THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 16, 1997 TAG: 9702160229
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 48 lines
The Great Bridge wrestling team broke out T-shirts Friday proclaiming a New Wildcat Order. Two nights and 182 matches later the New Wildcat Order looked suspiciously like the Old Wildcat Order.
Great Bridge claimed six individual championships and won three of five head-to-head meetings against archrival Western Branch to capture its 13th consecutive Southeastern District tournament title Saturday night at Great Bridge.
The only thing new about this championship was the close score. The Wildcats edged the Bruins 234 1/2 to 222 1/2.
Great Bridge and Western Branch each qualified 12 wrestlers for this week's Eastern Region tournament at Churchland. Deep Creek, with one champion, and Oscar Smith, with no champions, qualified seven each. Indian River, with two champions, qualified six.
The lead changed hands four times in the finals before Bart Sawyer put the Wildcats in front for good with a 12-4 win over Deep Creek's Darnell Bell at 135.
Victories by Steve Sakis at 145 and Stacy Woodhouse at 152 stretched the Wildcats' lead to 12 points before Derek Lipoli clinched the title with a 5-3 upset of Western Branch's Cory Bauswell at 160.
The victories by Sakis and Lipoli over a pair of 1996 state qualifiers proved to be decisive. Sakis, who had wrestled only one varsity match prior to this season, beat Chris Mendez 4-3.
Lipoli, a transfer from Cox, hit Bauswell with a four-point move in the first period. Bauswell beat Lipoli with a early flurry last week.
Great Bridge's other champions were Brian Childress (112) and Bruce Fowler (119). Childress pinned Indian River's Anthony Burford and Fowler trimmed Western Branch's Willie Evams 7-4.
The Bruins' champions were Matt Viola (103), Richard Slocumb (125), Daniel Smith (130) and Marvin Urquhart (275), who scored two takedowns and a near fall in an 8-5 win over defending champion Rafael Butts of Oscar Smith.
Indian River's champions both won by fall. Luke Armagost pinned Hickory's Parker Crockford in 5:04 at 140 and Antwain Britt pinned Oscar Smith's David Singleton in 1:16 at 215.
Nansemond River's Damon Hill became his school's first Southeastern District champion with a 6-0 win over Western Branch's Andy Preston at 171. Deep Creek's Doug Norris took a forfeit from Great Bridge's Eric Leonard at 189. Leonard received a concussion in Friday's semifinals and was withheld. He is expected back this week.