
DATE: Sunday, March 2, 1997                 TAG: 9703020250

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:  105 lines

WESTERN BRANCH CAPTURES STATE CROWN BRUINS STORM TO TITLE TO END GREAT BRIDGE'S SIX-SEASON

Western Branch used an old-fashioned team effort Saturday to shake loose the state wrestling championship from arch-rival Great Bridge.

The Bruins led all teams with eight qualifiers and seven of them placed, led by individual champions Richard Slocumb at 125 and Marvin Urquhart at 275.

Slocumb allowed only a near fall in beating Wilson's Victor Jackson 9-2 and Urquhart scored all the offensive points in his 9-4 victory over Oscar Smith's Raphael Butts.

``Great Bridge won district and region,'' Urquhart said. ``But this one counts the most.''

After extending Great Bridge to the finals of the district and region tournaments the past two weeks only to come up short, Western Branch got the job done early Saturday night at jam-packed Oscar Smith.

The Bruins clinched the team title in the wrestlebacks and went on to score 133 1/2 points. Great Bridge, which had its six-year string of championships snapped, was second with 101 1/2, followed by Cox with 94 1/2, Hylton with 59 and First Colonial with 50 1/2.

Great Bridge and Cox also had two individual champions as did Hayfield from the Northern Region.

``We really came to life in this tournament,'' Western Branch coach Terry Perdew said. ``We scored a lot of bonus points and that's what won it for us. We had only 19 guys on the team, that's all that came out, and I'm proud of every one of them.''

While the night belonged to Western Branch, it may ultimately be remembered for the heroic accomplishment of Cox's Bobby Ingram who became the first freshman in 15 years to cap an unbeaten season with a state title. Ingram (41-0) thrashed the Bruins' Matt Viola, the defending champ, 15-5 at 103.

``I felt incredible all day, all week, and this is just the best ever,'' Ingram said.

Ingram led 4-1 when he uncharacteristically was assessed a stalling point in the second period. It was his plan to be cautious on his feet, Ingram said.

But when he caught Viola in a pancake and converted it into a 5-point move to start the third period, his naturally aggresive instincts took over. He added two more takedown and another near fall while giving up only four escapes and the penalty point.

``He's a great wrestler,'' Viola said. ''He really deserves it.''

There was a touch of greatness around most of the champions, none of whom could ever be considered longshots. Great Bridge's Bruce Fowler and Cox's Pierre Pryor joined Ingram in completing perfect seasons.

Fowler (44-0) beat Oscar Smith's Gary Lewis 12-5 at 119.

``I just did what I always do,'' Fowler said. ``Shoot, shoot and wear him out.''

The win was Fowler's third of the season over Lewis, one of five silver medalists from 1996 to make the finals again.

Three of them - Slocumb, Pryor and Great Bridge's Stacy Woodhouse - won. Teammates Lewis and Butts, who lost to Urquhart, felt the sting of becoming two-time runners-up.

Pryor (41-0) scored a technical fall over Tallwood's David Pittman at 140. But that was almost anti-climactic after he rallied to pin Hylton's unbeaten Benji Main in 5:40 in the semifinals.

``I treated that like my final,'' he said. ``I knew that was my toughest match.''

Pryor and Woodhouse both used instinctive moves that aren't diagrammed in any instructional books to secure their big victories.

Woodhouse scored a 5-point reversal and near fall to trigger his 9-6 victory over Hermitage's Christian Duval at 152.

``It was basically just a feeling thing,'' Woodhouse said. ``You practice so much it just seems natural.''

In other finals involving area wrestlers, Lake Tayor's Paul Jimenez edged Great Bridge's Brian Childress 4-2 at 112, and Nansemond River's Damon Hill dominated Albemarle's Craig Hartman 9-2 at 171. Jimenez became the first Titan since Bobby Acey in 1968 to win a state title, while Hill's title came in the Warriors' first season in Group AAA.

Not everyone enjoyed a special distinction, however. First Colonial's Jeff Bernd, looking to join his twin Jason as a state champion, lost to Hylton's Chip Allen 3-2 in a matchup of surprise finalists at 135.

Allen overcame a painful shoulder injury against Cox's R. J. Davis to notch a 4-2 overtime victory in the semifinals.

Jason Bernd, a 1996 champ, saw his unbeaten season and bid to repeat end in the semifinals against Wilson's Jackson. Bernd led 4-1 when Jackson scored an escape and a takedown to force overtime. He then got the takedown in overtime to win.

No one was more frustrated, however, than Deep Creek's Doug Norris, who was disqualified in his 189-pound final against Hayfield's Brent Lancaster. Norris caught Lancaster on the back of the head with an open palm and knocked him woozy.

``They said I punched him,'' Norris said. ``Why would I do that? All I was doing was trying to get my leg back.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color photo]

BILL TIERNAN/The Virginian-Pilot

Great Bridge's Bruce Fowler, bottom, is wrapped up by Oscar Smith's

Gary Lewis in the 119-pound final Saturday in the Group AAA state

wrestling tournament. Fowler earned a decision to win the state

title.

[Photo]

BILL TIERNAN/The Virginian-Pilot

Cox's Bobby Ingram, right, works on Western Branch's Matt Viola.

Ingram beat the 1996 champ 15-5, but it was a W. Branch night.

[Chart]

AREA GROUP AAA STATE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS