oklahoma will face Illinois at 2:15 p.m. in the semifinals. by CNB