HAMPTON — Steve Martin is doing what he does best. He’s building a winner at Old Dominion.

Martin’s Monarchs continued their solid season at this weekend’s Virginia Duals, going 4-2 in two days and marching all the way to fourth        place in the National College Division, with their only losses coming to Kent State, a top-25 team.

Along the way, ODU knocked off second-seeded Rider and routed Virginia, which it hadn’t beaten in a dual match since 1994, and won multiple matches in this tournament for the first time in — best any Virginia Duals official could recall — about 20 years.

Martin, who inherited a middling program at best, is starting to reap the benefits of back-to-back recruiting classes rated among the top 10 nationally.

“The thing about our team is we’re so young, we’re just looking for consistency,” said Martin, best known for winning 13 Group AAA state titles in 14 years at Great Bridge High. “Because they can all do great things. For the first time, really, we’re wrestling with great athletes. And great athletes can do anything.”

New VHSL rule called threat to Virginia Duals

A plea came over the public address system during Saturday’s semifinals. Former Great Bridge coach Wayne Martin, now the supervisor of student activities for Chesapeake schools, urged in-state coaches in attendance to talk to their schools’ principals.

His message: A new Virginia High School League rule is threatening the existence of the Virginia Duals and tournaments like it. Teams are only allowed to wrestle dual matches on 12 dates during the season, and the new rule will count two-day events as separate dates.

“People might stop coming to tournaments like this,” Martin said.

The rule can be overturned if 204 of the 305 principals around the state vote against it at a meeting on March 9.

Young Tallwood team can’t catch a break

Forget Lions. Try “Toughluck” Tallwood.

Jim Lambert’s team bowed out of the American High School Division with two heart-breaking losses in as many days.

In Friday night’s first round, the Lions erased an 18-point deficit against fourth-seeded Fauquier to take a five-point lead going into the final bout Tallwood’s heavyweight was pinned, and the Lions lost 31-30. It got worse.

In Saturday’s second round of consolations, Tallwood broke a 30-30 tie with a pin in the second-to-last match against Columbia (N.Y.). Then came heavyweight, though, and again the Lions’ man was pinned.

That left the match to be decided by criteria, and Tallwood lost on the fifth tiebreaker: most six-point wins.

“We’re the hard-luck team,” Lambert said. “But it’s OK. This is my youngest team in 14 years, and they’re overachievers. Still, it’s harder to lose when you’re right there.”

Three key talents won’t be missing much longer

Three of South Hampton Roads’ top wrestlers have missed time this season but all three were spotted in the Hampton Coliseum this weekend.

Cox’s Ben Dorsay, who was thought to be lost to a broken wrist last week, was back in action. The talented freshman sought a second opinion and found out his injury was not a break but a bone bruise.

He went 4-0 during Cox’s run to the National Division title.

Kellam’s Eric Olanowski, who missed last week’s meeting with Cox while serving a suspension, wasn’t available for the rematch in Saturday’s finals. Illness kept him out.

Meanwhile, the most notable missing person in area wrestling, Great Bridge’s Junior Pearman, is making plans to get back in action.

The three-time state champ has yet to wrestle in his senior season. He said that’ll soon change after watching while his Wildcats lost a two-point match to rival Christiansburg in the National High School Division semifinals.

“I’ve had to tend to a couple injuries, a hurt shoulder and ankle,” Pearman said. “But I’m kind of heartbroken right now. We just lost by a couple points, and those could’ve been my points. I’ll be back. I’m 100 percent sure of that. Hopefully this week.”

This and that …

Former Cox star Bubba Jenkins’ varsity college debut was an overwhelming success. Jenkins (157) went 3-1 with a pin, last-second victory, major decision and his lone loss came to the No. 10 wrestler in the country in the finals as he helped Penn State win the National College Division title. … Fellow former Falcon Brian Stith (157) also went 4-0, as his Arizona State team bowed out of the consolation bracket. … Churchland grad Cecil Lee sent the Apprentice School to its first Virginia Duals finals appearance by winning his heavyweight bout to secure a 21-19 win over James Madison in the American College Division semifinals. Also, senior Micah Amrozowicz, a Kellam grad, was named the division’s outstanding wrestler.

— KYLE TUCKER

We had a very successful year last year.  Thanks to all of the wrestlers, parents and fans of wrestling who worked so diligently to make this past year a success for the team and the parents. 

We are planning a bigger fundraising campaign this up-coming season.  As you all know our program is ranked as one of the top clubs in the nation.  It will take approximately $53,000.00 to sponsor the entire team at all of the National Events.  Only through the hard work and dedication of our wrestlers are they able to maintain such a ranking.  While the funds needed to raised appear costly, it is important to remember that the entire team is sponsored and the experience they get from these events cannot be measured.     

While we are all aware of the hard work that entails being a champion, the true hard work that is often not seen is done outside of the wrestling room.. It is completed by the parents and fans who raise the funds so that the team can travel and participate against the top competition in the nation.

This past month we had very successful raffle thanks in part of Diane Branch.  She orchestrated a raffle that gave away a $500.00 prize to the winner.  The raffle was won by Willie Forehand from Moyock, North Carolina.

UPCOMING FUNDRAISING EVENTS

This year we are planning two raffles, one will be held at the Great Bride Elite Classic at Great Bridge High School on December 28, 2003 and the other raffle will be determined at a later date.

We are also planning a “PushUp-Athon for the wrestlers, the date will also be determined at a later date.

If anyone has any other fundraising suggestions please contact our Coaching Staff at the link listed below:

The Battlefield Duals is in its 5^th year.  This event is the brain child of both Bill Swink (Colonial Forge coach), who sponsors this meet, and Roy Hill (Hayfield coach), who hosts it.  Over the years, they have attracted strong teams as evidenced by past champions, Blair Academy (2003) and Upper Perkiomen (Pennsylvania powerhouse), who has won it for the past 3 years.  Last year Upper Perkiomen demolished the field of competitors.  This year, the competition got a bit stronger with the addition of Christiansburg (VA) and Waynesburg (PA).  Christiansburg is a nationally ranked team with some of the best wrestlers in the country, most notably Cody Gardner.  Waynesburg with Clint Podish and the Headlee brothers remains a force to recon with no matter who they’re wrestling.  Locally, Colonial Forge got incredibly stronger—and in truth has become a nationally ranked team, and deservedly so.  Connellsville (PA) has been coming to this event since its inception and is always tough.  Two years ago they were in a war with Upper Perkiomen and lost by the slimmest of margins in the championship finals to them.  That was the year (2005) Connellsville won both the Pennsylvania State Duals title and the Individual Tournament State title. This year, however, for the first time ever, a Virginia team took the Battlefield Duals title.  Great Bridge has the distinction of being that team.  No only that, but the 2^nd and 3^rd place teams were also Virginia teams, Christiansburg and Colonial Forge.  Upper Perkiomen was 4^th and Connellsville was 5^th.  This was a significant victory for the Great Bridge Wildcats against credible and strong competition.

 

The format for this tournament is this.  There are 2 two 7-team pools (A and B), whose strength of teams is evenly divided. GB was in the “B” pool with Christiansburg, Connelsville, Robinson, Berwick (PA), Sachem North (NY), and Westfield (VA).  On the other side were Upper Perkiomen (the favorite), Colonial Forge, Hammond (Maryland AA state champions), Waynesburg (PA), Lake Braddock, Hayfield, and Stonewall Jackson.  The 2 pools wrestle a round robin.  When it is over the last place teams in each pool wrestle each other.  When that is completed, the teams are broken down into three 4-team groupings, with the #1 and #2 teams from the “A” pool wrestling the #1 and #2 teams from the “B” pool, 3^rd  and 4^th  teams do the same and finally the 5^th and 6^th teams do likewise.  It always seems to work out that the strongest teams wrestle the weaker teams in each pool on the first day of competition.  The 2^nd and final day, the 3 strongest teams wrestle each other in their final 2 matches within their pools.  Here’s how it went round-by-round for the Wildcats.

