THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 1, 1996 TAG: 9603010602
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 35 lines
Team goals are nice and, for most of the wrestling season, paramount. But even the most rah-rah of competitors will concede that, when the Group AAA state tournament commences at Oscar Smith today, it's every man for himself.
``You pretty much have to be selfish,'' Great Bridge 135-pounder Travis Woodhouse said. ``I want all our guys to win, but you can't spend too much time yelling and cheering for your teammates. It'll tire you out.''
Woodhouse, fifth in the state at 130 last year, will be among the 224 wrestlers competing for one of 14 individual state titles when the 48th annual tournament kicks off with first-round action at 11 a.m.
The field will include four returning state champions - Tallwood's Mike Mercado (112), Great Bridge's Carl Perry (125, now at 130), Lee-Davis' Aaron Bradley (130, now at 135) and Hampton's Eric Thompson (135, now at 140). Perry, Bradley and Thompson are undefeated this season; Mercado's lone loss came at 119.
Eastern Region wrestlers traditionally excel at this tournament. Last year, eight champions and 15 of the 26 finalists came from Hampton Roads while Great Bridge won the team title for the fifth straight year and eighth time since 1987. Here's a look at some of the top wrestlers from other regions, by weight class:
[The rest of this story is not available electronically. For complete text, please see microfilm.] by CNB