THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 29, 1996 TAG: 9602280165
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMI FRANKENBERRY, SUN SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
NOT SURPRISINGLY, the Poquoson wrestling team rolled to its second straight Group AA, Region I tournament title Saturday, scoring 288 points to beat Nansemond River and Lakeland by more than 100 points. But area coaches weren't disappointed.
Nansemond River had 10 wrestlers finish in the top four, including two champions, while Lakeland had nine and Southampton six, all three schools' best performance ever in the regional tournament. The top four place winners advance to the state meet Friday and Saturday in Salem.
Chris White (heavyweight) and Damon Hill (171) were regional champions for the Warriors. White pinned each of his opponents, including a pin at 1:42 in the final over Lakeland's Nathan Carr, while Hill scored pins in his first two matches before a 15-8 decision over Poquoson's Chris Thompson for the championship.
``(White and Hill) controlled every wrestler on their feet,'' Nansemond River coach Doug Dohey said. ``They were much stronger than the other wrestlers on takedowns, and that's tough to overcome. (At the state meet), the top wrestler in the region wrestles someone who's fourth, so it helped them to do well in the region.''
Southampton's Glen Studifen (160) was the only other area region champion. ``Last year was his first year wrestling, and he's been wrestling better each time,'' Southampton coach Tim Mason said of Studifen, a region runner-up last season. ``He has just worked hard in the practice room (to become a region champion).''
Nansemond River's Michael Merrell (119) finished second in the region for the third time, losing a 9-7 decision to Poquoson's Shawn Gillispie.
``(Merrell) was winning after the second period,'' Dohey said, ``he just ran out of time. It was one of those matches where a few more minutes and he could have won.''
Lakeland was led by second place finishers Mike Sheline (112), brothers Phillip (152) and James Temple (215) and Nathan Carr (heavyweight).
The Warriors' Clay Strickland (145) also placed second. Sam Tep (103), Eric Cartwright (140) and Ian Green (189) finished third for Nansemond River, and Joe Buley (130) and Derrek Hill (215) were fourth.
Kevin Jackson (125), Tommy Woods (130), Sean Sheline (135) and Josh Jones (171) placed third, while Tim Askew (145) came in fourth for the Cavaliers.
For the Indians, William Jones (heavyweight) was third. Dennard Davis (119), Neil Hancock (135), Jason Davis (140) and David Gibbs (152) were fourth for Southampton. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by MICHAEL KESTNER
Nansemond River's Damon Hill scored pins in his first two matches
Saturday.
Ian Green (189) finished third for Nansemond River High School.
Nansemond River wrestler Chris White pinned each of his opponents,
including one at 1:42 in the final.
by CNB