 

Berwick.  This article cannot cover all of the competitions in each round, but I’ll share what I have.  The Wildcats opened the competition with Berwick (PA), a team that was not expected to give the gang trouble, but like every team in this tournament, they do have a few guys that are very tough to beat.  As you go through the box score, you can see that Bujno, Vantorn, Ney, Perry, Venditti, and Karns were all quality wrestlers and would win many a bout before this tournament was over.  This was the first look anyone would get at the competition.  Garrett Haas showed that he had the stamina and skills to score in each period and would be very tough.  Gary Ables struggled against Steve Prebola until he scored takedown 40 seconds into the 3^rd period off which he later locked up a cradle and put the bout away, 7-0.  Marty got off to a great start with an 18-3 tech fall over John Jola and didn’t let up the entire tournament.  Derek had a really tough time against Loy Ney, but then so did everyone Ney faced.  Still, his reversal of Ney 56 seconds into the final period sealed the 9-7 decision.  Clamp, King, Curling and Richardson all scored falls over their opponents and each had a very good tournament. It was difficult for me to know how Cole Shields was going to do in this tournament based on his loss to Tyler Perry.  Cole was the only Great Bridge wrestler I had not seen before in competition.  As it would later turn out, his covering the base for Joey Grainger would be a very good thing.  He wrestled credibly, as readers of this article will see.  The Wildcats got off to a good start and they never lost momentum.

 

Great Bridge 47 – 12 Berwick

103.  Chris Bujno (B) dec. Taylor Wilde (GB) 4-2

112. Garrett Haas (GB) dec. Dom Vantorn 6-2

119. Gary Ables (GB) dec. Steve Prebola 7-0

125.  Ryan Watson (GB) dec. Matt Knecht 8-1

130.  Marty Carlson (GB) TF John Jola 18-3 (5:01)

135.  Derek Gillespie (GB) dec. Loy Ney 9-7

140.  Tyler Perry (B) pin Cole Shields 1:04

145.  Alan Clamp (GB) pin Dustin Dehil 3:20

152.  Jared King (GB) pin Cody Spaide 3:42

160.  Willie Mello (GB) dec. Nick Venditti 4-2

171.  Billy Curling (GB) pin Rich Brown 1:51

189.  Aaron Karns (B) dec. Tim Hill 7-6

215.  Jimmy Ilardi (GB) dec. Ryan Sitler 6-3

285.  Matt Richardson (GB) pin Steve Hess 0:58

 

Sachem North.  This is the first time this team has come down from New York to the Battlefield Duals to compete.  Honestly, I don’t know much about them, except that they finished 9^th in this competition.  The Wildcats, what little sputtering they may have done in the first round, were starting to hit on all 14 cylinders.  That was good news for them and real bad news for Sachem North.  Cole Shields was the lead-off wrestler.  He got behind early, but recovered with a late 1^st period takedown to go up, 3-2.  His big 2^nd period picking up a reversal off a switch and taking Nelson to his back for 2 nearfall points, sealed the eventual 9-4 decision for him.  Sachem North never recovered.  Matt Thorpe, Alan Clamp, Jared King and Willie Mello spotted the Wildcats to a 22-0 lead with consecutive victories.  However, no bout went the distance after that.  The gang was aggressive and relentless in putting this one away.  This victory provided them the largest margin of victory (63 points) of any they would wrestle in this tournament.  The boys were on a roll.

 

Great Bridge 69 – 6 Sachem North

103.  Golden (GB) pin Hegarty 1:26

112.  Haas (GB) pin Piro 0:32

119.  Ables (GB) pin Polis 3:59

125.  Barry (SN) pin Yap 5:21

130.  Gillespie (GB) pin Hamilton 3:20

135.  Shields (GB) dec. Nelson 9-4

140.  Thorpe (GB) maj. dec. Arons 10-2

145.  Alan Clamp (GB) pin LaSala 0:40

152.  King (GB) pin Fletcher 2:40

160.  Willie Mello (GB) dec. Tuscello 6-5

171.  Curling (GB) TF Bongiorno 18-2 (5:08)

189.  Gress (GB) pin Weinhofer 5:28

215.  Cust (GB) pin Innella 1:28

285.  Richardson (GB) pin Ciafone 1:24

 

Robinson.  The next opponent finished 5^th in the state AAA tournament in 2006.  Matt Jones (171 pounder) is well known all over the east coast as a formidable opponent.  Roman Perryman isn’t as well known, but my guess is that it won’t take him long to catch up.  He’s a solid performer.  I’m not familiar with Robinson’s other wrestlers.  My guess is that this is a rebuilding year for them, based on the fact that they finished 11^th in this tournament.  Outside of Roman Perryman’s victory over Taylor Wilde and Ryan Watson’s decision over Ben Stallings, no other bout went the distance.  Richardson, Cust, Clamp, and King all scored falls for their 3^rd straight time.  This match had a lot of the Great Bridge alternate varsity wrestlers in it and all of them scored victories. Larry Yap, Robby Mello, and T.J. Snukis all scored tech falls or pins.  This was proof apparent that quality runs deep in the Great Bridge line-up.

 

Great Bridge 66 – 10 Robinson

103.  Roman Perryman (R) maj. dec. Taylor Wilde 12-0

112.  Garrett Haas (GB) TF Charles Vannoy 19-4 (5:36)

119.  Ryan Watson (GB) dec. Ben Stallings 3-2

125.  Larry Yap (GB) TF David Tepper 15-0 (6:00)

130.  Marty Carlson (GB) TF Wes Chappell 16-1 (5:15)

135.  Derek Gillespie (GB) pin Reid Brown 4:50

140.  Matt Thorpe (GB) pin Gregg Miller 3:29

145.  Alan Clamp (GB) pin Trexler Jasien 1:21

152.  TJ Snukis (GB) pin Marcus Hathaway 3:12

160.  Robby Mello (GB) pin Jimmy Dempsey 5:23

171.  Matt Jones (R) pin Tim Hill 2:52

189.  Scott Cust (GB) pin Chris Ryan 1:28

215.  Jimmy Ilardi (GB) pin Logan Perryman 1:59

285.  Matt Richardson (GB) pin Sands Smith 2:57

 

Westfield.  This team was the highest placer of all the Northern Virginia teams.  I know Westfield very well and they do have some serious competitors on it.  Their best are Brett Sposa (#3 Northern Region), Tyler and Joel Hutchens (Both #1 Northern Region), Jake Carey (#3 Northern Region), Paul Grinnups (#2 Northern Region) and Lamar Owusu.  Some of them are very formidable.  As a team, they don’t have enough horses to defeat teams the caliber of Great Bridge or Christiansburg, but they will get some wins.  In this match the light end of the Wildcat order was on fire.  Taylor Wilde and Garrett Haas both scored falls in less than a minute.  Gary Ables waited until the 2^nd period to score his fall off a Peterson reversal.  Carlson took out the second of Westfield’s good wrestlers by scoring a major decision over Tyler Hutchens.  Derek Gillespie scored 11 second period points en route to a 17-1 tech fall over Brandon Berling.  Westfield then won 3 consecutive weight classes with their best wrestlers.  However, the arsenal had no more big guns.  Jared King spearheaded a charge that put the match way out of reach for the Bulldogs.  From 152 to 285, the Wildcats scored 30 points to close the door on this match.  This was the last match of the first day.  The Cats were cooking, but the next day was “nothing but studs” day.  The boys faced Connellsville, Christiansburg, Colonial Forge and Upper Perkiomen.

 

Great Bridge 57 – 14 Westfields

103.  Taylor Wilde (GB) pin Tyler Mondress 0:57

112. Garrett Haas (GB) pin John O’Hays 0:52

119. Gary Ables (GB) pin Brett Sposa 2:41

125.  Marty Carlson (GB) maj. dec. Tyler Hutchens 17-5

130.  Derek Gillespie (GB) TF Brandon Berling 17-1 (4:57)

135.  Joel Hutchens (WF) pin Cole Shields (GB) 5:55

140.  Jake Carey (WF) TF Matt Thorpe (GB) 19-4 (5:22)

145.  Paul Grinnups (WF) dec. Alan Clamp (GB) 4-2

152.  Jared King (GB) pin Kevin Koch 1:10

160.  Willie Mello (GB) pin Austin Fallon 3:53

171.  Billy Curling (GB) maj. dec. Ryan Miquelon

189.  Kyle Gress dec. Greg Bush 9-2

215.  Scott Cust (GB) pin Lamar Owusu 2:36

285.  Matt Richardson (GB) TF Corey Ashwood 18-3 (4:14)

 

