Virginia Duals Coverage (4th Part of 5) -- ODU Eliminated; Smithfield Gunning for 3rd in Black and Blue

By the middle of Day 2 at the Duals, one has a good idea as to which teams are making noise and contending for titles. At the Daily Press, this is a good thing, because the notebook is due in the early evening -- about 6 PM, when there are two full rounds of wrestling left. I don't mind as it leads to a recap which finds its way into Monday's paper.

This year, Smithfield High, coached by John Swartz, who as you noticed in Thursday's article is also the co-meet director, got past another consolation round and were on the fast track to an 8:30 matchup for third place. But at 5:30 PM it had not happened yet. However, here's the action that had taken place.

Smithfield's star heavyweight, Ross Manfred,
in action.

HAMPTON – The second day of the 36^th Virginia Duals continued on Saturday at Hampton Coliseum with five local teams competing in the Black and Blue high school division, while ODU and the Apprentice School concluded their tournament activity in the National and American College divisions, respectively.

Old Dominion was eliminated from the National Division silver pool in the morning session, dropping a 23-13 decision to Kent State. The Monarchs finished 2-2 in Duals matches, but saw Brandon Jeske (125) and Chris Mecate (141) each win all four of their bouts. Alexander Richardson won an 11-1 major decision against Kent’s Chance Driscoll to finish 3-1.

“This gives us a chance to see where we are and where we want to go,” said coach Steve Martin. Preparing for the championship phase of their season, Martin added that the rest of this season includes a number of dual meets against top-20 ranked teams.

The Apprentice School, who split two matches on Friday, drew Liberty in a consolation semifinal. But the Builders had their hands full, and the Flames pulled away for a 44-9 triumph. Aaron Blount (133) won by fall, while Chris Kennedy (184) scored a 2-1 decision for Apprentice’s points. The Builders concluded the evening with an American College fifth place match against Ferrum.

Black and Blue Division

Smithfield was the highest placing team among Peninsula-area high schools. By beating Osbourn Park 48-26 late Friday night, the Packers qualified for a semifinal match with Grundy. But they were no match for the team with 18 state titles as the Golden Wave roughed up the Packers 53-15. Ross Manfred (285) won a 1-0 decision to raise his tournament record to 3-0. With the loss, Smithfield qualified for a consolation semifinal against Poquoson at 6 PM.

Poquoson, stifled by a close 36-30 loss to Grassfield on Friday night, got back on track to earn their matchup with the Packers. In the morning session, they bested Amherst County 45-30 to set up a consolation quarterfinal match with Powhatan.

The teams battled back and forth for the lead, but Bryce Buchanan (285), Patrick McCormick (113) and Hunter Darouse (126) won by fall to provide 18 crucial points for the Bull Islanders – enough to counter two Powhatan wins and lead Poquoson to a 39-33 win. Poquoson’s Ross Graham (182) scored an impressive fall over his Powhatan opponent, needing only 21 seconds for the pin.

Peninsula Catholic and York were both eliminated in first round consolation matches. The Knights lost 51-24 to Amherst County before being eliminated by Lafayette, who overcame an 18-0 deficit to pull away in the late bouts for a 42-27 win. The Rams won eight of the next nine bouts with Kane Hurt (145), Griffin Hurt (160), Ryan Davis (170), Kierien Simpson (220) and Anthony Anderson (113) each earning wins by fall. Keven Ngiyen (12-10 decision at 152), August Tremblay (5-2 decision at 195) also contributed points on the mat for Lafayette.

The Rams finished the tournament at 1-2.

In spite of the three losses, Peninsula Catholic coach Ron Kavanaugh was pleased with his team’s effort.

“This is a big step for us, to be invited for the first time in almost a decade,” said Kavanaugh, whose Knights last participated in the Duals in 2006. “This is a national level event, and it’s fantastic for our kids to be in this environment. It’s special for these kids to be competing next to college teams.”

And while some high school coaches speak of the acclimation process that their athletes must go through to adjust to the lights and noise within the bowl of the Coliseum, Kavanaugh was less concerned.

“It didn’t affect us much,” said the Knight coach, “but as a private school, we have an advantage in that our qualifiers get to compete in the National Prep Championships at Lehigh (University). They have competed in an arena and are familiar with this type of environment.”

Nick Zimmerman (126) won all three of his matches by pin for PC.

After Nick Grubbs (220) won by fall over James Wood’s Jared King, York held a 36-24 lead in the first consolation round. But the Falcons succumbed to three consecutive falls to drop a 42-36 decision. Centreville dropped York to the second consolation bracket in the next round, winning 48-24.

But the Falcons rebounded, finishing the day with a 50-26 victory over Centreville. Luke Grubbs (126), John Cassidy (152), Xedrix Barbeybo (182) and Noah Pascarella (195) scored wins by fall against the Wildcats.