For the high school wrestling aficionado, James River was the place to be yesterday provided you could figure out what was going on.
In the gymnasium, there were four mats, with non-stop action on most of them beginning at noon. In the commons area, tables were cleared and two more mats were placed on the floor for the grapplers to showcase their skills.
If that wasn't enough, two mats were set up in the auxiliary gym to accommodate more of the area's finest wrestlers.
Welcome to the Central Region tournament, which has become a "super" regional this year because of all the snow and school closures.
Under normal conditions, the top four wrestlers from the Capital, Central, Colonial and Dominion districts make up the 16-person brackets in each of the 14 weight classes. But there were no district tournaments, since schools were closed for most of the past two weeks. That meant some draws had as many as 31 grapplers vying for a berth in the state tournament.
"With the snow throwing a wrench into the plans, that changed everything," said Tim Llewellyn, tournament director and activities director at James River High. "So we seeded the top four from each district and then 5-8 by random draw [from each district].
"There were some people who felt like we couldn't get it done in two days [with double elimination], so we should have single elimination. But we felt like, no, the kids need an opportunity, if they lose once, to wrestle back. That's the way it's supposed to be."
Llewellyn said the school decided to use eight mats since "we're used to doing it here because we run the James River Duals every year."
One player who took advantage of going to the regionals under this unusual scenario was Kevin Clarke of Lloyd Bird in the 160-weight class. A senior, Clarke probably wouldn't have qualified as one of the top four seeds from the Dominion District. But he knocked off third-seeded Bruce Batson of Dinwiddie in the first round and No. 2 Patrick Sorey of Hanover in the second round.
"Kevin has always had the ability," said Bird coach Mark Bowen. "He's a four-year varsity wrestler. When he gets in matches, one good move, one bad move, turns into a bad match. That's kind of been the norm with him. But this year, he's turned things around and stepped it up.
"He's gradually been getting better. He's peaking at the right time. This is where it counts."
Clarke's run ended in the quarterfinals, where he lost to No. 1 seed, Andy Svanda of James River in a close match.
"I just listened to what my coaches said," said Clarke, whose father, Keith Dixon, is a former two-time state champion from Bird in the 189-pound class. "I followed every word they said and that helped me win. If it wasn't for all my coaches, I wouldn't be where I am right now. "I'm just happy that I made it this far. I never thought I'd make it to the quarterfinals. I thought I'd be two and done."
Bowen wouldn't mind seeing the area use this super regional setup again. "This is a good idea," said Bowen. "Some of us are going to vote to do it next year. The benefit is bringing kids that normally don't go. They might be a four, five or six seed in their district and they don't get the opportunity to come."
The semifinals are scheduled for noon today, with the finals set for 7 p.m. The top four in each weight class advance to the state Group AAA tournament next week at James Robinson Secondary in Fairfax.
For complete results, go to www.jamesriverwrestling.com or www.centralregionwrestling.net.
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