Connellsville.  This was the last match Great Bridge would wrestle with any degree of comfort.  After that, it got dicey.  Connellsville eventually finished 3^rd in the pool, which meant the highest they could finish in the tournament was 5^th and they did just that with a win over Waynesburg in cross-pool championships.  This match started with Jared King, one of the worst places to start for Connellsville, since this is the strength of the Great Bridge line-up.  Jared wasted no time in taking Slade Harvey down, locking in a chicken wing, turning Slade to his back and getting the fall in 38 seconds.  Willie Mello started the 2^nd period of his match down 2-0, but scored 9 unanswered points in the 2^nd period to win his bout by major decision over Kaitan Smiley, 14-4.  Billy Curling broke a 0-0 3^rd period tie with an escape, takedown, and 3-point tilt to win it, 6-0.  Cust hit his toughest competitor in this tournament, Zach Benzio, and he was a very tough customer.  This is how that one went.  Benzio scored first on a takedown.  Cust reversed Benzio to knot the score, 2-2.  In the 2^nd period, Cust chose down, was cut and took Benzio down to extend the lead to 5-2.  Cust was reversed 45 seconds later, but returned the favor with 5 seconds left in the period to lead, 7-4.  In the 3^rd, from neutral Benzio took Cust down.  Scott was cut and took Benzio down 1:32 into the period.  It was all Cust would need for the 10-6 win.  At 215, Jimmy Ilardi got nipped 6-3 by Matt Zavada on a takedown with 12 seconds left in the bout.  Matt Richardson was more aggressive than the score indicates in his 5-1 defeat over Justin Haines.  Taylor Wilde picked up his second huge win of the tournament keeping the pressure on Jerry Cramer for 5:11 to get a 16-1 tech fall.  Haas got out to an 8-3 first period lead and never lost ground in taking a 17-5 major decision.  Gary Ables never could quite get his offense going in a 4-1 loss to Jake Swink.  Marty Carlson put the match mathematically out of reach for any Connellsville comeback with an 8-0 major decision over Ethan Saylor.  Gillespie, Shields and Clamp all picked up decisions over tough opponents to close the door and nail down the 41-10 victory.

 

Great Bridge 41 – 10 Connellsville

103.  Taylor Wilde (GB) TF Jerry Cramer 16-1 (5:11)

112.  Garrett Haas (GB) maj. dec. Bobby Myers 17-5

119.  Jake Swink (C) dec. Gary Ables (GB) 4-1

125.  Marty Carlson (GB) maj. dec. Ethan Saylor 8-0

130.  Derek Gillespie (GB) dec. Rain Garletts 8-3

135.  Cole Shields (GB) dec. Louis Rose 13-10

140.  Jared Dolde (C) maj. dec. Matt Thorpe (GB) 11-3

145.  Alan Clamp (GB) dec. Andrew Snyder 4-1

152.  Jared King (GB) pin Slade Harvey 0:38

160.  Willie Mello (GB) maj. dec. Kaitan Smiley 14-4

171.  Billy Curling (GB) dec. Steve Blackburn 6-0

189.  Scott Cust (GB) dec. Zach Benzio 10-6

215.  Matt Zavada (C) dec. Jimmy Ilardi (GB) 5-3

285.  Matt Richardson (GB) dec. Justin Haines 5-1

 

Christiansburg.  As it turned out, this was not only for the top spot in the pool, but it also was the match between the top 2 teams in the tournament.  This one went back and forth with the outcome very much in doubt until the last bout was wrestled.  This one started at 160 with Willie Mello scoring a 5-3 decision over Luke Brugh.  Braden Carter surprised all of us when he caught Billy Curling in a 2^nd period headlock and won it by fall.  I can remember thinking, “how on earth are we going to win this one—we’re not cooked yet, but we’re darn close”.  Cust then received a very strange forfeit.  His opponent wrestled for half of the bout and then walked off the mat, not to return.  Jimmy Ilardi caught Charlie Weber in a 1^st period cradle, darn near pinned him, and the official awarded no back points!  It was impossible to explain that one to anyone sitting around me.  As a result, Jimmy lost a close decision he might otherwise have won.  Cody Gardner (the top 215 pounder in the nation) bumped up to heavyweight and won that one by fall as he did all of the other bouts he wrestled in this tournament.  The gang was down 15-9.  The light end of the order would have to salvage this match, because Christiansburg is stacked in the center of the lineup with 3 state champions from 140 – 152.  Taylor Wilde started the Wildcat comeback with a 7-4 decision over Devin Carter.  Garrett Haas knew what he had to do and he was relentless in nailing down a 13-1 major decision to put the Cats back on top, 16-15.  However, Ian Squires, state AA runner-up in 2006 was just too much for Gary Ables, just as he was for nearly everyone else he wrestled (except Chris Sheetz of Upper Perk).  His tech fall put Christiansburg back on top.  Marty Carlson had Ian’s brother, Drew, who was also a state AA runner-up in 2006.  Marty wrestled methodically, took no careless chances, got off to an early 4-0 first period lead and won the bout, 10-5.   Derek Gillespie then pinned Mike Giordano in 47 seconds to put the Cats back up 25-20.  However, it looked pretty bleak at this point.  Cole Shields was called on to wrestle veteran Bob Shafer and after that each of the Wildcat wrestlers had the finest grapplers in Virginia AA wrestling.  Of the people around me, only Mike Floyd was optimistic that things were going to go well for the boys in green and gold.  Shafer took a 13-4 major decision to lead things off.  Tim Miles had a very difficult time with Matt Thorpe, winning a 5-1 decision and giving Christiansburg a 27-25 lead.  That particular bout was key.  Had Miles pinned Thorpe as most of us thought he would do, things would have indeed been very bleak, but it didn’t happen.  At 145, Alan Clamp ran a short first period roll on Andrew Clement for the takedown and got 2 back points in the process that got him out to a 4-0 lead.  Clement later reversed him to cut the lead to 4-2.  From neutral, the 2^nd period was scoreless, but Clamp got hit with a stall warning.  In the 3^rd, Clamp was down.  Another stall warning cut Clamp’s lead to 4-3.  He finally escaped 1:39 into the period and kept Clement from scoring again.  That 5-3 decision was unexpected and huge.  It meant that (1) the Wildcats weren’t mathematically eliminated or facing nearly impossible odds and (2) all they’d have to do was win the last bout.  The fate of the team rested squarely on Jared King’s shoulders.  He was facing Sam Rakes.  Jared took Rakes down, locked up a cradle and got the fall in 1:19.  That brought the Great Bridge faithful to their feet with a deafening roar that rocked the house.  It was an incredible win over a national powerhouse.  It would be Christiansburg’s last loss in this tournament.

 

Great Bridge 34 – Christiansburg 27

103.  Taylor Wilde (GB) dec. Devin Carter 7-4

112.  Garrett Haas (GB) maj. dec. Jacob Phillips 13-1

119.  Ian Squires (C) TF Gary Ables (GB) 16-1 (4:34)

125.  Marty Carlson (GB) dec. Drew Squires (C) 10-5

130.  Derek Gillespie (GB) pin Michael Giordano 0:47

135.  Bob Shafer (C) maj. dec. Cole Shields 13-4

140.  Tim Miles (C) dec. Matt Thorpe 5-1

145.  Alan Clamp (GB) dec. Andrew Clement (C) 5-4

152.  Jared King (GB) pin Sam Rakes 1:19

160.  Willie Mello (GB) dec. Luke Brugh 5-3

171.  Braden Carter (C) pin Billy Curling (GB) 2:45

189.  Scott Cust (GB) Forfeit

215.  Charlie Weber (C) dec. Jimmy Ilardi (GB) 6-3

285.  Cody Gardner (C) pin Matt Richardson (GB) 1:36

 

 

