BEAN LEADS WAY FOR COLONELS

December 30, 2011
By Robert Niedzwiecki
The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER- James Wood senior Mark Bean has conquered the Northwestern District and Region II, and he's taken a spot on the medal podium at the Group AA state tournament.

But coming into this year, he had never won the Colonels' own Willie Walters/Jaye Copp Holiday Tournament. He took care of that in spectacular fashion Thursday.

After earning a 3-2 quarterfinal win Wednesday, Bean took out the drama Thursday and won both matches by fall, including a pin in three minutes and four seconds against previously undefeated Thomas DeLeon of Stonewall Jackson (Manassas) in the 220-pound final.

"It's a great feeling," said Bean, who only placed fifth at 189 pounds last year. "... Coach [Greg Walker] really got me inspired to work hard this year. He helped me through my match, and it was a great outcome."

Despite James Wood's tournament-high three championships - freshman Jimmy Woznak (106 pounds) and junior Taylor Swartz (113 pounds) also won - the Colonels didn't get consistent scoring throughout their lineup and only placed seventh with 118 points.

That left them one spot ahead of Northwestern District rival Sherando (eighth with 106 points), but one spot behind district rival Skyline (120). Handley - led by 285-pound champion Jordan Dowrey - placed 14th in the 17-team field with 62.5 points. Musselman (W.Va.) took the team championship with 146 points, edging Eastern View (145).

Bean led 3-1 at the time of his pin, which he executed by wrapping his arms around DeLeon's chest and dropping him on his back. Bean then grasped DeLeon's shoulder and eventually was able to straddle DeLeon and push him down to the mat.

For Bean, Thursday was something of a rarity in that he was able to wrestle someone his own age. In practice, Walker and assistant coaches Tom Prato and Mike Minch usually take turns putting Bean to the test.

"Coach Walker pushes me to where I'm at my breaking point," Bean said.

The way Walker sees it, what doesn't break Bean should make him stronger.

"We got to war on the mat with him, and I think he's getting better," Walker said. "He has a weight advantage on us, but we have the technique. We're just pushing him, and he thanks us for it."

James Wood's smallest starter showed how tough he is as well Thursday. Eastern View's Brian Ramey needed just seven seconds to drop Woznak in the 106-pound final for a takedown. But when regulation was over, Ramey was still looking for another point in a match that was square at 2-2.

"I just had to keep on wrestling hard," said Woznak, the younger brother of former Colonels' girls' soccer star Cat Woznak. "I wasn't going to let that first takedown decide the match."

After a scoreless first overtime, Ramey chose the down position for the second overtime. Woznak and Ramey eventually wound up on the edge of the mat, and with two seconds left Woznak was credited with a two-point near fall after a tilt.

Ramey immediately escaped to make it 4-3 heading into the final 30-second overtime, but Woznak made that advantage hold up and was credited with a 5-3 win.

"I've just got to keep winning and keep on working hard," Woznak said. "Good people in the practice room always helps."

Swartz, his practice partner, followed up with a 6-0 win over Sherando's Jacob Guthridge in the only final that involved two local wrestlers.

Walker was pleased by the performance of his champions, and he thought Chris Ewing wrestled well until dropping a 12-3 major decision to Loudoun County's Josh Cassada.

But he said James Wood isn't going to get to where it wants to be if only a handful of wrestlers are scoring most of its points. Dan Funkhouser (fifth, 170) and Jaime Walton (sixth, 152) were the only other Colonels to place.

"We've got to get those younger kids to step up and score some team points," Walker said. "Even if they don't finish in the top four, they still need to score some points for us. We came back this morning and lost us two in the semis, then they dropped down to [consolations] and they lost again. You don't score any points that way.

"We just need to get those younger kids to wrestle smart and wrestle a little better."

Sherando's Gabe Mead was right in the thick of the 170-pound final, but with an 8-6 lead in third period he got reversed and pinned with 1:08 left on the clock. B.J. Askew placed third at 285 and Kyle Vangel placed sixth at 120.

"We knew it was going to be a tough tournament, and it would be difficult for us to challenge for the team title," said Sherando coach Pepper Martin, who was without two of his best wrestlers (Aaron Laboy and Dan Mullaney) because of shoulder injuries. "But we gave some of our kids an opportunity to get on the mat, gauge where they are, and see what they need to do to get better."

Dowrey should only get better after earning the biggest win of his young career. The sophomore earned a 2-0 win over Austin Mehalic of Potomac Falls, breaking a scoreless tie with an escape 24 seconds into the third period and then another after Mehalic was called for stalling.

"It's the biggest tournament I've been competitive in," Dowrey said. "I went to regionals last year, but I was just trying to hang in with those guys. This is a big tournament, and it means a lot to win this one."

Dowrey said he's gotten a lot stronger and quicker since last year, and now he's more confident. Handley coach David Scott said he definitely sees a big difference in Dowrey.

"He's an all-around better wrestler, and the main thing is he's smart," Scott said. "He's able to go with kids that he couldn't last year. A bigger guy, he'll wrestle how he has to to beat him, and then he can change his skill set to wrestle against a smaller heavyweight."

The Judges also had Sean Bridgeforth take third at 126 and Randy Repass take fifth at 138.

- Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.