Published in the January 17th issue of the DAILY PRESS' Newport News Town Square section
Nestled in the hallway bowels of
Denbigh High School, a nondescript room houses the spot where the youth
wrestling movement has revived in Newport News. Off of these corridors, next to
the Patriot cafeteria, roughly 40 young grapplers, from ages 4 to 14, meet at
5:30 PM three evenings per week to showcase their skills while preparing for
future high school competition.
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| Thanks to the efforts of Oliver Walmon and others, youth wrestling is back in Newport News |
Founded by Oliver Walmon, the
Newport News Warriors team has brought local youngsters back to the sport. “For
a while, kids were going to York and Poquoson to wrestle because they didn’t
have another option. They’re coming back now.”
The Warriors are one of 16 teams
which comprise the Peninsula Youth Wrestling League, covering the Peninsula,
Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck.
The early numbers came as a pleasant
surprise. “I thought we’d max out at 25 or 30,” adds Walmon. But he is
optimistic about the future. “Next year, we are hoping for 75.”
Part of the reasoning for starting a
youth wrestling team is to build up the pool of wrestlers in Newport News.
“There is no feeder system to the high school.” In fact, local high school
coaches have had trouble building a full team, and no Newport News high schools
were represented in last weekend’s Virginia Duals, the largest meet of its kind
(high school and college matches together) in the world.
Walman continues, “I
cannot stress the importance of providing the children of Newport News with an
outlet such as wrestling. Not all kids play basketball or football or
baseball, but everyone loves to wrestle. We want to feed the high
schools with disciplined and quality kids and build a dynasty that will
last. Our kids are having a blast and the results are already showing.”
Teante Gray is one of the
eight Warrior coaches. Gray and Walmon share a bond, having both wrestled for
Denbigh (Walmon is from the Class of 1989, while Gray graduated in 2000) and the
two shared a common coach. Gray, who finished third in the State for his weight
class as a high school senior, generally works with the older and more advanced
wrestlers. But with so many coaches, Gray adds, “we’re able to give kids
individual attention, with the idea being to build something that is going to
last.”
“Wrestling in this
area had kind of fallen by the wayside. We’re trying to get kids ready to
compete with Poquoson and Great Bridge,” continues Gray when explaining his
vision for the Warriors.
The early results are
encouraging. In mid-December, the Warriors competed in their first tournament,
the North of the James Tournament, held at Bethel High. Of the 16 wrestlers, 14
earned medals. In total, there were seven golds, five silvers and three
bronzes. Madison Hinnant, one of the team’s two female wrestlers, won both a
gold and bronze medal as a contestant in two separate brackets. The results
were especially favorable considering that five wrestlers were competing in
their first tournament ever.
A week later, four
grapplers, between the ages of six and nine, took part in the Grassfield
Holiday Wrestling Classic, with all winning medals. Trevon Gray won gold, Khaleo
Smith and Temonte Gray took home silver medals and Karon Smith earned a bronze.
Being a Tournament of Champions qualifying meet, Walmon was pleased to see all
four advance to the next round.
The Warriors have been
able to cover the $5,000 needed to cover their season expenses, thanks to
sponsors such as National Counseling Group and Village Bicycles (formerly
Conte’s Bike Shop). But as the team grows, so will the cost of the operation, a
fact that is not lost on Walmon. “We have others (sponsors) who say they are
interested, but we need some to step up to the plate. We all support keeping
our kids safe from the negatives of the streets and want to do all we can to
support our youth and the bright future they have in front of them.”
Newport News Warriors’ North of the James
Tournament Results
Gold – Seth Naotala,
Jalen Terry-Winston, Madison Hinnant, Khaleo Smith, Karon Smith, Ricky Flores
Jr., Ricky Palm
Silver – Marc Jackson,
Koa Naotala, Temonte Gray, Anthony Chamblee, Jacob Walmon
Bronze – Hinnant,
Tyreece White, Noah Williams
Fourth place – Trevon
Gray, Kyle Jackson
For more information on the Newport News
Warriors, or other Peninsula Youth Wrestling League news, please visit their
website at www.pywl.org.
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