Great Bridge 36 – Colonial Forge 23

That Great Bridge was wrestling Colonial Forge was a criteria judgment.  Colonial Forge had defeated Upper Perkiomen, who had defeated Waynesburg, who had defeated Colonial Forge in their pool.  Each team had 6 wins and 1 loss.  How was it decided? I was told that the team who had scored the most number of points in the pool would win it and that was Upper Perk.  Colonial Forge was second.  The disservice that did to Waynesburg was it took them out of the title race completely.  The best they could finish was 5^th, but even that didn’t happen after Connellsville beat them for that spot.  Colonial Forge has a lot of studs and they were ranked 36^th nationally after a great showing at the Powerade tournament last month.  Their best are Gentry, Garafolo, Pantaleo, Chichester, Huntly, Yates, Reck and Capriani.  This one started at 189 where Scott Cust kicked things off impressively with a 16-1 win over Joe Yates, one of their best, to spot the Wildcats to a 5-0 lead.  Matt Reck countered with a tech fall over Jimmy Ilaria.  Matt Richardson needed a win over Capriani, something he didn’t get last season, but did this time on the strength of a takedown late in the first period (2-1).  James Golden ran up a 16-1 lead (enough for a tech fall, but he had Garrison on his back, so the ref let him continue) before scoring a 3^rd period fall.  We were up 14-5 at this point and this was the start of the Colonial Forge juggernaut.  From 112 to 140, the Eagles have a killer line-up.  How the boys did against this group would literally determine how the match went.  Haas held Shane Gentry to a major decision, keeping the score lower than it could have been.  Garafalo, last year’s AAA state champ at 112 pinned Ryan Watson.  That gave CF a 1-point team lead.  The Wildcats countered decisively at 125 and 130 when Marty Carlson and Derek Gillespie got 2 big wins that took away the likelihood of the Eagles derailing Great Bridge.  Bellios and Chichester got the last 2 victories for Colonial Forge.  The turning point occurred when Alan Clamp defeated 2006 Cardinal District Champion, Bryce Garrison, 7-3.  That gave the Wildcats a 24-23 lead, which was never relinquished.  From 145 to 171, the Wildcats ran the table and won the match.  Each wrestler stepped up his game to ensure this one would not get away.  Tim Hill’s 11-9 decision over Fargo Freestyle All American, Max Huntley was noteworthy.

 

Great Bridge 36 – Colonial Forge 23

103.  James Golden (GB) pin Brett Garrison 4:47

112.  Shane Gentry (CF) maj. dec. Garrett Haas (GB) 13-3

119.  Michael Garafalo (CF) pin Ryan Watson (GB) 2:51

125.  Marty Carlson (GB) maj. dec. Nick Emison 16-5

130.  Derek Gillespie (GB) dec. Joe Pantaleo 6-4

135.  Chris Bellios (CF) dec. Cole Shields (GB) 8-6 OT

140.  Phillip Chichester TF Matt Thorpe (GB) 15-0

145.  Alan Clamp (GB) dec. Bryce Garrison 7-3

152.  Jared King (GB) TF Steve Courtney 18-2

160.  Willie Mello (GB) maj. dec. Ethan Ferrick 14-5

171.  Tim Hill (GB) dec. Max Huntley 11-9

189.  Scott Cust (GB) TF Joe Yates 16-1

215.  Matt Reck (CF) TF Jimmy Ilardi 17-0

285.  Matt Richardson (GB) dec. Josh Capriani 2-1

 

Upper Perkiomen.  For the Wildcats, anticipate of the match with Upper Perk was a bit of a mix of anxiety and anticipation.  Upper Perk had hammered last year’s Wildcats team.  While there were a lot of close individual bouts, the gang didn’t have one of them to go their way.  A few of Upper Perk’s studs had graduated, but a lot remained.  Their best are Ryan (4^th in State) and Zack Kemmerer (Ironman, Beast of the East, and PA AAA state champ), Chris Sheetz (Beast of the East runner-up and PA state champ), Shane Smith (Beast of the East 5^th Place and 2x PA state qualifier), Brian Keyser, and Bruce Augustine.  There was a line-up juggling to try to get the most favorable match-ups.  Some worked out well and some didn’t.  Here’s what happened.  For the 2^nd match in a row, Scott Cust led things off, this time as a 215 pounder to get the favorable match-up against Brian Keyser, a bona fide threat.  Cust used a Fairfax midway through the 2^nd period to take Keyser to his back and then covered it for the fall in 2:50.  Matt Richardson avenged a loss last year to Augustine by scoring 2 takedowns and a reversal to defeat him, 6-3 and give the Wildcats a 9-0 lead.  Taylor Wilde had gotten out to what I thought was a nice lead, up 6-2 at the end of the 2^nd period.  However, Taylor had never had to wrestle this many really tough bouts in this short a period of time.  He was exhausted and lost it on a last second tilt, 7-6.  Haas and Ables each scored first period falls to pump the lead out to 21-3.  Next was the heart of the Upper Perk line-up.  From 125 to 152 are the toughest guys in their line-up and some are the toughest in Pennsylvania.  The problem was that they weren’t getting the magnitude of wins they needed to get a lead large enough to keep Mello, Curling and Hill from pounding their inexperienced wrestlers and winning it for Great Bridge.  Sheetz, a serious stud could not score more than a simple decision against Marty Carlson.  Gillespie decisioned Johnson, as expected, 7-2.  Shane Smith is a hammer.  Cole Shields had no chance against a nationally ranked wrestler like Smith, who pinned Cole in the 1^st period.  Ryan Kemmerer could not put Matt Thorpe away, which had to confound the Upper Perk team and coaches.  He settled for a major decision.  Dustin Kern, who had a great tournament, bumped up to 145, but unhappily for him hit Alan Clamp at the top of his game.  Clamp scored 10 points in the first 2 periods and cruised the third to take the 10-1 major decision.  Zack Kemmerer, their best wrestler, bumped up to 152 to wrestle Jared King.  After Alan’s bout the score was 28-16.  Upper Perk needed a huge win from Kemmerer and a minor miracle above 152 to salvage this match.  None of that happened.  The Kemmerer-King match was tied 1-1 before Kemmer scored a takedown 1:21 into the 3^rd period to go up, 3-1.  King escaped with 19 seconds left and scored a reversal a second before time expired to win it, 4-3.  Upper Perk was devastated.  Willie Mello and Billy Curling each scored first period falls.  Tim Hill scored 3 takedowns and 2 escapes, while giving up 2 escapes to close out the scoring with an 8-2 decision.  Great Bridge won the title convincingly.  For his superb effort, Jared King was announced the team’s outstanding wrestler.

 

Great Bridge 46 – Upper Perkiomen 16

103.  Garrett Fellman (UP) dec. Taylor Wilde (GB) 7-6

112. Garrett Haas (GB) pin David Irwin 0:34

119. Gary Ables (GB) pin Mike McStravick 1:10

125.  Chris Sheetz (UP) dec. Marty Carlson (GB) 11-4

130.  Derek Gillespie (GB) dec. Ryan Johnston 7-2

135.  Shane Smith (UP) pin Cole Shields (GB) 0:46

140.  Ryan Kemmerer (UP) maj. dec. Matt Thorpe (GB) 16-6

145.  Alan Clamp (GB) maj. dec. Dustin Kern 10-1

152.  Jared King (GB) dec. Zack Kemmerer 4-3

160.  Willie Mello (GB) pin Anthony Uhrick 1:20

171.  Billy Curling (GB) pin Mark Strohl 0:51

189.  Tim Hill (GB) dec. Nick Hale 8-2

215.  Scott Cust (GB) pin Brian Keyser 2:50

285.  Matt Richardson (GB) dec. Bruce Augustine 6-3

 

This event showed me just how much quality this team has and how much cohesion it has.  The team was missing 3 starters, but still won a big tournament against quality opponents.  Scott Cust, Derek Gillespie, and Jared King were unbeaten in this tournament.  Marty Carlson, Garrett Haas, Matt Richardson, Alan Clamp, and Billy Curling only had 1 loss.

 

Just as a final note, in the other championship matches Christiansburg defeated Upper Perkiomen 33-28 and Christiansburg defeated Colonial Forge 34-33 (Colonial Forge had a team point deducted at 140 in this one and that was the difference).

Honors/Titles:

• 2002 Virginia Cadet Freestyle Champion

• 2000 NHSCA National Freestyle Champion

• Middle School State Champion

• 8th FARGO (ALL-AMERICAN) National Cadet Freestyle Tournament

 Casey is the 4th in a long line of wrestling Staylor’s (Jody, Christian, Justin, and Casey).  Like all of his brothers he is a national champion having won a national title at the NHSCA Freestyle tournament in Birmingham AL in 2000. He is also a middle school state champion.  In his freshman season, Casey finished 3rd in the Hornet Holiday Classic and 2nd in the SE District Tournament.  He was the 2002 Virginia Cadet Freestyle champion. In his sophomore season, he got considerable varsity mat time, participating in the Ironman, the Virginia Duals and dual and quad meets.  In the 2003 post-season, Casey was runner-up Virginia Cadet Freestyle Tournament and was the state champion in the Virginia Junior Freestyle Tournament.  At Fargo, he won All American honors by finishing 8th in his weight class in the National Cadet Freestyle Tournament.   Casey is one of the many reasons why the light end of the Wildcat order is going to be very difficult for opponents to deal with this season.  Preseason, Casey is ranked 4th in the state and is 15th among the nation’s juniors.

