THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 10, 1995 TAG: 9512080250
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
Defending champion Oscar Smith heads the largest field in Portsmouth Invitational Holiday Wrestling Tournament history. The 12-team tourney will be held at Wilson High School Friday and Saturday.
In addition to Oscar Smith, the field includes Wilson, Norcom, Churchland, Bayside, First Colonial, Booker T. Washington, Granby, Cape Henry, Norfolk Academy, Catholic and Currituck (N.C.).
The Friday competition will start at 2 p.m.
Saturday's matches will begin at 10 a.m. The finals will be Saturday evening.
Tickets are $4 per session or $10 for all three sessions. The $10 tournament pass will entitle those attending to come and go during each day.
Last year's meet at Churchland produced a then-record field of 10 teams. Oscar Smith, coached by Sid Savoy, out-pointed Bayside for the team title.
The Tigers have dominated the meet in recent years. Oscar Smith was runner-up in 1993 and won titles in 1991 and 1990.
The Tigers had six champions in the 13 divisions last year. Gary Lewis (112), Rodney Worsley (135) and Raphael Butts (275) are back. A victory by Butts in last year's final match locked up the crown for Oscar Smith.
Lewis was the MVP in last year's tournament. He had pins in the quarterfinals and semifinals and beat previously undefeated two-time TCIS champion Clay Weisberg of Norfolk Academy in the final, 2-1. Weisberg, a senior, also returns to the Portsmouth tourney this year.
Four other champions are back from the 1994 matches, making this one of the most talented-filled tournaments ever.
The other returning champs are Norfolk Academy's Ryan Ingram (103), Churchland's Tiree Murphy (125), Wilson's Steve Rahimpour (152) and Booker T. Washington's Duwyne Williams (160). Ingram, only a sophomore, is a Virginia Prep League champion.
Ingram has moved up to 112 this season. Rahimpour will compete at either 160 or 171. Murphy and Williams remain at the same weights.
Murphy racked up 25 victories last year in 29 matches. In the '94 tourney he beat Bayside's Fred Jasmin in the final by a 15-6 decision. Jasmin had entered that match with a string of nine consecutive victories by pins under his belt.
This year Jasmin is wrestling at 135 pounds.
With Granby joining the field, the tournament will have the area's No. 1 ranked 145-pounder in Chris Martin. He was a state runner-up last year.
Churchland has added Orlando Morton, who is No. 1 ranked in South Hampton Roads at 160 pounds. He was a state runner-up at Maury last year.
En route to his title at 152 last year, Wilson's Rahimpour registered the fastest pin in tournament history, eight seconds. ILLUSTRATION: File photo
Rodney Worsley of Oscar Smith High, pins Ed Calle of Cape Henry on
his way to a championship in last year's Portsmouth Invitational
Holiday Wrestling Tournament.
Photo
Raphael Butts
by CNB