When James River 140 Jordan Dibich left the mat after pinning his opponent, the Rapids had a 31-6 lead over South County in the deciding match of the James River Duals.

If Josh Wells looks good wrestling at 145 pounds for James River, wait for the Rapids’ 152. Josh says his brother Jesse is the cute one. “Everyone says I’ve got that manly look,“ Josh said.

The round-robin style tournament features 20 teams from the Central Region and surrounding areas. Wrestling begins today at James River High School and ends tomorrow evening.

112: 1. Charlie Lipford, Henrico; 2. Cody Griffith, Thomas Dale; 3. Jordan O’Donnell, James River ...

Schuyler Brown is a member of the U.S. Junior World (U-20) women’s wrestling team. Pardon Schuyler Brown if she has circled London on her map and the summer of 2012 on her calendar. The Montpelier native won three national women’s wrestling titles in 2008 and is a front-running contender to represent the United States at the 2012 Summer Games in England.

Manchester’s Andrew Rose, who is wrestling at 152 pounds, wants to be a “three-time district and two-time region champ and make it to the state finals.“ We’ve all heard of the calm before the storm. Now meet Manchester High School wrestler Andrew Rose, who’s both the calm and the storm. Rose is soft-spoken, unassuming, never misses a Sunday at Parkway Baptist Church, prays before matches and plans to attend Liberty University.

Class: Senior Age: 18 GPA: 4.6 November achievements: Went 5-0 to start the season. Included was title at 140 pounds in the Hopewell Classic. Defeated wrestlers from state Group AA champion Christiansburg, James River and St. Christopher’s in the process. The semifinal match with David Wesley of St. Christopher’s went to triple overtime. Other athletic accomplishments: Three-time champion in the Colonial District; three-time state tournament participant after a first, second and third in Central Region tournament. Academic achievements: All-academic in the district and region; member of the National Honor Society and honor societies for math, art and Spanish. College plans: Undecided. Virginia, Virginia Tech, Navy and Duke top his list. Favorite subject: Physics Favorite food: “Coldstone cake batter ice cream.“ Key to sports success: “Discipline, determination and dedication.“ Key to academic success: “Discipline, determination and dedication.“ Goal in life: “Would like to wrestle in college, then be a fighter pilot in the Navy or an engineer.“ Pet peeve: “Someone who has automatic negative thoughts.“ Best sports memory: “Winning my second state championship in middle school (sixth and seventh grades). . . . Winning the Central Region (112, as a sophomore).“ If you could travel anywhere: “Australia. It looks like a great place for hiking and water activities.“ Best classroom memory: “Last year in math, I used to hide everyone’s backpack. One day, I couldn’t find mine. The teacher [Tom Hoy] paid me back and hid mine.“ Facebook or Myspace: “Neither now, but I’m getting Facebook sooner or later.“ Biggest challenge: “Handling school and [year-round] wrestling.“—Arthur Utley

Hermitage coach Dalton Head is the first to point out that the 2008 field for the Richmond Invitational Tournament was very different from a year ago. Last year the tournament featured teams from Wisconsin, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. But as out-of-state schools elected to stay closer to home this year, more local talent shone. St. Christopher’s finished second to Kempsville and host Hermitage was fourth behind Franklin County.

RICHMOND INVITATIONAL
Team scores: 1. Kempsville 267.5, 2. St. Christopher’s 230, 3. Franklin County 185, 4. Hermitage 181.5, 5. First Colonial 141.5, 6. Deep Run 126.5, 7. Thomas Dale 117, 8. Cape Henry Collegiate 114, 9. Midlothian 112, 10. Atlee 107, 11. Ocean Lakes 102.5, 12. Robinson 101.5, 13. Indian River 98, 14. Stafford 95.5, 15. Gar-Field 92, 16. Woodbridge 88.5, 17. Mills Godwin 87, 18. Episcopal 86, 19. Southern Durham 84, 20. Hopewell 59, 21. Princess Anne 43.5, 22. Riverbend 43, 23. Matoaca 38.5, 24. First Colonial ‘B’ 34.5, 25. Petersburg 22.5, 26. Hermitage 16

Wrestlers were scheduled to weigh-in for the Richmond Invitational Tournament Friday at 5 p.m. That meant Brandon Diamond spent most of the day kind of hungry. And kind of thirsty.

Marc Heathcock spent all summer wrestling with a junior national team in China, training for his senior season at Hermitage. And after three months in China, he’s wrestling in his high school gym for what may be the most meaningful tournament of his life. “The Richmond Invitational, I’ve always thought was better than any other tournament, cause it is my [home] tournament,“ Heathcock said. “Even as a freshman, that’s what you want to win, no matter what. You can lose everything else in your life, but you have to win this tournament.“

PRINCE GEORGE—Dominique Berrios scored 21 points, and Calvin Ruiz contributed 14, including four 3-pointers, as Hopewell surprised No. 10 Prince George 80-74 last night. Milton Gholson added 15 points and David Rose had 13 for the Blue Devils. Treon Claiborne led the Royals with 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Joseph Phillips had eight assists to go along with eight points.

Matoaca’s Blake Roulo and Josh Clark looked like freak examples of youthful talent when they broke into high school wrestling last winter as freshmen. They’d had all of three varsity matches before winning the Richmond Invitational Tournament, which typically features the best teams in the area. Roulo blew through the regular season undefeated before finishing third in the Group AAA state tournament at 135 pounds.

James River’s Jordan Dix lifts Josh Wells during practice. Dix entered this season with a 125-17 career record and was 44-6 last year. Wrestler Jordan Dix trains before school, after school - and he’d likely practice headlocks and takedowns in English class, too, if only the teacher would let him. “Jordan has a work ethic,“ James River High coach Mark Helberg said, “that is unbelievable. Some wrestlers are great because they’re naturals. Others have to bust their rears . . . Jordan is definitely in that latter group.“