Personal:  Casey’ s parents are Jack and Julie Staylor, he has four siblings, Jody, Justin, Carrie and Christian…brother Jody was a national runner-up at 133 pounds for North Carolina…brother Christian is a freshman wrestling at Arizona State University…brother Justin is also on the 2003-2004 Wildcat team competing at 119 pounds.

Great Bridge Wrestling is proud to announce that the Great Bridge Elite Classic will be held on December 29 and 30, 2003 in Chesapeake, Virginia at Great Bridge High School.

The tournament entry fee will be $300.00 per team and must be paid by September 01, 2003

The tournament will be held as an individual championship bracketed tournament.  It will be double elimination with one designated point scorer per  weight class; in addition, each school may enter six (6) extra athletes (limit 2 per weight class) for a total of twenty (20) participants per school.

The tournament will award six individual place winners with an Outstanding  Wrestler Award.  Each designated point scorer (1 per weight class) will score team points as he or she progresses through the tournament.  The tournament will award team plaques to the top three teams.

Due to VHSL rules, the GBHS gym will not be available for workouts on Sunday, December 28, 2003.  However, mats will be available for workouts on Monday, December 29, 2003 at 6:00 AM.

The top four teams are guaranteed an invitation for the 2004 tournament.

All seeding criteria will be based on Post Season Performance and will be completed on-line only.

Further information will be posted at a later time.  Hotel Accommodations will be given at group rates.  Both the National Federation and the Virginia High School League sanction the GBEC.

All National High School Federation Rules will be enforced at this event.

Formally known as the Hornet Holiday Classic, the tournament has attracted teams from 6 different states.  There are currently 10 teams confirmed for the event.  The event is being planned as a 12 team tournament.

Confirmed teams thus far are listed below:

1.  Great Bridge High School
Chesapeake, Virginia.

2.  Paulsboro High School
Paulsboro, New Jersey

3.  Cary High School
Cary, North Carolina

4.  Menchville High School
Newport News, Virginia

5.  Currituck High School
Barco, North Carolina

6.  First Colonial High School
Virginia a Beach, Virginia.

7.  Deep Creek High School
Chesapeake, Virginia

8.  Fort Dorchester High School
North Charleston, South Carolina

9.  Green Run High School
Virginia Beach, Virginia  

10.   Dutch Fork High School
Irmo, South Carolina

11.  Bayside High School
Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Patrick was one of those very rare wrestlers, like Mike Martin, Daniel Frishkorn, and Christian Staylor who came to the team with incredible credentials.  He has won the Virginia State Middle School championships and national titles in all three wrestling styles.  As an 8th grader, he won the State Cadet Freestyle Championship and went on to cop 5th place in Fargo in the National Cadet Freestyle Championships, earning All American honors in the process.  Last season in his freshman year, Patrick finished 4th in the Ironman, 1st in the Reno Tournament of Champions, 1st in the Hornet Holiday Classic, 1st in the SE District, 1st in the East Region, 1st in the State AAA Tournament, 1st in the 2002 State Cadet and Junior Freestyle tournaments, and 1st in the nation at the National Cadet Freestyle Tournament in Fargo.  Patrick also won the Super 32 tournament in North Carolina this fall.  He is currently ranked 1st in preseason Virginia AAA ratings.  He is ranked 1st in the nation among freshmen and sophomores and 4th among all high school wrestlers at 189.  Patrick is as solid as Mount Rushmore and is a valuable asset to this Wildcat team.

There is probably a lot of celebrating among the AAA high school wrestling programs and fans.  Great Bridge graduated a large number of powerful wrestlers in Jayk Cobbs, Matt Rosen, Jordan Frishkorn, Adam Pittman, and Trey Rogers—nearly half of the starting line-up.  These guys were all either state champions or state place-winners.  All of them had national reputations.  One of the most daunting tasks for any coaching staff is to fill those holes with capable wrestlers who can and will carry the load.

There are 8 returning starters.  They are joined by precocious freshmen and sophomores and a few seasoned vets who are ready for a shot at the competition.  This year’s team starts out with Taylor Wilde at 103.  He has a lot of heart and has been adding skill and experience in the off-season.  Supporters of this program are going to be pleasantly surprised at how much he’s improved.  Next is an experienced junior at 112 in Garrett Haas, the 2006 SE District Tournament Champion.  While he was relatively inexperienced last year, he made consistently good showings against what was considered far superior competition—they weren’t.  Next is probably Ryan Watson, a seasoned veteran who has had to wrestle in the shadows of Jayk Cobbs and Matt Rosen, two of the nation’s finest lightweight wrestlers.  Ryan is eager to get some varsity time on the mat.  At 125 is Marty Carlson.  Marty has more state titles than any freshman I can think of.  I watched his matches when he was in the 4^th grade.  He made quite a showing against all of his competition.  He will wrestle far better wrestlers than he is used to wrestling, but Marty adjusts well and will be a heck of an asset to this team.   At 130 is Derek Gillespie, a senior.  Derek is a 2x SE District Champ, 2^nd in the region (2005), and 3^rd in the state (2005 and 2006).  Derek is very strong and has excellent skills.  He is one of the reasons the competition will remain frustrated against Great Bridge wrestlers. At 135 is a very seasoned veteran freshman, Joey Grainger.  For those who have not seen him, be ready for a treat.  This kid can wrestle with the best of them.  At 140 is senior P.J. Clamp, another seasoned veteran who wrestled in the shadows of Jordan Frishkorn and Adam Pittman last season.  This year P.J. is ready to step up to the plate and knock it out of the park.  I was very impressed with him several years ago at the California 5 Counties tournament.  He is a very active and aggressive wrestler.  At 145 is Junior Pearman.  Junior placed at the Ironman in 2004 and 2005 and placed 5^th at the Beast of the East in 2005.  He is a 3x SE District Champ, 3x East Region Champ, and 3x State champ.  He is the man to beat in the state of Virginia at 140 lbs.  Jared King is probably the man at 152, assuming he hasn’t grown beyond that weight class.  Jared placed in the 2004 Great Bridge Elite Classic.  He also holds a 2003 AAU national freestyle title.  He is the 2006 SE District Champion, East Region runner-up and state runner-up.  Senior Willie Mello, who has had the unfortunate circumstance of being in the middle of a group of nationally ranked wrestlers most of his varsity career, will probably be the starter at 160.  Sophomore Billy Curling, a familiar name among long time Great Bridge fans, is the other contender for that position.  He is a middle school champion sporting impressive mat skills. Billy was the Wildcats wrestler of record at 160 pounds in the GB Elite Classic, where Billy was a finalist for the title. He is young, but is a very solid wrestler. Timothy Hill, a senior, a terrific athlete, looks to hold down the starting position at 171, as he did last year.  He is a 2x SE District Champion at 171 and was 3^rd in the 2005 East Regional Tournament and 4^th in the 2006 East Regional Tournament. At 189 Scott Cust, a senior, will probably be the team’s 189 pounder.  Scott is a 3x SE District Champ, is the 2005 East Region 3^rd place finisher, and is the 2005 AAA State Runner-Up. In 2006 he won both the East Region and State AAA titles.  He won the 2005 state junior freestyle title.  He is in phenomenal condition and will be a force to reckon with at 189 pounds. At 215 is Logan Cobell, Jimmy Ilardi, or James Cobell.  All are seasoned veterans. Whichever one gets the nod, he’s got a huge pair of shoes to fill in replacing Trey Rogers.  Still, each of them is eager to get on the mat and dispatch the competition. Senior, Matt Richardson, 2x Virginia Middle School Champion, the 2004 Freshman State Champion, and 2005 and 2006 SE District Champion and 2006 East Region runner-up anchors the heavy end of the Wildcat order.  Matt is also a 2x Ironman place-winner.  It was his close bout with Christiansburg’s Charlie Weber that completed the victory for the Wildcats in the championship round of the 2006 Virginia Duals.  Matt has impressive credentials, because he’s an impressive wrestler.

This article lists the possible starting varsity wrestlers on the team (this is my guess and is not verified by the coaches or staff of the Great Bridge team) and some of their accomplishments:

103.  Taylor Wilde.  Junior.  Taylor wrestled junior varsity last season, but did get some varsity time during season.  He stayed active in the off-season competing every chance he got.  He was the 2005 State Junior Freestyle Champion at 98 pounds.  Taylor is light for a varsity wrestler, but will probably get some varsity time.  Look for some surprisingly good performances from him on the mat this season. When Taylor is not wrestling, you can most probably find him Playing at the British Columbia online casino.

