jeffpatterson
02-23-2008, 11:47 PM
Islanders wrestle to regional crown
Tuning up for state, Poquoson wins four weight-class titles to outpoint New Kent.
By BRIAN BENISON | CORRESPONDENT
YORK — By winning the Region I tournament by 77.5 points, Poquoson moved well on its way to establishing a new wrestling dynasty and adding a new chapter to the Islanders’ fabled rivalry with Tabb High School.
Poquoson won the meet with 185 points and took four individual titles. The runner-up was New Kent, which had 107.5 points.
“I think we’ve done especially well,” said Poquoson junior Jonathan Holt. “We’ve stepped up beyond our abilities.”
Holt beat Chad O’Donnell of Lafayette 9-5 to win the championship at 119 pounds. For Holt, it was a sweet victory following his loss to O’Donnell the previous week.
“Last week we had a hard-fought match,” Holt said. “He turned and cradle-pinned me. I just went out there and tried not to do the same thing I did last week.”
Tabb played host to the event, but as far as the crowd was concerned, it might as well have been held at Poquoson. Chants of “We hate Tabb” rained down from the crowd all night, and there was more than one shouting match between the two schools’ fans.
Despite this, Holt said the rivalry is very mild as of late.
“Poquoson and Tabb is more of an old-school rivalry. We get along with most of their wrestlers these days,” said Holt.
Tabb finished fourth with 96 points.
The closest match of the evening was at 160 pounds, pitting senior Del Bryce from Poquoson against Nadar Elawar from Chancellor. Bryce defeated Elawar 6-5 as the match went to the final seconds.
“It was really close; he was tough, real strong,” Bryce said.
There was a tense moment when Elawar was forced to pause with an injury, leading to a series of boos from the Poquoson section. But Bryce said the injury was legitimate.
“I think he hit his nose on the back of my head pretty hard, and I knew as soon as they called it, that’s what it was,” Bryce said.
Bryce was very grateful for the support he got from the fans, a sentiment reiterated by numerous wrestlers for Poquoson.
“The crowd helps a lot,” Bryce said. “The light feels cool and everybody’s watching you.”
Islanders sophomore Steffan Baker, who won 10-3 at 112 pounds against Michael Pacella of Warhill, liked the atmosphere, too.
“I think the fans help improve my motivation,” he said while acknowledging there was additional pressure. But he then said, “I perform better with pressure.”
The 285 (heavyweight) final also turned out to be close, with senior Keith Person from Grafton defeating Chase Marley of Lafayette 3-1.
“I just had a hard time setting up; it took me a while,” Person said, adding that he had beaten Marley before. “This time it was much closer.”
The top four wrestlers in each class earned tickets to next weekend’s state Group AA tournament at the Salem Civic Center. The Islanders rank below Christiansburg and Grundy, but they seem poised to accept the challenge.
“Winning a match doesn’t mean anything,” said Holt. “Winning a match in a pressure situation feels great, and I hope to find out what it feels like to win a match at states.”
REGION I TOURNAMENT
at Tabb
Team scores: 1. Poquoson 185, 2. New Kent 107.5, 3. Chancellor 106.5, 4. Tabb 96, 5. Smithfield 90.5, 5. York 90.5, 7. Lafayette 85, 8. Powhatan 80, 9. Courtland 69, 10. King George 66.5, 11. Bruton 52, 11. Grafton 52, 13. Warhill 43, 14. Spotsylvania 25, 15. Jamestown 23, 16. Southampton 6.
Championship matches: 103 — Emana (New Kent) p. Gergente (Powhatan) 1:02. 112 — Baker (Poquoson) d. Pacella (Warhill) 10-3. 119 — Holt (Poquoson) d. O’Donnell (Lafayette) 9-5. 125 — Smith (Chancellor) d. Crabtree (Poquoson) 5-2. 130 — Williams (Tabb) d. Robinson (Smithfield) 11-4. 135 — Todd (New Kent) d. Gibson (York) 9-4. 140 — MacGregor (Chancellor) d. Silva (Poquoson) 3-2. 145 — Marshall (Poquoson) d. Cheramie (King George). 152 — McAdams (Poquoson) p. Balog (Courtland) 4:50. 160 — Bryce (Poquoson) d. Elawar (Chancellor) 6-5. 171 — Collins (Smithfield) d. Blanchard (Tabb) 4-3. 189 — Ennis (Grafton) d. Bresnan (Tabb) 6-3. 215 — Sutherland (Courtland) d. Sweaney (Lafayette) 5-0. 285 — Person (Grafton) d. Marley (Lafayette) 3-1.
Third-place matches: 103 — Duffy (Bruton) d. Wratchford (Spotsylvania) 8-4. 112 — Graham (Smithfield) tf. Cappozzi (Spotsylvania) 18-3. 119 — Jerry (King George) p. Long (New Kent) 1:38. 125 — Gerardi (Powhatan) d. Parrish (York). 130 — Shearer (Poquoson) p. Emana (New Kent) 3:45. 135 — Dunbar (Powhatan) d. Weinstock (Chancellor) 2-0. 140 — Meeks (York) d. Cavanaugh (Lafayette) 1-0. 145 — Milbourn (Smithfield) p. Driscoll (New Kent) 4:11. 152 — Tsogbayer (Lafayette) d. Young (New Kent) 10-4. 160 — Santore (Bruton) p. Martin (Smithfield). 171 — Tassara (Poquoson) d. Jones (King George) 5-4. 189 — Reynolds (Courtland) d. Stikeleather (York) 6-1. 215 — Kierson (Powhatan) p. Dillon (Jamestown) 3:45. 285 — Davis (Warhill) d. Sizemore (Tabb) 7-2.
