THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 28, 1994 TAG: 9412280553
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
Tallwood wrestler Mike Mercado operates by a simple creed - don't tell him what he's done, or what he's going to do. Just tell him who's next.
``Rankings and all that stuff don't mean much to me now,'' said Mercado, a junior and the 1994 Group AAA runner-up at 103. ``I'm satisfied with how I'm doing right now, but I don't want to look too far ahead.''
That's why, despite predictions that cast him as the man to beat among the state's 112-pounders, Mercado isn't focusing beyond the Deep Creek Hornet Holiday Classic, which begins its two-day run today with first-round matches at 10:30 a.m.
``There's always a lot of good guys in this tournament, but I'm wrestling with a lot of confidence right now,'' said Mercado, the tournament's top seed at 112.
A victory at Deep Creek would be added to a wrestling resume that is already quite full. He won a city championship for Salem Junior High. He captured the Beach District title at 103 last year, and finished second to Salem's Chip Reyes at both the Eastern Region and Group AAA state tournaments.
For the past two years, he's also spent his summers becoming a two-time cadet all-American at the National Freestyle Championships.
This season, Mercado has seemed in top form from the first match. Currently ranked first in South Hampton Roads, Mercado has compiled an 8-0 record, including a first place finish in the tough Northern Virginia Classic.
``He hasn't really been tested yet,'' Tallwood coach Don Robertson said.
Actually, he did have to struggle to post a 9-8 decision over Great Bridge' Bruce Fowler. Fatigue may have played a part in Mercado's performance, though - the match was his fourth in less than 24 hours.
Mercado will smile when his past accomplishments are brought up. Getting him to revel in them, however, is another matter.
``I'm just not into looking back,'' he said.
Fast starts are nothing new for Mercado, and part of the reason is that he never really stops wrestling. Training for the freestyle championships kept Mercado in a wrestling room through most of the spring and summer.
``I always think there's someone else out there working really hard,'' he said. ``I figure I've got to train just as hard.''
The offseason work has also bolstered Mercado's confidence. In last summer's cadet freestyle championships, Mercado wrestled with a painful ankle injury, yet still managed a fourth-place finish out of more than 90 wrestlers.
``You can really see he's matured a lot since last season,'' Robertson said.
And while he doesn't like to look ahead, Mercado has to hope the slight improvements are enough to lift him over the hump after a season in which his good friend Reyes narrowly bumped him out of two post-season titles. In the regional final, he led Reyes, 7-3, in the third period, only to lose, 9-7, in overtime.
The following week, Mercado surrendered seven points to Reyes in the first period of the state final and fell, 7-1.
Reyes has moved to 119 pounds this season, but rumors persist he is considering dropping to 112 next week to take advantage of the Virginia High School League's new 2-pound weight allowance.
Should that happen, Mercado feels he's more equipped to deal with the Salem star this year: Despite Mercado's success in 1993-94, he spent the season playing the weight-cutting game to make 103. Now, at 112, that game is over.
``I'm not cutting any more, and I feel really good, Mercado said.
It shows. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
MOTOYA NAKAMURA/Staff
Mike Mercado of Tallwood is the top seeded 112-pounder at this
week's Deep Creek Hornet Holiday Classic.
by CNB