112.  Garrett Haas.  Junior.  Garrett started his freshman season with Indian River.  He wrestled in one of the toughest weight classes in the state.  Part of the reason it was so tough is because the state 3^rd and 4^th place winners were in his district.  In spite of that, Garrett finished 4^th in the district tournament and qualified for competing in the East Region tournament.  There he was 2-2 losing only to the East District Champion, who was also 2-2, and the State Champion (Brian Wright, Kempsville).  In his sophomore year, Garrett swept the district en route to winning the title.  In the East Regional tournament his only losses were the 2^nd and 4^th place winners.  Both were extremely close decisions.  This season, Garrett will be one of the seasoned veterans, upon whom the team will depend heavily.  My guess is that he’ll carry the responsibility well.

119.  Ryan Watson.  Junior.  Ryan wrestled in the shadow of Jayk Cobbs for the past 2 years.  Ryan is a strong kid with good wrestling skills.  He has had a few varsity bouts and looked darn good in most of them.  Since his work ethic is strong, my guess is that he’s going to surprise a lot of the competition in the Eastern Region this season.

125.  Marty Carlson.  Sophomore.  Marty Carlson has been a competitor in Virginia wrestling for most of his young life.  He is one of the very few wrestlers that will surface to the top of the weight class he’s in regardless of which one he’s in.  He is a 3x Virginia Middle School State Champion. In his freshman season, he wrestled behind 4x state place-winner, Matt Rosen.  This season, Marty will be in the driver’s seat.  He got a few varsity bouts last season and placed 3^rd in the Great Bridge Elite Classic.  To say that he’s precocious is a bit of an understatement.  This guy is a natural for this sport and will build a daunting reputation in varsity wrestling.

130.  Derek Gillespie.  Senior.  Derek has been in the starting lineup for the past 2 years.  In his first season, Derek wrestled his way to a 3^rd place finish in the GB Elite Classic.  He was 3-0 in the Virginia Duals with impressive wins over powerful opponents from Parkersburg South, Camden Catholic, and Christiansburg.  In the post-season tournaments, Derek won the SE District title, was runner-up in the East Region tournament and was 3^rd in the state tournament.  After losing in the first round, he squashed the field to finish 3^rd and was the only wrestler in the state tournament to perform this feat.  Last year Derek won the district title, finished 3^rd in the region and 3^rd in the state.  He was one of the really solid performers and is expected to figure prominently in the tournaments in which the team wrestles.

135.  Joey Grainger.  Freshman. Joey is not one’s average freshman.  He’s a two time middle school state champion, three time AAU state champion, won the world schoolboy freestyle title in 2005 and finished second in 2006.  He was a member of the middle school dream team out of New Jersey.  Joey won the middle school city tournament three times (an extraordinarily rare feat), was a member of the Disney Duals MAWA team and competed three years at the Junior Olympics.  This is his first varsity year and because it is, he’ll hit some speed bumps.  However, look for him to be the center of a solid nucleus of this team starting sooner than later.

140.  P.J. Clamp.  Senior.  P.J. had a very successful middle school career.  He won 2 state titles and has been participating in post-season competitions.  P.J. finished 5^th at the 2003 Super 32 in North Carolina.  In that tournament he beat several wrestlers ranked in their respective states.  He is one of those guys that gives the team impressive depth.  P.J. filled in for the injured Bryan Peterson during his sophomore season.  He finished 4^th at the Great Bridge Elite Classic and picked up a victory in the California Five Counties Tournament.  Last season, P.J. wrestled behind Jordan Frishkorn, which meant he wasn’t going to see a lot of competition.  However, he did finish 2^nd in the GB Elite Classic.  P.J. is a very skilled and tough competitor.  This year, he should do very well. The team will definitely call on his skills to strengthen the lineup.

145.  Alan Clamp.  Sophomore.  Alan is one of those incredibly skilled wrestlers that is going to take it to most of the varsity competition.  Alan is a middle school state champion and wrestled on the junior varsity team last year.  This guy is not a “space filler”.  He is the real deal, whose potential is close to that of Jordan Frishkorn.  Look for him to be one of the key rebuilding blocks of this team. Besides wrestling, Alan is also a skilled slots player who spends much of his spare time playing Canadian online slots.

145.   Junior Pearman.  Senior.  Junior was a Virginia middle school state runner-up, a multiple time national tournament level All American and is one of those guys who seems to have wrestling in his blood.  He’s been wrestling for at least 8 years (maybe more) at the local, state, and national level.  He was the runner-up this past summer at the 2003 Grand National AAU in the cadet division.  In 2003 he was 3^rd in the Super 32 preseason tournament.  In 2004, Junior was in the thick of every tournament in which he wrestled.  He was 3-2 in the Ironman, was 3^rd at the Tiger Classic, 3^rd at the Great Bridge Elite Classic, and 5^th in the California 5 Counties Tournament.  In the post-season he won the SE District title, the East Region title, and copped the Virginia State AAA title in a very tough field.  He was also the state’s only Cadet All American at Fargo in 2004.  In 2005, he placed at the Ironman and won the GB Elite Classic at 140 pounds.  Junior was undefeated in the Virginia Duals.  In the post-season, he won the SE District title, the East Region title, and the State title.  In 2006 he placed at the Ironman, finished 5^th in the Beast of the East, won the SE District title, won the East Region title, and won his 3^rd state title.  Junior is a resourceful wrestler, who, as captain, will lead this team to many victories.

152.  Jared King.  Junior.  Jared is one of those guys, who just keeps getting better as he goes.  That fact was abundantly clear as he reached the state finals last season and nearly won the state title.  He is a 3x middle school state champion and is a National AAU Freestyle champion. Last season, he started in every event.  He started slowly, but by the end of the post-season, he had won the SE District title and finished second in the region and second in the state.  He’s more than tough.  His skills seem to morph out of nowhere.  Because that’s true, he’s become an unpredictable (much like Adam Pittman) and very dangerous opponent.

160.  Willie Mello.  Junior.  Willie is one of those quiet guys who doesn’t really get your attention unless you’re really paying attention.  In the last 2 seasons Willie got very little varsity mat time, but for those who saw him compete and place in the 2004 GB Elite Classic at 145 pounds, they had to be impressed.  He finished 6^th in what was probably the toughest weight class in the tournament.  Like Jared King, he lost a close one in his final bout (7-6) to a state tournament qualifier.  In the 2005 State Freestyle tournament, Willie nailed down 3^rd place and in so doing, finished ahead of all of the AAA competitors in the 152 weight class.  He also finished 6^th in the 2005 Great Bridge Elite Classic.  Willie will have to deal with a very skilled competitor in Scott Waters for the starting position at 145, but Willie is a terrific wrestler.  He’ll be a nightmare to deal with.

 

160/171.  Billy Curling.  Sophomore.  Billy grew up with wrestling.  His dad was one of the reasons why the Great Bridge teams of the mid-to-late 1980’s were as terrific as they were.  If one had any doubt whether Billy acquired his dad’s skills, he’d only have to look at the way in which he handled himself last season.  Billy finished 2^nd in the 2005 GB Elite Classic, losing a tight, 5-2 decision to Jacob Howland.  He is so impressive that Scott Cust, state champ at 160 last season, moved to 189 to make room for Billy to start in the line-up.  Billy is just a sophomore, but he’s a darn good one.  He’ll get a lot of attention as the season progresses.

171.  Timothy Hill.  Senior.  Tim has been the starter for the past 3 seasons at 171.  While this is a very difficult weight class for most underclassmen, Timothy is very athletic.  He’s had injuries off and on, but his skills have noticeably improved.  In his freshman year, Tim was runner-up in the SE District Tournament to James Conyers (the state 3^rd place winner).  His 2 wins in the 2004 East Region Tournament were over the Peninsula District and Eastern District champions.  In 2005, Tim was off and on, having moments of brilliance coupled with some disappointment.  Tim was unstoppable in the SE District Tournament, where he pinned the field to cop his first district title.  An injury to his hand in the East Regional tournament nearly cost him a trip to the state tournament, but Tim wrestled inspired and won his last 2 bouts to cop 3^rd place and qualify for the state tournament.  However, that injury meant he couldn’t be at the top of his game in the tournament featuring the best competition in Virginia, so he wasn’t able to do as well as he ordinarily would have done had he been 100%.  In the off-season, Tim was the 2005 State Junior Freestyle Runner-up at 171 pounds. In the 2006 season, Tim won the GB Elite Classic title and the SE District title. He finished 4^th at the East Regional tournament. He has good moves and is very flexible.  Look for him to be one of the solid performers on the heavy end of the Wildcat order.

