THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 4, 1995 TAG: 9503040593
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH AND PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Late Thursday, Lionel Davis was offered a choice: finish his bowl of spaghetti, or wrestle in the state tournament.
So much for the pasta.
Lake Taylor's Davis, the fifth-place finisher in the Eastern Region tournament, was added to the Group AAA state tournament's 125-pound division Thursday when Salem's Ramon Copeland had to withdraw with a knee injury.
The news made Davis glad he didn't tank his fifth-place match in the regional tournament, a match which appeared to be his last of the year.
Some wrestlers go through the motions in those fifth-place matches, since only the top four make the state tournament. But Davis decided to give it his all, just in case.
``I saw Copeland limping a little, and I thought, I'd better be at my best, because you never know,'' said Davis, who then beat Cox' Wes Lewis, 14-6, in the fifth-place match.
``But then Copeland seemed fine, so I just said told myself I was still fifth in the region, so don't worry about it.''
Davis said he didn't give it another thought until Thursday, when he learned of Copeland's withdrawal. But even though quickly pushed himself away from the dinner table, he still had to cut 10 pounds to make weight.
Davis managed to sweat off the excess, but lost his first-round match by one point to Annandale's Guillermo Monterossa. He regrouped to win two wrestleback matches however - including a fall over Granby's Trip Nofplot - and will meet Centreville's Jeremy Odom today in the consolation quarterfinals.
HATS OFF: It's never hard to spot Carl Perry at a tournament.
On the mat, Perry is always the one whose arm is being raised by the referee at the conclusion of a match. The Great Bridge junior has a 41-0 record and hasn't lost since last year's state final.
At any other time, Perry is the guy cruising the gym in a fuzzy, white knit cap.
``It used to be a superstition, but it's not a superstition anymore,'' said Perry, who demolished opponents with a technical fall and a pin in the first two rounds of the Virginia State AAA tournament Friday at Oscar Smith. ``I don't believe in luck.''
Most wrestlers bounce around before their matches with a pair of headphones in their ears or with their singlet already in place. Perry would rather keep warm with the handmade cap he says used to belong to his grandmother.
``I just found it lying around the house one day and wore it,'' he said.
No word on whether Grandma has asked for it back.
DEJA VU: Although he came in as the fourth seed out of the Eastern Region, Deep Creek's David Gwaltney turned up as a surprise state semifinalist in the 135-pound weight class with a pair of 3-1 wins.
In the opening round he defeated the Central Region number one, Hermitage's Christian Devol. In the quarterfinals, Gwaltney held a 1-0 lead late in the third period, but Jason Thomas of Herndon scored with an escape to send the match into overtime.
In the extra period Gwaltney went for broke, shooting for Thomas in the opening seconds.
``It was a bad shot, but I tried to finish up strong,'' he said. ``I laced his leg and tried to hold on.''
Gwaltney admitted after the match that he was a bit caught off guard by Thomas' tenacity.
``It was a surprising match. I watched his tape and I didn't see anything, so I didn't think it was going to be that hard,'' he said.
So what does Gwaltney get as a reward for his wins? A rematch with undefeated Eric Thompson of Hampton.
Thompson defeated Gwaltney 8-4 during the season, and scored a second victory over the Hornets senior with a 5-3 win in the Eastern Region semis.
Will the third time be the charm?
``I'm not going to change my style now. I'll stick with it and try to pull things out,'' he said. by CNB