From the Fairmont Times-West Virginian
On-Line edition, January 31, 1997
Top-ranked South dismantles Huskies, 64-14
By Matt Jacobs
TIMES WEST VIRGINIAN STAFF WRITER
RACHEL -- Question: Just how good is two-time defending state Class AAA wrestling
champion Parkersburg South?
Answer: Real good.
The No. 1-ranked Patriot
wrestling team invaded North Marion Thursday night, leaving little doubt why
they've attained such lofty status in wrestling circles in and around West
Virginia.
Parkersburg dismantled the fourth-ranked Huskies in front of a
capacity crowd, 64-14, winning 11 of the 14 bouts in the Class AAA non-conference
dual match -- 10 by fall. It was complete and total domination. Perhaps North
Marion head coach Roy Michael summed up the Patriots' performance best.
"In a
nutshell, South is on top of the mountain that everyone else is trying to climb,"
he explained. "And just when you think you've got a pretty decent wrestling team,
they kick you in the face and send you back down the mountain.
"I'll tell you,
if anyone wants to compete with them in the state tournament this year, they're
going to have to assemble eight or nine extremely tough kids who will dedicate
themselves to the task. Frankly, I don't know if it can be done."
Normally,
North Marion is the team going for the fall. But this time, the Huskies got a
taste of their own medicine.
"Personally, I hate to see us get pinned so
frequently," Michael continued. "At least, if you don't accept the fall, you can
salvage some pride. But we didn't salvage much tonight."
The evening actually
got off to a positive start for the Huskies, with Josh Starsick winning by
forfeit at 103. South's Justin Cox, considered to be one of the top wrestlers in
the state in his weight class, didn't make the trip because of medical reasons.
The Patriots tied things up quickly in the team point standings, however, with
Robby Shank pinning North's Ben Shearer at 112 (3:15).
Adam Gorby gave North a
glimmer of hope at 119, registering an 11-4 decision over Dustin Collins. But
Parkersburg's Zach Hasse pinned Brian Mayo at 125 (3:59), giving the Patriots a
lead they never surrendered.
Ryan Besedich registered North Marion's third and
final individual victory -- the only one by fall (1:39) -- at 152. His opponent,
Mike Davis, is the regular 160-pounder for PS, but was forced to drop down to
replace Ty Emerick.
Emerick wrestled at 145, winning by major decision (15-4)
over Anthony Triviso. Chad Walter, Parkersburg's regular at 145, was held out
with an ankle injury.
Also registering pins for the Patriots were Josh Smith at
130, Ron Crawford at 135, Jason Johnson, last year's state champ at 140, Brent
Payne at 160, Luke Smith at 171, Todd Daggett at 189, Mike Sharp at 215 and Josh
Middleton at 275.
Besedich's fall gave North 15 team points, but an
unsportsmanlike conduct call against Jason Conaway subtracted one point from the
Huskies' final total. Conaway was pinned by Luke Smith at 171 (1:29).
Patriots'
head coach Paul Jackson also kept Scott Rhodes, last year's 135-pound Kentucky
state champion, out of the lineup. Apparently, Rhodes is having difficulty
adjusting to a new, and more demanding, wrestling environment.
"In all honesty,
we expected things to be a little closer," Jackson commented. "Coach Michael
always gets the most out of his kids. But he's got a young team this year.
"We
didn't even have our best team out there tonight. Our kids travel all over the
country to wrestle, so we don't really fear anybody. Of course, as soon as you
start reading too many press clippings, someone will kick your butt."
In
defeat, Michael had nothing but praise for the Patriots.
"Let me know if you
saw any weaknesses," Michael asked, "because I sure didn't. And they didn't even
have all their horses.
"It's not that (Parkersburg's) wrestlers are the most
technically sound in the country, or anything. They're just very physical and
mentally tough. They wrestle hard for six minutes."
North Marion (18-4) will be
idle until Saturday when they join John Marshall and Preston County at the Oak
Glen Quad. Oak Glen is ranked second in the state in Class AA while John Marshall
is currently rated No. 3 in Class AAA.
NOTES: Parkersburg South's reputation
and No. 1 ranking brought out Marion County coaches Mark Delligatti (West
Fairmont) and Dave Tennant (East Fairmont) to view Thursday night's action.
West Fairmont will host its own Quad today at 6 p.m., featuring teams from
Nitro, Preston and Buckhannon-Upshur. PARKERSBURG SOUTH 64, NORTH MARION 14
103
-- Josh Starsick (NM) won by forfeit
112 -- Robby Shank (PS) pinned Ben Shearer
(NM), 3:15
119 -- Adam Gorby (NM) dec. Dustin Collins (PS), 11-4
125 -- Zach
Hasse (PS) pinned Brian Mayo (NM), 3:59
130 -- Josh Smith (PS) pinned Mike
Shearer (NM), 1:18
135 -- Ron Crawford (PS) pinned John Ramsey (NM), 2:53
140
-- Jason Johnson (PS) pinned Micah Kiger (NM), 3:01
145 -- Ty Emerick (PS) maj.
dec. Anthony Triviso (NM), 15-4
152 -- Ryan Besedich (NM) pinned Mike Davis
(PS), 1:39
160 -- Brent Payne (PS) pinned Bob Hawkinberry (NM), 2:41
171 --
Luke Smith (PS) pinned Jason Conaway (NM), 1:29
189 -- Todd Daggett (PS) pinned
Randy Stout (NM), 3:50
215 -- Mike Sharp (PS) pinned Scott Moore (NM), :55
275
-- Josh Middleton (PS) pinned Jim Gaines (NM), 2:24
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Updated January 31, 1997