189.  Scott Cust.  Senior.  As a freshman, Scott broke into the starting lineup.  At the Tiger Classic, he finished 5^th (was 6-2).  He was 6^th at the GB Elite Classic and finished just outside a place-winning position at the California 5 Counties Tournament.  In the post season, he won the 2004 SE District Title and was 2-2 in the East Regional Tournament.  He won the 2004 Great Bridge Halloween Classic at 165 pounds.  In the 2005 season, Scott would face a lot of land mines.  He got everyone’s attention when he swept the field in taking the GB Elite Classic title.  Scott was 3-1 against some of the stiffest competition anywhere in the Virginia Duals.  Everyone knew he was in for a rough ride in the post-season, but he won the SE District title, finished 3^rd in the East Region, and was runner-up at the state tournament, losing a narrow, 5-4 decision to the eventual champion.  Scott clobbered the field in the 2005 Virginia State Freestyle tournament en route to taking the 160 pound title.  In the 2005-06 season, Scott placed 7^th at the Ironman, was undefeated in the Virginia Duals, won his 3^rd SE District title, won the East Region Tournament title and the State AAA title at 160 pounds.  This year he bumps up 2 weight classes to solidify the upper weights and to make room for skilled wrestlers in the middle weights.  While it remains to be seen how he’ll do at that weight class, his 3^rd place finish at the prestigious Super 32 in 2006 gives an opportunity to speculate with a high degree of accuracy.  He should do extremely well. 

215.  Jimmy Ilardi.  Senior.  Jimmy wrestled behind state champion, Trey Rogers, last season.  However he did have flashes of brilliance last season in both the Granby Classic and the Great Bridge Elite Classic (was 3^rd place).  It is too early to know how he’ll do this season, but he came to Great Bridge wanting to be part of a great tradition.  My guess is that he’s probably worked hard in the off-season to ready himself for his last year of varsity competition.

275.  Matt Richardson.  Senior. Matt came to Great Bridge as a 2x Virginia State Middle School champion.  He was the Virginia State Cadet Freestyle runner-up in 2003.  Matt attended 3 camps in the summer of 2003, one was Bruce Baumgartner’s camp in Pennsylvania.  He had a tough regular season, but was the 2004 SE District runner-up and was the 2004 Virginia Freshman Folkstyle Tournament Champion.  Matt shocked everyone by copping 4^th at the Ironman in 2004.  He was 3^rd at the GB Elite Classic and won the 2005 SE District Tournament.  In 2006, Matt finished 2^nd at the GB Elite Classic.  He won his 2^nd SE District Tournament and was runner-up at the East Regional Tournament.  Matt has had his ups and downs, but he has the skills necessary to be a dominating wrestler in this weight class.

That’s how they stack up.  This team is strong in nearly every weight class.  It’s got an interesting balance of youth and experience .  Coach Norman Smith will take them to the Ironman, the Beast of the East, Great Bridge Elite Classic, and the Virginia Duals.  The gang will get tested at each of these competitions, ones in which these boys will compete against the some of the strongest teams and wrestlers in the USA.  This will be a very tough season, but this team is packed with kids who love to wrestle.  It is made of solid wrestlers who will make a good account of themselves everywhere they go.  Good luck, guys.  To borrow a phrase from my brother, “I’ll see you matside.”

Skip

This is Justin’s 4th year as a starter on this team 2 years at 103 and 2 years at 119.  He won the national title at the NHSCA Freestyle tournament in Birmingham AL in 2000.  In his freshman season, he finished 3rd in the district tournament and 5th in the Eastern Regional tournament.  Justin was runner-up in the State Cadet Freestyle Tournament, 3rd in the State Cadet Greco-Roman Tournament, and 3rd in the State Junior Freestyle
Tournament.  In the 2001-2002 season, he was the Ironman Champion, Hornet Holiday Classic runner-up, district champion, regional and state runner-up.  As a junior, his 1st year at 119, he was Hornet Holiday Classic Champion, SE District Champion, and East Region 5th place.  Justin is an experienced wrestler, who has hit the weights hard this summer.  His skills have always been real good.   Now his strength has caught up with those skills.  As one of 3 seniors on the team, his mat skills and stewardship are essential keys to the success of
this team.  Justin is ranked 2nd in the state preseason at 119.  Nationally,  he’s 19th among all seniors.  Justin made incredible progress on the team this year.   

He was runner up in the State Junior Freestyle Tournament and won more than he lost at Fargo. The latter is a clear indication of where he is skill-wise against experienced varsity wrestlers.  Justin also participated in the Junior Olympics on the Great Bridge team. He is one of the keys to the success of this team.

Personal: Justin’ s parents are Jack and Julie Staylor, he has four siblings, Jody, Justin, Carrie and Christian…brother Jody was a national runner-up at 133 pounds for North Carolina…brother Christian is a freshman wrestling at Arizona State University…brother Casey is also on the 2003-2004 Wildcat team competing at 130 pounds.

Former Cox stars not likely to meet, and it’s fine by them

HAMPTON – The much-anticipated match between former Cox High stars Bubba Jenkins and Brian Stith won’t happen today unless top-seeded Penn State slips into the consolation bracket.

Both Jenkins’ Nittany Lions and Stith’s Arizona State team, seeded fifth in the National College Division, needed to win their first two dual matches Friday to set up a semifinal showdown. Penn State obliged, but the Sun Devils fell in the quarterfinals.

“I think it’s better that way,” Stith said. “Me and Bubba, we’re like brothers. I’ll meet him when I have to, but not today.”

Individually, it was still a big day for both 157-pounders.

Wrestling just a few feet apart in the morning round, Stith and Jenkins both won by pin. For Stith, it was his 100th college victory. Jenkins’ win, meanwhile, came in his first varsity college match.

While Stith’s team lost in the next round, he won again by major decision, and Jenkins helped the Nittany Lions advance to the semis with a come-from-behind victory in the quarterfinals.

“To have (Stith) on the other side winning his 100th, and me getting my first, that was crazy. I guess he’s got about 99 on me for now,” Jenkins said.

Seven from Great Bridge on Duals college squads

Stith and Jenkins were hardly the only former South Hampton Roads high school standouts returning to the Duals as college wrestlers.

There were seven former Great Bridge Wildcats in college lineups, including a pair of freshmen now wrestling for Virginia Tech.

Matt Rosen (133) and Derek Gallagher (165) got starts for the Hokies, who went 1-1 Friday. Rosen lost his lone match on a late takedown. Gallagher came back from a first-round loss by technical fall to win by major decision and help Tech stay alive in the consolation bracket.

Another freshman, Jimmy Mitchum (141) from First Colonial, started for James Madison. Redshirt freshman Chris Brown, a Great Bridge grad, won a pair of matches at 157 for Old Dominion.

Side by side

Some smart scheduling created a strange-to-see set-up in Friday’s first round. Great Bridge High wrestled on the mat beside Old Dominion, coached by former Wildcats leader Steve Martin.

“I looked across the way and thought, ‘That’s pretty neat to be right next to them,’ ” said Great Bridge coach Norman Smith, Martin’s longtime assistant.

“Steve’s doing a great job over there, and we’re keeping it rolling over here.”

This and that…

Former Great Bridge state champ and assistant coach Mark Strickland is busy building his new team. Now the head coach at Group AA Poquoson, Strickland scored a first-round upset of fifth-seeded Western Branch in the Black & Blue High School Division…. It wasn’t a great day to be a Bruin. Western Branch grad Christian Smith (125), a former three-time state champ, was back at the Duals as a junior for Liberty, the latest stop on his roller-coaster college career. He won an ACC title at Duke, then transferred to Virginia Tech and finally landed at Liberty. Friday, he lost to ODU freshman Kyle Hutter in the first round…. Tallwood nearly upset fourth-seeded Fauquier in the American High School Division, erasing a huge early deficit to take the lead entering the match’s final bout. But the Lions’ heavyweight couldn’t pull out the victory and Tallwood fell 31-30.

 

- KYLE TUCKER

Defending champion: Seriously? Great Bridge has won 22 consecutive district titles, 16 straight Eastern Region crowns and is bidding to make it an uninterrupted decade of state championships.

