Wrestling: Virginia Duals preview

HAMPTON

The 30th Virginia Duals wrestling tournament – featuring some of the country’s best high school and college programs – starts at 9 a.m. today at Hampton Coliseum.

It has been a storied march from humble beginnings.

“They’ve done a real good job in the last 10 years of upping the competition level,” Old Dominion coach Steve Martin said. “Now it’s a true national level event at the high school and the college level. You’ve got all the top teams in the country coming here.”

Martin has seen the Duals grow, competing as a wrestler at Kempsville High and the University of Iowa and as a coach for Great Bridge High and ODU. The Monarchs are 1 of 8 top-25 teams in this year’s 16-squad National College bracket. Old Dominion, ranked 23rd by InterMat, could face fourth-ranked Oklahoma State in the second round at 1 p.m. today.

“We started with eight colleges and four high schools and today we’re at 48 high schools, 24 colleges and four middle schools,” said Jim Casey, director of the Duals’ middle school competition and a prominent figure at the tournament since it began. “There were growing pains along the way … 30 years later we’re pretty much a national event.”

The first Virginia Duals were held, in 1981. In 1985, the field expanded to 16 colleges and 16 high schools. Word spread quickly about the tournament.

“All of a sudden it was like a festival, everybody wanted to come,” Casey said. “From then on we’ve had a waiting list.”

Having teams line up to attend the Duals was a decisive turnaround from the beginning, when Casey said the Peninsula Wrestling Association would pay to board participants.

“The event was so popular at that time and nobody else in the country was doing dual-meet tournaments, we had no problem getting the colleges to come,” Casey said. “Instead of spending thousands of dollars to house these schools, they’re now coming to us.”

“It’s not until you get there and see it, you realize it’s the ultimate showcase,” Cox High coach Matt Small said. “It’s not like any other tournament; it’s a dual format – team vs. team – that’s what’s unique about it.”

These days, the Duals are attracting high school and college national powers. The tournament features two college, three high school and a middle-school division.

“There’s just a spectrum of kids and experience levels that you see at the Duals – from middle-school kids to college guys,” said Small, who wrestled in the Duals at Great Bridge and ODU. “Go all the way to the top (of the arena) and look down at all the mats – it’s good to see. It’s quite a spectacle.”

Duals organizers will hold this year’s event with heavy hearts.

One of the tournament’s founders, Jim Green, died of a heart attack recently. Casey said Green’s legacy will be honored with a moment of silence before the closing ceremonies, and his name will be attached to the high school Black and Blue Division’s outstanding wrestler award.

And though Green’s loss will be felt, his spirit and that of the others who birthed the Duals still resonates.

“It’s a fun tournament,” Casey said. “It’s not a mechanical thing where you go, you wrestle and you go home. This tournament has a life of its own and we feel the pulse of it.

“Every time we came to a hurdle, we cleared it – we kept going and growing.”

30th annual Virginia Duals

At Hampton Coliseum

Tickets  One session – $10 students; $14 adults; All-session pass – $22 students, $32 adults

Today  Matches begin 9 a.m.

Saturday  Matches begin 8 a.m.; finals for all brackets, 8:30 p.m.

Today’s notable first-round matches: National College bracket: 9 a.m. – No. 4 Oklahoma State vs. Liberty; No. 23 Old Dominion vs. Clarion; No. 10 Oklahoma vs. Bucknell. National High School bracket: 9 a.m. – St. Mark’s (Del.) vs. Hopewell; Eastern Regional (N.J.) vs. Kellam; 11 a.m. – Cox vs. Fort Dorchester (S.C.). American High School bracket:  5 p.m. – Kempsville vs. Chantilly; Grundy vs. Hermitage