Suffolk wrestlers don#8217;t back down at districts

Staff

Published Tuesday, February 14, 2006

All three Suffolk public high schools will be well represented at the upcoming Eastern Regional Tournament following a full day of district grappling Saturday at Great Bridge High School.

Nansemond River, Lakeland and King’s Fork combined for a total of eight competitors qualifying for the Eastern Region tournament, plus five alternates. To achieve the status of alternate, the competitor must finish fifth place.

On the strength of wrestlers like Stephen Wilson (Nansemond River), Tim Dugan (King’s Fork), and Zach Gibbons (Lakeland), the city was well represented.

Wilson (171) and Gibbons (215) each earned second place finishes, with both athletes falling in the final round to Great Bridge.

Dugan (171) took third in his weight class, after being ousted from the top bracket in his match against Wilson.

That match in the semi-finals was the most intense of the evening, as Dugan and Wilson are both seniors and are both state-level competitors.

The two were even in their match - deadlocked at 14 points, until a hands-locking call with two seconds remaining in the third period gave Wilson the one-point victory.

Dugan went on to win his next match by pin in the second period to take third place, while Wilson went on to fall 9-2 in the finals to Tim Hill of Great Bridge to claim second.

“Stephen did pretty well,” said Nansemond River Head Coach Shawn Carr.

“To come and make it to the finals in the district tournament is more than satisfying. It was also good practice for regionals.”

Marcus Perry (160) also finished well for the Warriors, earning the third place spot by beating Paul Lampropolis of Western Branch. NR will be sending Wilson, Perry, and Vernell Woods (103), who took fourth place in his class, to see regional action, with Ethan Wilson (130) as an alternate.

The other Suffolk grappler to reach the finals was Lakeland’s Zach Gibbons.

Staying strong in a tough weight class, Gibbons beat wrestlers from Oscar Smith and Hickory to make it to the final match.

Finally, in a long bout that required use of both the blood clock and the injury clock, Gibbons lost the struggle to Trey Rodgers of Great Bridge with a final score of 14-3.

The Lakeland squad will also be sending Jerald Wicks (145), C.J. Gregory (189), and Mark VerSchnieder (152) to the regional tournament, with Brian Ehrenfried (125) as an alternate.

Aside from Dugan, King’s Fork will be represented at regional competition by Channon Brinkley (135), Dustin Burkey (145), and Kodi Edmonds (160) as alternates.

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