Returning district champions: All are from Great Bridge (last season’s weights are in parentheses): Garrett Haas (103), Junior Pearman (140), Jared King (145), Scott Cust (160), Tim Hill (171).

Returning Eastern Region champions: Pearman and Cust.

Returning state champions: Pearman and Cust.

Best wrestler: Pearman hasn’t always dominated. His fall from the top has often been forecast, but greatly exaggerated. The guy has found a way to win. And win three consecutive state titles. Should he get that rare fourth crown, he’ll get the accompanying respect he craves.

On the verge: Western Branch’s Ricky Anderson followed up a head-turning freshman season — second in the district, fourth in the region — with no hint of a sophomore slump. Anderson was again district runner-up (to Pearman) before finishing third in the region and fifth in the state. With Pearman moving up to 145, this could be Anderson’s breakthrough season.

Top newcomer: Great Bridge sophomore Marty Carlson (125) is not a new name to wrestling insiders. He built quite a resume as a youth wrestler and only a supertalented group of Wildcats seniors in the lower weights kept him out of the lineup last season. Watch for him to make noise in a hurry.

On the rise: Western Branch might be the most improved team in the district. Although no one in the district is ready to challenge the Wildcats, the Bruins should chase the annual title of next-best thing.

On the slide: Sid Savoy’s squad had evolved into that team right behind Great Bridge, but after losing three district finalists and six region qualifiers, Oscar Smith is almost assured of slipping a few spots.

A look at the Southeastern District teams in predicted order of finish:

1. GREAT BRIDGE Coach: Norman Smith Last season: 29-1 overall,8-0 Southeastern District; district,Eastern Region and GroupAAA state champion Top wrestlers: Derek Gillespie,sr.,130; Junior Pearman,sr.,145; Jared King,jr.,152; Tim Hill,sr.,171; Scott Cust,sr.,189; Garrett Haas,jr.,112; Marty Carlson,soph.,125. Outlook: Entering his second season of runningThe Dynasty the Martins Built, Smith will get a chance to prove he can keep things rolling.Last season,he took a loaded team to a ninth consecutive state title.Now he’ll have to try to repeat that feat despite losing four individual state champs and two more state place-winners.He does have six returning district champs,four state place-winners and a pair of state champs. While Pearman goes for four in a row and Cust tries to repeat,King, Gillespie and Haas are all legit contenders for their first state crowns.Whether or not Smith can“coach up” the next wave of young talent — and there’s plenty — will determine whether the dynasty dies or flies.

2. HICKORY Coach:Teddy Evans Last season: 17-13,6-2 Top wrestlers: Kyle Curling,jr.,103/112; Josh Gillis,jr.,112/119; Connor Simons, jr.,119/125; Grant Chapman,jr.,189; K.C. Ridenour,sr.,275. Outlook: Sean Katz,one of the winningest wrestlers in Hawks history, will be sorely missed.He was a district,region and state place-winner all four years. But while Hickory loses its star,there’s plenty of depth left. Curling,Gillis,Simons and Chapman were all region qualifiers last season,with Simons finishing fourth in the region in the brutal 119-pound bracket,and advancing to state. The Hawks also get back Joel Bridger,the 2005 district runner-up at 189 who missed last season because of a knee injury.This team has the potential to be one of the district’s most balanced.

3. WESTERN BRANCH Coach: Bob Siman Last season: 24-12,5-3 Top wrestlers:Amos Scott,jr.,189; Ricky Anderson,jr.,140; Montrell Barbine,jr.,160; DanielAlukonis,sr.,145;Ace Callwood,jr., 215; Dwayne Cuffee,jr.,275. Outlook:Two years ago,the Bruins finished fourth in the district with nine freshmen in the starting lineup.Last season,they did the same with nine sophomores.Now,with Oscar Smith set to slip a bit and Siman’s squad suddenly very experienced,Western Branch is ready to make a move.A talented junior class, with a heap of matches under its belt,is led byAnderson,Scott,Callwood and Cuffee – all region qualifiers last season.Anderson has district,region and state title aspirations,and district champ Scott will try to defend his title and make waves in the region tournament. “This team has the potential to be noticeably improved,”Siman says,even without district runner-upTucker Miller (103),who will miss the season after suffering a neck injury last week in practice.

4. INDIAN RIVER Coach: Mike Mercado Last season: Fifth in district tournament Top wrestlers: Corbin Slaughter,fresh., 112/119; Kyle Hall,sr.,125/130; Peter Crawford,sr.,135/140; Ryan Rowe, fresh., 171/189; Jerald McCain,sr.,152/160; Marina Lambert,fresh.,160/171. Outlook: In his first year at the helm, Mercado inherited a young,talented team that could be the surprise of the district. In Hall,Crawford and McCain,the Braves return a trio of region qualifiers.In Slaughter, Rowe and Lambert,Indian River gets a trio of newcomers with a stack of success at the middle school level. Lambert is maybe the most interesting story on the team,if not all of Hampton Roads.She’s a two-time middle school state champion — against the boys — and is ranked the No.1 165-pound girl in the nation by the U.S.GirlsWrestling Association.She’s also ranked No.2 nationally in her division by USA Judo.

5. OSCAR SMITH Coach: Sid Savoy Last season: 24-4,7-1 Top wrestlers: Darion McClarty,sr.,140; JoshYoung,soph.,125; Levi Golt,soph., 171; MarquisYates,jr.,189; James Clark, jr.,275. Outlook:TheTigers are younger than they’ve been in quite awhile,losing six region qualifiers,including district finalists Kevin Hill,Matt Perry andArnold Doxie.Three of those went on to the state tournament. McClarty, who was runner-up to state champ Adam Pittman in the district,is theTigers’ lone returning state qualifier.ButYoung,Golt, Yates and Clark all finished in the top four in the district last season — providing a stable nucleus for an otherwise inexperienced squad.Savoy’s teams often find their way toward the top of the standings by season’s end.This one might take a little longer to climb than most.

6. DEEP CREEK Coach: Steve Gwaltney Last season: 17-17,4-4 Top wrestlers: Cole Louks,soph.,119; MarcusAdams,soph.,112; Josh Bridgeman, sr.,160; George Contreras,jr.,152; Christian Ramsey,sr.,189; David Peek,sr.,171; BrandonTrayham,soph.,130. Outlook: Gwaltney left Churchland to replace Brian Dugan,who left behind a team that started seven freshmen or sophomores last season.District runner-up Justin Adams is gone,but he was one of only a few seniors on last year’s squad.Louks and Trayham qualified for the region tournament as freshmen.Said Gwaltney:“I hope to keep up the great work that coach Dugan accomplished,”adding that he expects“an exciting season with a great group of kids.”

7. LAKELAND Coach: SteveWood Last season: 8-17,2-6 Top wrestlers: MarkVer Schnieder,sr., 152; Davante Dukes,fresh.,215; Brian Ebrenfried,sr.,135; JeraldWicks,soph., 145. Outlook:The Cavaliers,the top team in Suffolk last season,lost just one senior.Ver Schnieder was third in the district a year ago,andWicks also qualified for the region tournament.Wood said his team has“lots of experience coming back and is deeper than I’ve been in ages. Some transfers and young wrestlers should help this be a productive year.”Productive would be finishing ahead of someone other than city rivals Nansemond River and King’s Fork.

8. NANSEMOND RIVER Coach: Shawn Carr Last season: 1-8 district Top wrestlers:Vernell Woods,jr.,103; Justin Howell,fresh.,189. Outlook:TheWarriors should have a pair of contenders — in the district and beyond — inWoods and Howell.Woods finished third in the district while wrestling with a broken collarbone as a freshman,then was third again last season in a loaded 103-pound class.Howell is a newcomer who should make an immediate impact after a decorated middle school career at the state and national levels.The problem is,Howell is joined on the team by several less-experienced newcomers. Of Carr’s 24 wrestlers,15 are freshmen.

9. KING’S FORK Coach: Barry Potter Last season: tied for last in the district tournament with Nansemond River Top wrestlers: C.J.Gregory,sr.,189; Brad Cromis,jr.,130; Dustin Burkey,jr.,152. Outlook: Potter is in his first season as the Bulldogs’ coach,and King’s Fork has its largest roster in its three years of existence. Gregory,a transfer from Lakeland,is a key addition,but this is a wrestling program still in its infancy.In this district,that’s a tough place to be.