THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 23, 1997 TAG: 9702230334
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: 76 lines
Great Bridge won a pair of pivotal matchups against Western Branch in the finals and and held on to win its seventh consecutive Eastern Region wrestling championship Saturday night at Churchland.
Great Bridge, whose 21-point lead had dwindled to five entering the finals, scored 176 1/2 points. Western Branch was second with 164 and Cox was third with 157.
Great Bridge and Cox each had three champions. First Colonial had two apiece and Western Branch one.
But in the all-important wrestlebacks, where the crucial business of qualifying for the state tournament went on, the Bruins made serious inroads in seeking to deny the Wildcats yet another title.
Western Branch won seven of eight matches in the wrestlebacks and qualified eight wrestlers for this week's state tournament at Oscar Smith. Great Bridge and Cox qualified six each, followed by Tallwood with four and First Colonial, Lake Taylor and Oscar Smith with three each.
``We had some big disappointments,'' Great Bridge coach Steve Martin said. ``Western Branch is in the driver's seat.''
The Bruins have never won a state tournament title and coach Terry Perdew's appetite was whetted even further when Great Bridge's Derek Lipoli defaulted to the Bruins' Cory Bauswell at 160 with the team title wrapped up.
Martin said Lipoli aggravated an injury in Friday night's semifinals, but there was no indication he wouldn't compete until it was time to go on the mat.
``I didn't think it was in good taste to not at least warn us if the kid was hurt,'' Perdew said. ``They pulled the same thing last year with Joey Legg. They were running from the Northern Region.''
The Wildcats' Jimmy Hawthorne defaulted to Legg of Gloucester in last year's final. That put Hawthorne in the bracket opposite Stonewall Jackson's Joey Pereira, who ultimately beat Hawthorne in the state final.
Lipoli now will be bracketed opposite Hayfield's Derek Blount, the state favorite at 160.
Martin shook his head when asked if that was his strategy.
The action on the mat was just as intense as it was off it.
Six wrestlers entered the finals undefeated and five won. Great Bridge's Bruce Fowler became the first area wrestler to reach 40 victories this season with a technical fall over Western Branch's Willie Evans at 119.
``It's that time of the year to turn it on,'' Fowler said. ``I've been holding back, but I'm quitting that. My lungs can bleed and I don't care.''
First Colonial's Jason Bernd, the only state champion in the finals, received a reminder that repeating won't be easy. Bernd (30-0) edged Churchland's Nate Parker 7-6 on the strength of a stalling point with 10 seconds left.
Parker left the mat in tears and the partisan home-crowd booed Bernd on the victory stand.
``If he has a leg thrown in and has my arm how am I stalling,'' Parker said. ``The way I look at it the state (tournament) means more. That's all I'm going to say.''
Also remaining undefeated were the Cox trio of Bobby Ingram, R. J. Davis and Pierre Pryor. Ingram (37-0) beat Tallwood's Winston Escalante 8-4; Davis (38-0) edged Great Bridge's Bart Sawyer, 3-0; Pryor (37-0) topped Tallwood's David Pittman 15-10 despite being taken down four times.
Booker T. Washington's Duwyne Williams wasn't as fortunate. He fell to 25-1 with an 8-3 loss to Nansemond River's Damon Hill at 171.
The match that clinched the team title went to overtime with Great Bridge's Steve Sakis riding out Western Brnach's Chris Mendez for 30 seconds after they remained tied 4-4 through regulation and two minutes of overtime.
``I'd rather be on top in that situation,'' Sakis said. ``I just tried to stay tough and ride him real hard.''
Also Lake Taylor's Paul Jiminez became the first Titan in 27 years to win a refgion title with a 4-2 decision over Bethel's Jason Sigler at 112 and Oscar Smith's Raphael Butts defended his region title with a 6-4 win over Western Branch's Marvin Urquhart. ILLUSTRATION: RICHARD L. DUNSTON/The Virginian Pilot
Cox's Bobby Ingram, right, leans into Tallwood's Winston Escalante.
Ingram won the 103-pound Eastern title.