It’s that time of year again. Early January can stand for many things. Around Hampton Roads this year, it means snow and plenty of it. However, on the first or second weekend of every year, high school and college wrestling teams from all over the country converge upon Hampton Coliseum to take part in the “granddaddy of them all,” the 37th annual Virginia Duals.
For the sixth straight year, I am pleased to report that I will be covering the Duals, live on Twitter and for the Saturday, Sunday and Monday editions of the Daily Press. This is my favorite assignment of the year, and certainly the most time consuming. It will involve arriving at the Coliseum at 7 on Friday and Saturday morning, with the expectation that I will be within the arena until about 10 PM on both nights.
Covering the Duals is mostly a task of endurance. There are five separate tournaments taking place on ten mats – at the same time. The high schoolers are broken up into three categories – the Black and Blue, American and National divisions, while the collegiate grapplers are divided between the American College and National College divisions.
For the Daily Press, I’ll highlight the teams on the Peninsula as well as ODU, Virginia and Virginia Tech at the college level. In fact, my first feature for Saturday’s paper will have something to do with Virginia Tech and a couple of young Peninsula athletes.
Looking at the different divisions, there are a couple of noticeable differences. At the high school level, New Kent is not in this lineup. Neither is Tabb or Gloucester, and all three teams are among the most active in the 36-year Duals history.
Among Peninsula schools, Poquoson and York will be competing in the Black and Blue Division. Poquoson won this division two years ago, and were forced to move up to the American Division last year. This should be more comfortable for the Islanders, and they should fare well, and the best among three Bay Rivers schools that also includes Smithfield. Fourth seeded Poquoson will open at 5 PM against Strasburg, with York and Smithfield opening in the 7 PM round against Powhatan and Ocean Lakes, respectively.
Warwick returns to the Duals lineup and joins perennial entry Lafayette in the American High School division. The Raiders have the toughest draw, opening against top-ranked Bellefonte Area (PA), while Lafayette will draw Kellam from Virginia Beach.
No Peninsula teams will be in the National High School Division, in which Nazareth (PA) and 11-time state champion South Dade (FL) hold the top two seeds.
In the American College Division, Coach Bruce Shumaker’s Apprentice Builder team will hit the mats first against first-seeded Kutztown State (PA).
Old Dominion is the closest school to the Peninsula to be involved in the National Division, which includes six of the top-35 ranked teams in Division I, including the Monarchs, U. Virginia, and #5 ranked Virginia Tech. The Monarchs will start in the James River pool, wrestling both Chattanooga and Oklahoma before determining their next match.
Please feel free to follow me @jfmcgrath for live updates from Hampton Coliseum and in this Saturday’s and Sunday’s Daily Press. There will be a short recap in Monday’s paper which will highlight the championship round.
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