Rapids win with finality

James River overtook Cosby in the championship round of the Dominion District wrestling tournament to win the team title 242-229.5 at home yesterday.

Cosby, winner of the 2008 title, led by 11 points entering the final round with six individuals wrestling for first-place honors. James River took nine into the finals and came away with seven champions, including three victories over opponents from Cosby.

The Rapids' rally started when Brayden Manchester earned a crowd-pleasing victory over the Titans' Cory Garner, winning by fall in the 103-pound class in 1:07.

The heavyweight match followed. James River heavy Ryan Powis wrestled through three overtimes with Midlothian standout Callen Larus before winning 4-3 on a penalty call.

Rapids sophomore Jordan O'Donnell (112) and senior Jordan Dix (130) also won matches against the Titans. Dix and 135-pound Rapids senior Jared Anongos captured their fourth district championships.

"It hasn't really set in yet," Dix said.

Anongos was chosen as the meet's outstanding wrestler. He won his 207th match - the most in Virginia High School League history - against Patrick Rowe of Manchester with a 13-5 major decision.

"We kind of figured coming into the finals we were in a pretty good spot," James River coach Mark Helberg said. " . . . If you can count on anybody, you can count on Jared, you can count on Dix - and he was head to head with Cosby, which helps."

The Titans finished with three individual champions. Sophomore Austin Coburn was the Titans' only winner against James River in the finals. He pulled out a 5-1 decision over Jesse Wells at 152 pounds.

After losing in the district finals the past two years, Dominic Caizzo won at 119 pounds for James River.

"I almost wanted to win more for the team," he said. "More so than as an individual."

Junior Jordan Dibich was the Rapids' other winner. After losing to Huguenot's Junius Thorpe earlier in the season, Dibich overcame a late spasm of nerves to win by fall in 1:21.

"I was about to throw up before," Dibich said. "My stomach was gurgling."

Midlothian was third in the team standings. Junior Mark Howard (215) was the Trojans' only individual winner. Midlothian senior Neil Mulvaney lost at 189 pounds to Cosby's Anthony Delano.

"We won the regular season, they won the tournament," Cosby coach Mike Stefanko said, remembering that the opposite happened last season. "I've had a good battle with Coach Helberg for the last nine or 10 years."

They'll take up the battle again next week as James River plays host to the Central Region tournament Friday and Saturday. Wrestling starts at noon both days.

Contact Andee Sears at (804) 649-6210 or .

TEAM SCORES

1. James River 242; 2. Cosby 229.5; 3. Midlothian 174.5; 4. Clover Hill 141.5; 5. L.C. Bird 140; 6. George Wythe 122.5; 7. Manchester 77.5; 8. Huguenot 73; 9. Monacan 27.
CHAMPIONSHIP

103: Brayden Manchester (JR) p. Cory Garner (Cos), 1:07; 112: Jordan O'Donnell (JR) md. Matt Metzger (Cos), 8-0; 119: Dominic Caiazzo (JR) tp. Charles Krug (Midlo), 2:53; 16-0; 125: Ryan Sams (CH) dep. Matt Kozusko (LCB), :02; 130: Jordan Dix (JR) d. Brendan Crawley (Cos), 8-3; 135: Jared Anongos (JR) md. Patrick Rowe (Man), 13-5; 140: Jordan Dibich (JR) p. Junius Thorpe (Hug), 1:21; 145: Andrew Rose (Man) d. Josh Wells (JR), 9-5; 152: Austin Coburn (Cos) d. Jesse Wells (JR), 5-1; 160: Mike Birnbaum (Cos) d. Zach Burkholder (CH), 10-4; 171: Jacob Hutchinson (CH) d. Chris Paul (LCB), 6-2; 189: Anthony Delano (Cos) d. Neil Mulvaney (Midlo), 7-3; 215: Mark Howard (Midlo) p. Travis Earnshaw (LCB), 3:02; 285: Ryan Powis (JR) d. Callen Larus (Midlo), 4-3.
CONSOLATION

103: Desmond Gunn (GW) p. Drew Mason (CH), 2:13; 112: David Newell-Smith (CH) p. Brandon Lawson (LCB), 1:31; 119: Blake Cooksey (Cos) p. James Allison (LCB), 3:25; 125: Christian Evers (Cos) d. Blake Dunn (Midlo), 9-4; 130: Andrew Kennedy (LCB) d. Darrick Gore (GW), 3-2; 135: Ethan Precourt (Cos) d. Chris Brown (Hug), 11-6; 140: Aaron Wright (Cos) d. Jameel Neverson (GW), 5-2; 145: Wolfgang Gohlke (Cos) d. Carl Kenney (Midlo), 9-5; 152: Kyle Seay (Midlo) p. Michael Fields (Hug), 1:34; 160: Matt Provost (Midlo) d. Michael Harrison (GW), 3-2; 171: Blake Hutchison (Cos) tp. Kastel Triana (Midlo), 2:59; 17-2; 189: Zac Blackwell (JR) p. Lonnie Allen (Hug), 1:56; 215: Jamahl Gary (GW) p. LaDontis Holland, (Mon), 2:08; 285: Scott Matheny (CH) d. Frank Brown (GW), 1-0