By Mike Murdock
Mount Vernon Junior, DigitalSports Intern
The 2009 National District wrestling tournament lacked nothing but a few concessions. That’s correct, by the time that the majority of the competitors had been eliminated and the championship introductions were commencing the concession stand had run out of supplies and was closed.
That’s because Stuart’s gymnasium was packed all day with excited fans and wrestlers, and all were still around waiting for the day’s final matches to get under way.
Although Edison had already clinched the team title with a 45-point lead coming into the final round, spectators remained anxious to see which school would come out with the most individual champions.
103 Pounds
The 103-pound championship featured heavily-favored Mount Vernon senior Chadwick Eason, the two-time defending champion at this weight, and Wakefield freshman Henry Vasquez.
The moments leading up to the match were suspenseful, but the bout itself proved uneventful. Eason took Vasquez down in the first period making the score 2-0. The veteran then picked bottom, scored a reversal and sunk in a deep half-nelson. A pin came quickly after and Eason earned his third district title.
112 Pounds
The second title match provided some intrigue as Major freshman Cody Marino faced off with Raider junior Kirubal Admassu. The first period consisted of a take down by Admassu. The junior then picked top in the second and tactfully stalled out the entire period. At the beginning of the third, Marino needed a take down to tie the match and obviously picked neutral. However, Admassu delivered a timely sprawl and ended up with the two points, winning the match, 4-0.
119 Pounds
This much-hyped match included Edison senior Marvin Gomez, who was looking to capture his fourth district title, and Wakefield freshman Henry Mejano, who was hoping to ****** the honor away. The match began with a ferocious take down from the freshman, which agitated Edison’s crowd and its veteran wrestler. Gomez was awarded a point for the slam on the head, and then he went to work. Gomez promptly put Mejano’s head to the mat, snuck in a double arm bar and grit his teeth as the freshman futilely attempted to fight off of his back.
A first-period pin gave Gomez his fourth district title.
125 Pounds
This match proved one-sided, as Yorktown’s Danilo Downing defeated Edison freshman Jason Earnest. The only points Earnest scored were on escapes that Downing let him have. Downing secured the district championship with a 19-3, tech-fall victory by scoring four double legs, a reversal and nine back points.
130 Pounds
Mount Vernon freshman Dusty Floyd, brother of four-time district champion Wyatt Floyd, advanced to the championship match with excellent technique.
“I want to win all four like my brother did,” Dusty Floyd said.
But in order to complete the first leg of his four-part journey, Floyd had to defeat Edison sophomore Jeremy Wagner. The wrestlers felt each other out in the first period and neither scored. Wagner won the toss and deferred, Floyd chose bottom and scored a quick escape to take a 1-0 advantage. Floyd then executed a beautiful, single-leg take down that turned into a deep half nelson for the match. The younger Floyd is well on his way to 100 wins and 4 district titles; he has a 25-11 record and a district championship thus far.
135 Pounds
The Majors placed another wrestler in the championship match of the 135-pound division as Trey McClure was set to wrestle 6-feet-1-inch Victor Leavell of Wakefield. The battle of the sophomores started off slow with no score in the first.
However, in the second period when McClure picked bottom Leavell proceeded to utilize his height and long legs by slipping in a grape vine. He earned three back points to take a 3-0 lead. A last-second escape by McClure made it 3-1 headed into the third.
And that final period was filled with fireworks and a dramatic come backs.
Leavell picked bottom in an apparent plan to stall out the final two minutes. But Mount Vernon Coach Anthony McDuffie elected to give away a free point for an escape and start the period neutral. The plan seemingly backfired as Leavell scored a take down and expanded his lead to 6-1. Then, in a spurt of energy, McClure over-powered Leavell, reversed the situation and put him on his back.
That five-point swing left the match tied with :30 seconds remaining. The wrestlers drew back to a neutral position with McClure on top. McClure then snuck in a cradle and accrued some back points. The two then went back to the neutral position with McClure on top, but in the final :10 seconds Leavell burst up and scored a last-second escape.
As it stood, spectators thought Leavell had won with that last-second escape that appeared to make the score, 7-6. However, the referee had actually awarded McClure two back points — which were tallied after the series of moves were complete and the match had ended — giving McClure an 8-7 victory.
140 Pounds
Wakefield’s Carlos Bonilla faced off against Washington-Lee’s Michael Watson in the 140-pound division. Bonilla scored five quick points on a take down and near fall. Watson answered with a reversal for two. Bonilla picked bottom and scored a reversal for two, then Watson escaped for one. It was Watson, this time, who chose bottom and escaped, and then took Bonilla down for three points. Bonilla reversed it and stalled out for the 9-6 win.
145 Pounds
This weight class proved easily to provide the best match of the tournament as Mount Vernon junior Joey Marino, the older brother of 112-pounder Cody Marino, squared off against Yorktown junior Hunter Rheaume.
This match got better and better as it progressed. Marino looked good in the first period and slid around the mat well. He faked a shot beautifully and left Rheaume’s chin on the mat, but a speedy recovery by Rheaume left Marino down two points and fighting off of his back. The score stood at 4-0 in favor of Rheaume after one period.
Marino chose down and scored an impressive fake stand up reversal that he turned into a power cradle, flipping Rheaume over his own head. After about :15 seconds of flailing the cradle was broke, and two back points were awarded, but the crowd into a frenzy, thinking Marino had earned three.
And so after two periods the score was tied, and the atmosphere was brewing.
Rheaume chose bottom to start the third and escaped to take a 5-4 lead. Then Marino snuck a single leg on the Yorktown wrestler and got two points to move ahead, 6-5.
Then, with :20 seconds left, Rheaume scored an escape to tie it up. The wrestlers jostled at the end — both taking one last wholehearted and exhausted shot, but both also mustered up enough energy to defend themselves from being taken down.
The intermission between the third period and over time lasted only about 10 seconds.
So, with the muscles in both athletes visibly quivering and exhaustion setting in, the two pushed-and-pulled and didn’t go anywhere for the first minute of overtime.
Virginia High School League rules state that double overtime consists of two, thirty-second periods where both athletes get an opportunity to start on bottom.
As the crowd rose to its feet, Rheaume went first and was held to no points. Then, in the second half of double-overtime, Marino scored a reversal and stalled away the :07 seconds that were left before raising his first in triumph, winning, 8-6.
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