“The Granddaddy of Them All,” also known as the Virginia Duals wrestling tournament, begins its 45th edition on Friday morning at the Hampton Coliseum.
The Duals is known for combining high school and college wrestlers in a smorgasbord of mat activity, covering two rows of five regulation mats spread along the floor of the Coliseum. As many as 10 bouts can take place simultaneously.
The American College bracket, mostly devoid of Division 1 teams after years of hosting some of the top-25 squads in the country, now features a mix of 16 teams, including contingents from Division 2, Division 3, NAIA, and the bracket’s lone local team, the Apprentice School, from the USCAA.
On Tuesday afternoon, several coaches and the event’s meet directors gathered in the lobby of the Coliseum to preview this year’s tournament.
Peninsula Wrestling Association president Mike McCormick gave the outline of the format.
“We have expanded the American College Division to 16 teams,” said McCormick, a National Wrestling Hall of Famer and one of the top college wrestling referees. “Three of the teams are ranked in the (college division) top-20, as are about 20 of the wrestlers.
Micah Amrozowicz, the Apprentice head coach, spoke of the advantages of wrestling in a blended event between high schools and colleges.
“We use this as a recruiting event,” said Amrozowicz, in his fourth year as the Builder coach. “It gives us the chance to identify wrestlers who can benefit from a free education.”
The local flavor also appeals to the team. “Most of our wrestlers are from Virginia, so it’s good to have so many state teams here.”
Amrozowicz identified Glenville State (WV) and Kutztown State (PA) as the teams to watch, and they are seeded at #1 and #2, with Newberry College (SC) and Frostburg State (MD) filling out the top four spots.
McCormick went on to explain the process of building the prep brackets. “We have three high school divisions for our 48 teams. We have the Black and Blue Division with 16 teams. Then we take the remaining 32 teams and split them into the (Cliff) Keen, or TowneBank American H.S. Division.”
Grassfield, the state’s #1 ranked team, is the top seed in the TowneBank Division. Their team goal is to gain redemption against the brackets #2 seed.
“I hope that we get to wrestle against Nazareth,” said Grassfield coach Patrick Shuler. “They beat us here last year, and it ended up being our team’s only dual meet loss.” The Grizzlies outpointed the Pennsylvania team in a tournament earlier this year, and currently are ranked one spot higher than their Quaker State foes in the national rankings (#37 vs. #38). If they meet, it will be in the final, with all high school and college championship matches taking place at 8 PM on Saturday.
The Grizzlies are off to a great start, having shut out their first two opponents to reach the semis.
Grafton coach Horace Kates, and John Wright of Tabb spoke of the advantages gained from competing in a diverse tournament.
“We love this event. It’s a nice cross-section of local and (Eastern) region talent,” said Kates, who is midway through his 11th season as the Clipper coach.
Speaking toward the competition, Wright commented on the luck of the draw.
“We want to see some talent – some teams that we don’t get to wrestle (against) in Hampton Roads.”
There is a third day of the Duals tournament on Sunday as wrestlers from the ages of 5-14 compete in a separate event.
Thinking of the younger Tabb Wrestling club team which he re-established several years ago, Wright added, “We get to see the whole team wrestle this weekend.”
Five Hampton Roads teams wrestled in the Cliff Keen H.S. Division, with Poquoson being the only seeded squad at #6. Poquoson enjoyed an upset over the #3 seed.
Half of the area’s competing teams will be in the Black and Blue Division. Landstown is seeded #1 in the bracket, with Kellam (#2), Ocean Lakes (#4) also holding the top spot in their respective quartiles. Two Hampton Roads-only matches will take place in the first round on Friday at 6 PM, with Ocean Lakes tangling with Grafton and York facing Kellam. Landstown, Kellam and Ocean Lakes qualified for the semifinals.
The Duals commenced on Friday at 9 AM with preliminary matches in the TowneBank Division.
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