THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 23, 1996 TAG: 9602210152
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER, CURRENTS SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
Never say never. . . .
That seems to be the sentiment of Southeastern District coaches despite a 12th consecutive victory in the district wrestling tournament by Great Bridge.
The Wildcats racked up 254.5 points in winning the two-day tournament at Great Bridge Monday. Runner-up Western Branch had 201 points, a whopping 53.5 points behind the perennial champion.
But Western Branch coach Terry Perdew and even Churchland coach Joe Boone, whose Truckers were back in sixth place with 85 points, believe opportunities may lie ahead to end the dynasty being created by the Martins at Great Bridge.
``Nobody knows how good Great Bridge is any better than I,'' said Perdew, whose team finished in second place behind the Wildcats in the district competition for the eighth consecutive year.
``But there are nine seniors on the Great Bridge team this year and we have only two. And we closed the gap a little on them this time.''
Both Great Bridge and Western Branch had four individual champions. A year ago, the Wildcats had seven winners while the Bruins had four. Great Bridge compiled a record total of 269 points last year while Western Branch had 188.5.
Churchland had a single winner, 160-pounder Orlando Morton. He was the second Trucker to take a district title since 1988 and the lone Portsmouth school winner.
``The very first thing we all must do is convince our wrestlers that Great Bridge is not invincible,'' said Boone, a three-time high school state champion himself at Granby when the Comets were a dynasty under Billy Martin, the father of the Great Bridge coach.
``Those of us who do not have middle school wrestling are at a disadvantage, but if the commitment is made we can be competitive with Great Bridge. That commitment includes hard, hard work,'' said Boone.
Four wrestlers repeated as district champions, three at different weights. The lone holdover at the same weight was Oscar Smith's 275-pounder Rafael Butts. A junior, Butts raised his career record to 43-11 by pinning Western Branch freshman standout Marvin Urquhart in the final in 4:19.
Great Bridge's Carl Perry, the 125-winner last year, pinned Indian River's Mike Baja for the 130 title. It was Perry's 40th straight victory this season and his career record is now a fantastic 154-14.
Travis Woodhouse of Great Bridge, who won at 130 last year, claimed the 135-pound crown with a 13-2 major decision over Luke Armagast of Indian River. It was Woodhouse's 80th career victory and raised his season record to 32-2.
Western Branch's Sean Sanderlin, 37-1, won the 152 division with a 9-5 decision over Great Bridge's Michael Harper. Sanderlin pinned Harper in the 145 final last year.
The top four finishers at each weight class qualified for the Eastern Region tournament, which got under way Thursday at Churchland and continues through Saturday.
Great Bridge and Western Branch qualified their entire 14-member squads. Oscar Smith qualified eight, Indian River seven, Deep Creek six, Churchland five and Wilson two.
Here are the qualifiers for the regional:
103 - 1. Matt Viola, Western Branch; 2. Matt Didio, Great Bridge; 3. Fabian Mitchell, Deep Creek; 4. Anthony Burford, Indian River.
112 - 1. Gary Lewis, Oscar Smith; 2. Brian Childress, Great Bridge; 3. Sonnie Sigda, Deep Creek; 4. Daniel Moore, Western Branch.
119 - 1. Richard Slocumb, Western Branch; 2. Tiree Murphy, Churchland; 3. Bruce Fowler, Great Bridge; 4. Brian Little, Oscar Smith.
125 - 1. Matt Peppers, Western Branch; 2. Jimmy Hawthorne, Great Bridge; 3. Darnell Bell, Deep Creek; 4. Malcolm Cherry, Oscar Smith.
130 - 1. Carl Perry, Great Bridge; 2. Mike Baja, Indian River; 3. Bryan Wilson, Western Branch; 4. Mike Lam, Oscar Smith.
135 - 1. Travis Woodhouse, Great Bridge; 2. Luke Armagast, Indian River; 3. Rodney Worsley, Oscar Smith; Lawrence Ward, Western Branch.
140 - 1. Keith Reynolds, Indian River; 2. John Young, Great Bridge; 3. Robert Hilliard, Churchland; 4. Carlton Benton, Western Branch.
145 - 1. Stacey Woodhouse, Great Bridge; 2. Zach Fletcher, Deep Creek; Chris Mendez, Western Branch; 4. Calvin Sutton, Indian River.
152 - 1. Sean Sanderlin, Western Branch; 2. Michael Harper, Great Bridge; 3. Michael Allen, Churchland; 4. Ronnie Turley, Indian River.
160 - 1. Orlando Morton, Churchland; 2. Jason Byrum, Great Bridge; 3. Cory Bauswell, Western Branch; 4. Mike Phelps, Oscar Smith.
171 - 1. Chris Basnight, Great Bridge; 2. James Worrell, Churchland; 3. Andy Preston, Western Branch; 4. James Benn, Oscar Smith.
189 - 1. Doug Norris, Deep Creek; 2. Matt Small, Great Bridge; 3. Carl Wright, Western Branch; 4. Leotis Watkins, Wilson.
215 - 1. Nick Cuffee, Deep Creek; 2. Antwain Britt, Indian River; 3. Sean Cross, Great Bridge; 4. Marcus Edmonds, Western Branch.
275 - 1. Rafael Butts, Oscar Smith; 2. Marvin Urquhart, Western Branch; 3. Shaun Curl, Great Bridge; 4. John Clark, Wilson. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Orlando Morton
Churchland winner
by CNB