Bean among four area region champs
February 14, 2011
By Robert Niedzwiecki
ORANGE- A kneeling Mark Bean let out a loud, coarse cough, and for several moments, he kept his head on the mat and didn’t move as he struggled to catch his breath.
The scene with 1:07 remaining in the third period was probably alarming for many. But not all.
“That’s normal,” said James Wood coach Greg Walker with a laugh.
What followed has become pretty normal, too.
Twenty-four seconds after it appeared Bean might struggle to hold on to a slim lead, the Colonels junior scored a takedown that propelled him to a 6-0 victory in the 215-pound final Saturday at the Region II wrestling tournament at Orange County High School’s Hornet Sports Center.
Bean, who improved to 36-11, capped off a tournament in which four local wrestlers won individual titles. James Wood sophomore Taylor Swartz (103 pounds) and Millbrook juniors Jake Crawford (140) and Joe Jessen (189) took the others. But it was also a tournament in which the powerful Northwestern District qualified just 11 wrestlers for the Group AA state tournament, a number longtime coach Pepper Martin of Sherando said has to be fewest it’s had in quite some time. The top four in each weight class advanced to next Friday and Saturday’s competition at the Salem Civic Center.
Still, the Northwestern performed solidly in the team competition, led by Millbrook (189 points, five state qualifiers) which placed second to defending champion Fauquier (260). James Wood (98 points, three qualifiers) was fifth, Sherando (80 points, two) tied for eighth, and Handley (29 points, one) tied for 17th. Skyline, which had no state qualifiers, was 15th with 35.5 points.
Bean was tabbed as a potential state champion by Walker before the season, and in beating Brentsville’s Brandon Thompson, he put himself in strong position to do it. But while state title expectations are a relatively new phenomenon for Bean, moments like the one fans saw halfway through the third period aren’t.
Bean, who was born two months prematurely, has dealt with breathing problems his entire life. Bean said he doesn’t have asthma, but he does have to make occasional use of an inhaler.
“Most of the time I just have to deal with it,” Bean said. “I just look at it as, ‘I’ve done it before, just keep rolling with it.'”
For the second straight week, Bean rolled with a bleeding forehead. The match had to be stopped twice to attend it, with the first stoppage 45 seconds into the match resulting in the application of gauze that was wrapped completely around the top of his head.
After two scoreless periods, Bean finally got rolling with his wrestling.
Thompson conceded an escape point to start the third. Following Bean’s loud cough – Walker, aware of Bean’s history, knew that once Bean had a chance to stand on his feet and breathe for a few seconds, he’d be OK – Bean was able to score a takedown during a fall that could have gone either way. Bean’s right arm and Thompson’s left were locked as they went down by the edge of the mat with 43 seconds left.
“When he went for the bear hug, I had to get more of an angle on him,” Bean said. “The one time he tossed me out of bounds, I was coming in straight for it, and he ended up throwing me. The second time I got around on him. I got my angle and took him down.”
With the James Wood contingent chanting his name in deep, low tones, Bean added three near-fall points to complete the win.
After hugging his grandmother, a beaming Bean expressed how much the win meant to him.
“It’s a better road for me at states,” said Bean, who earned his first regional title. “This means twice as much [as winning districts]. Last year I was third, the year before I was fourth. The feeling is so awesome.”
While Bean’s victory was high on drama, neither Crawford nor Jessen took long to suck the suspense out of their finals matches.
Crawford, a junior gunning for his third state championship, won the 140-pound final over Fauquier’s Landon Dean by fall in 5:16.
With teammates and coaches using phrases like “that was sick” and “that was domination” while watching, Crawford hit Dean with five takedowns and one three-point near fall before he was able to seal the deal. Crawford essentially immobilized Dean’s right shoulder, allowing him to apply the pressure he needed to touch his shoulders to the mat.
Though Crawford seemed to always be on the verge of a pin, the experienced wrestler doesn’t concern himself much if he doesn’t get it early.
“It gets a little frustrating,” Crawford said. “You’re not going to wait for something to open up. You try to work him harder so something will open up. If they’re just stalling, you’ve got to wait for the right opportunity, and you’ve got to capitalize on it.”
Jessen’s match was more competitive, but he achieved his pin quicker, taking Zach Roseberry of Brentsville down in 2:52 at 189 pounds. It was a good sign for Jessen, the 189-pound regional and state runner-up last year who needed to go the distance to beat Roseberry when they met in the season opening Andrew Kenney Memorial Classic at Sherando.
“The No. 1 thing I want to do is win a state title, and [regionals] is where you can show everyone what you can do,” Jessen said.
Millbrook was hoping it would be able to show the state the talents of more than five of its wrestlers, but Pioneers coach John Borst thought it was a solid effort from his team overall. The Pioneers had 10 wrestlers place, including four who took fifth.
The Pioneers will also take junior Luke Anderson (second at 119, a 6-0 loser in the final), senior John Sharp (who saw his perfect season end with a 13-2 loss in the semifinals but took third at 152) and senior Billy Wisman, who took third at 171 and earned his first state tournament berth by avenging two previous losses to James Wood’s Cory Schrock with a 2-1 win in the consolation semifinals.
“We weren’t going to catch Fauquier [in the team race],” Borst said. “It was disappointing that we had two guys [Patrick Jessen at 130 and Jordan Wampler at 285 in the consolation semifinals] in the last couple of seconds [who] lost their matches earlier. We were hoping to pull them through, but overall, as a team, it was a good effort.”
After a rough start, Swartz continued his strong season with an 8-2 win over Warren County’s Kyle Montague in the 103-pound final, his first regional championship. Montague scored a takedown 20 seconds in, but after that, it was all Swartz. He led 4-2 after one period, added a reversal in the second, and a two-point near fall in the third.
“That kind of woke me up,” said Swartz of the early takedown. “I just had to work harder to get the points back. I felt like I controlled the whole time, especially on top.”
Walker said he’s been impressed all year with his three finalists, as well as Schrock. (In the 125-pound final, Cody Landis fell 6-2 to Loudoun County’s Tyler Anthony, whom he pinned in the Willie Walters/Jaye Copp Holiday Tournament final.)
The fact that they led James Wood to as high a finish as it had was something he’ll definitely take, because Walker wasn’t able to prepare the team like he wanted to after missing practice all week because of illness.
“If you had asked me if we’d finish fifth, I would have said, ‘No way,’ because we’re just so young.” Walker said. “The kids did a great job.”
Sherando will take just junior Aaron Laboy (third at 140 pounds) and junior B.J. Askew (third at 285) to the state tournament. Martin said the Warriors thought they’d take four and as many as six. But Jacob Guthridge (103) lost overtime matches to the eventual third- and fourth-place finishers, Dan Mullaney (130) suffered an injury to the back of his head and had to default his last two matches, and the Fletcher cousins Brandon (125) and Zach (160) lost in the consolation semifinals.
Handley’s one qualifier is senior Tom Delaney, who took third at 145 pounds.
As for the fact that the Northwestern is only sending 11 wrestlers to Salem, Martin said it’s not entirely surprising given the wealth of senior talent that led the Frederick County schools to sixth, seventh and eighth at last year’s state meet that is now gone. Martin just hopes his younger wrestlers take what they learned this year and come back stronger.
The Northwestern’s remaining 11 might not pack the star power of say, Ocean’s Eleven, but Walker doesn’t think the rest of the state can afford to sleep on them.
“The number’s down, but I’m not disappointed in it,” he said. “Next week, we’ll see how those 11 kids do.”
– Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at rniedzwiecki@winchesterstar.com