Tuning up for state, Poquoson wins four weight-class titles to outpoint New Kent.
By BRIAN BENISON | CORRESPONDENT
YORK — By winning the Region I tournament by 77.5 points, Poquoson moved well on its way to establishing a new wrestling dynasty and adding a new chapter to the Islanders’ fabled rivalry with Tabb High School.
Poquoson won the meet with 185 points and took four individual titles. The runner-up was New Kent, which had 107.5 points.
“I think we’ve done especially well,” said Poquoson junior Jonathan Holt. “We’ve stepped up beyond our abilities.”
Holt beat Chad O’Donnell of Lafayette 9-5 to win the championship at 119 pounds. For Holt, it was a sweet victory following his loss to O’Donnell the previous week.
“Last week we had a hard-fought match,” Holt said. “He turned and cradle-pinned me. I just went out there and tried not to do the same thing I did last week.”
Tabb played host to the event, but as far as the crowd was concerned, it might as well have been held at Poquoson. Chants of “We hate Tabb” rained down from the crowd all night, and there was more than one shouting match between the two schools’ fans.
Despite this, Holt said the rivalry is very mild as of late.
“Poquoson and Tabb is more of an old-school rivalry. We get along with most of their wrestlers these days,” said Holt.
Tabb finished fourth with 96 points.
The closest match of the evening was at 160 pounds, pitting senior Del Bryce from Poquoson against Nadar Elawar from Chancellor. Bryce defeated Elawar 6-5 as the match went to the final seconds.
“It was really close; he was tough, real strong,” Bryce said.
There was a tense moment when Elawar was forced to pause with an injury, leading to a series of boos from the Poquoson section. But Bryce said the injury was legitimate.
“I think he hit his nose on the back of my head pretty hard, and I knew as soon as they called it, that’s what it was,” Bryce said.
Bryce was very grateful for the support he got from the fans, a sentiment reiterated by numerous wrestlers for Poquoson.
“The crowd helps a lot,” Bryce said. “The light feels cool and everybody’s watching you.”
Islanders sophomore Steffan Baker, who won 10-3 at 112 pounds against Michael Pacella of Warhill, liked the atmosphere, too.
“I think the fans help improve my motivation,” he said while acknowledging there was additional pressure. But he then said, “I perform better with pressure.”
The 285 (heavyweight) final also turned out to be close, with senior Keith Person from Grafton defeating Chase Marley of Lafayette 3-1.
“I just had a hard time setting up; it took me a while,” Person said, adding that he had beaten Marley before. “This time it was much closer.”
The top four wrestlers in each class earned tickets to next weekend’s state Group AA tournament at the Salem Civic Center. The Islanders rank below Christiansburg and Grundy, but they seem poised to accept the challenge.
“Winning a match doesn’t mean anything,” said Holt. “Winning a match in a pressure situation feels great, and I hope to find out what it feels like to win a match at states.”
REGION I TOURNAMENT
at Tabb
Team scores: 1. Poquoson 185, 2. New Kent 107.5, 3. Chancellor 106.5, 4. Tabb 96, 5. Smithfield 90.5, 5. York 90.5, 7. Lafayette 85, 8. Powhatan 80, 9. Courtland 69, 10. King George 66.5, 11. Bruton 52, 11. Grafton 52, 13. Warhill 43, 14. Spotsylvania 25, 15. Jamestown 23, 16. Southampton 6.
Championship matches: 103 — Emana (New Kent) p. Gergente (Powhatan) 1:02. 112 — Baker (Poquoson) d. Pacella (Warhill) 10-3. 119 — Holt (Poquoson) d. O’Donnell (Lafayette) 9-5. 125 — Smith (Chancellor) d. Crabtree (Poquoson) 5-2. 130 — Williams (Tabb) d. Robinson (Smithfield) 11-4. 135 — Todd (New Kent) d. Gibson (York) 9-4. 140 — MacGregor (Chancellor) d. Silva (Poquoson) 3-2. 145 — Marshall (Poquoson) d. Cheramie (King George). 152 — McAdams (Poquoson) p. Balog (Courtland) 4:50. 160 — Bryce (Poquoson) d. Elawar (Chancellor) 6-5. 171 — Collins (Smithfield) d. Blanchard (Tabb) 4-3. 189 — Ennis (Grafton) d. Bresnan (Tabb) 6-3. 215 — Sutherland (Courtland) d. Sweaney (Lafayette) 5-0. 285 — Person (Grafton) d. Marley (Lafayette) 3-1.
Third-place matches: 103 — Duffy (Bruton) d. Wratchford (Spotsylvania) 8-4. 112 — Graham (Smithfield) tf. Cappozzi (Spotsylvania) 18-3. 119 — Jerry (King George) p. Long (New Kent) 1:38. 125 — Gerardi (Powhatan) d. Parrish (York). 130 — Shearer (Poquoson) p. Emana (New Kent) 3:45. 135 — Dunbar (Powhatan) d. Weinstock (Chancellor) 2-0. 140 — Meeks (York) d. Cavanaugh (Lafayette) 1-0. 145 — Milbourn (Smithfield) p. Driscoll (New Kent) 4:11. 152 — Tsogbayer (Lafayette) d. Young (New Kent) 10-4. 160 — Santore (Bruton) p. Martin (Smithfield). 171 — Tassara (Poquoson) d. Jones (King George) 5-4. 189 — Reynolds (Courtland) d. Stikeleather (York) 6-1. 215 — Kierson (Powhatan) p. Dillon (Jamestown) 3:45. 285 — Davis (Warhill) d. Sizemore (Tabb) 7-2.