THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 1, 1997 TAG: 9701010451
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 67 lines
Green Run's Bill Turner thought he was through with head coaching after leaving Lake Taylor in 1982. Any nagging doubts he might have had disappeared three years ago when he crushed a disk.
But a remarkable rehabilitation along with a suggestion from his wrestlers changed his mind.
Turner had been an assistant at Green Run for 14 seasons under three head coaches - Mike Taylor, Jack Harcourt and Wayne Gibson.
So when Gibson announced last spring that he was leaving for Ocean Lakes, Turner's first thoughts were: Who am I going to break in next?
``That's when the kids came to me and said `Why don't you do it?''' Turner said.
Why not, indeed?
Turner had been a head coach for seven seasons at Granby (1974-81) and Lake Taylor (1981-82). It was clear he loved the sport and the school.
And he hadn't felt this good in years.
He took up karate to help with the rehabilitation and lost 30 pounds.
``I'm having so much fun,'' Turner said during the South Norfolk Holiday Invitational at Oscar Smith. ``We haven't had but one bad practice.''
The Stallions finished a surprising second at Oscar Smith, bolstering Turner's already heady optimism.
``Jack Harcourt proved that Green Run can produce top-notch wrestling,'' Turner said. ``I think we can do it again.''
GET WELL SOON: Indian River might want to include a warning label the next time it advertises for a wrestling coach. Head coach Davey Davis is sidelined indefinitely - he underwent surgery in October after injuring his back moving mats - and assistant Norman Smith has a torn ligament in his left thumb.
Losing Davis was especially tough for senior Luke Armagost, a two-time Southeastern District runnerup.
``He's the one that got me into wrestling,'' Armagost said. ``He could beat up the big guys and make everybody listen. Sometimes we hated him, but now we just really miss him.''
Smith, who graduated from Indian River in 1995, attends Tidewater Community College and holds a part-time job in addition to coaching the Braves.
``It's tough,'' he said. ``You've got to be real motivated.''
It's even tougher with the injured thumb, which prevents him getting on the mat.
``All I can do now is run around and scream a lot,'' he said.
MATCHUP OF THE WEEK: Great Bridge's Charlie Haltom, second-ranked at 130, meets Oscar Smith's Malcolm Cherry in a quad Saturday at Oscar Smith. Haltom's lanky frame makes him difficult to score on - he allowed only one point in the Hornet Holiday Tournament. Cherry (9-1) is coming off victories in the Portsmouth and South Norfolk invitationals and can break into the rankings with a victory.
MAT BURNS: Cox's Jeff Kramer, a defending Beach District champion, is facing a second hospital stay since being slammed by Western Branch's Chris Mendez in the Western Branch Team Rotational. Kramer coughed up blood and had trouble breathing the day after the tournament, Cox coach Joe Boone said. ``The doctors have narrowed it down to four or five things, but still don't know exactly what's wrong,'' Boone said . . . Say one thing for Great Bridge: The Wildcats don't make excuses. They have been without starters Brian Childress (knee) and Bart Sawyer (ribs) most of the season, but no one brings it up. Childress won 34 matches last season at 112, but Sawyer could be more important to the team's overall success. He's one of those seniors who has waited his turn in the wrestling room and fills a major gap at 135 . . . Western Branch finished a close second in the Chapel Hill Invitational without 103-pounder Daniel Moore (flu) and limited help from 215-pounder Marques Edmonds, who was forced to withdraw after two matches. He reinjured the knee that kept him out of the Western Branch Team Rotational.