Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 15, 1994 TAG: 9401150213
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
His Colonels did their part Friday, winning all of their opening-round matches en route to the lead in the Big Orange Tournament at William Byrd High School. Fleming earned 101 1/2 points, six more than 1993 champion Franklin County.
"I'm a full-time administrator now and time no longer allows me to coach," said Miller, vice principal at Fleming, where he has coached wrestling for 20 years.
"We have an outstanding group of seniors, and I promised them that I would stay to the end to coach them," he said. "Our goal this season is to go undefeated and win as many tournaments as we can."
Colonels senior Eddie Jones took all of 2 minutes, 6 seconds to win his first two matches Friday in the 189-pound class. Jones, who won the Big Orange last year at 171 and finished fourth at the Group AAA state meet, pinned Lord Botetourt's Rocky Lark in 1:08 in the first round. In a quarterfinal, Jones pinned Rick Tate of Brookville in 58 seconds to improve his record to 20-0.
"I've just been working hard all year," Jones said. "I'm going for the state title."
Other Colonels who advanced through the quarterfinals were Carl Tinsley (103), Mosi Coleman (119), John Brandon (130), Herbert Kasey (135), Shannon Allmon (140), Derrick Bryant (145), Jonathan Rosser (152), Mike Souma (171) and Michael Brown (275).
Franklin County, which had eight quarterfinal winners, has won the Big Orange six times. Coach Kris Kahila said this year's tournament title still was up for grabs.
"We are in position to win it," Kahila said. "We're not as strong as we have been in the past, so we can't afford to lose any matches."
Lauder Cuff's 6-5 double-overtime loss to Chris Matthews of E.C. Glass in a 171 quarterfinal hurt the Eagles, Kahila said. Cuff had lost only four matches all season.
"We would have been in first, but you can't look at that," Kahila said. "William Fleming won three overtime matches and that's what we need to do. . . . It's still anybody's ballgame."
Northside got two pins from Brad Hungate at 122 pounds and was third with 93 points. Cave Spring was fourth with 73.
In the 135-pound class, Franklin County freshman Ivan Trotter pinned Chad Wallace of Glenvar at 4:13 of the first round, then upset Northside's Jeff Shultz in a quarterfinal with a 11-5 major decision.
"Both of his opponents were seeded in the top four and were favored," Kahila said of Trotter. "He's been our big plus."
Also a plus for Franklin County was Trung Nguyen at 112. Nguyen (14-2) pinned Lord Botetourt's Kevin Honaker in 32 seconds in the first round and earned a 23-7 decision over Salem's Eric McMillan in a quarterfinal.
Barry Trent, William Byrd's coach, said the tournament had few surprises on the first day. His Terriers were fifth with 62 points.
At 135, Byrd's Patrick Henderson improved his record to 12-1 with two victories Friday. Henderson, who finished second in the state last year at 125, pinned Patrick Henry's Mike Boyd at 2:27 in the first round. In a quarterfinal, Henderson pinned Blacksburg's Steve Southwick in 3:47.
The semifinals of the 16-team tournament start at 10:30 a.m. today. Championship and consolation bouts will begin at 7:30 p.m.
by CNB