For a few hours Friday, Great Bridge looked like a serious contender at the Group AAA state wrestling tournament.

When all eight Wildcats won their first-round matches and advanced to the quarterfinals, they were within striking distance of Colonial Forge. The Eagles also put eight into the quarterfinals, leaving Great Bridge just 4.5 points behind the team that ended the Wildcats’ streak of nine straight state titles last season.

“I think we can get them,” Great Bridge sophomore Joey Grainger said at the time.
But then Colonial Forge went 8-0 in the quarterfinals; the Wildcats got only five of their wrestlers through to the semis. Heading into today’s action, the Eagles are 21.5 points in front of Great Bridge, sitting pretty to repeat as team champs.

“That was a good round for us,” said Colonial Forge coach Bill Swink, whose team went 9-0 in both the semifinals and finals of the Northwest Region tournament last weekend. “I hope we can keep doing that. We’ve talked a lot the last couple of weeks about staying the course.”

This is uncharted territory for a program that’s less than 10 years old. Last year, the Eagles played the part of giant slayer. This year , they’ve been the heavy favorite all along.

“I don’t like it,” Swink said. “I like chasing better than being chased. It’s a whole different feeling.”

One Colonial Forge better get used to.

Five alive for Great Bridge

While it doesn’t look like Great Bridge can claim the team title, it has a quintet of wrestlers with individual title hopes alive. Austin Hurst (103 pounds), Louis Johnson (140), Grainger (152), Jared King (160) and Billy Curling (189) all advanced to today’s semifinals.

Hurst, a freshman, was a pleasant surprise, but Grainger may be the most surprising.

Even after finishing fourth as a freshman last year, Grainger was a long shot to win it all this time because he had to face defending state champ Steven Ours of Hayfield in the quarterfinals.

So, when he pulled the upset Friday night, he cried. His teammates wrapped their arms around him and rubbed his mohawk playfully.

“Oh, man. I was like, ‘Whoa,’” Grainger said. “What can you say? I just beat a state champ. That feels real, real good.”

And now his path to a title is much clearer.

Eying the mighty mites

The 112-pound bracket is almost always one of the most competitive at the state tournament – and this year is no exception. The mighty mites provided plenty of excitement Friday.

Western Branch’s Tucker Miller nearly had his hopes of a title dashed in the first round. He trailed 6-5 with 40 seconds left before scoring a reversal. A stalling call on Miller tied it, but he took Forest Park’s Isaac Riddell to his back with three seconds left to win it.

“Scary,” Bruins coach Bob Siman said. “I was a little worried he came into this tournament with the wrong mind-set.”

But Miller went on to beat Central Region champ Justin Dennis of Hermitage to advance to the semifinals.

“I feel better,” Siman said.

Princess Anne’s Randy Chapman, last year’s state runner-up, also survived a first-round scare, executing a Granby roll with five seconds left to beat Fauquier’s Greg Flournoy. But Chapman drew a state champion, Lake Braddock’s George Billy, in the quarterfinals.

He lost but won in the consolation round, so Chapman is still in the hunt for a medal.

Eastern Region in the lead

The battle for best region – usually a no contest for the Eastern Region – is a tight one this year.

The Northwest Region got 33 wrestlers into the quarterfinals and 18 of those are alive in today’s semis. The Eastern Region, though, is holding down the top spot with 36 in the quarters and 20 wrestlers in the semifinals.

Along with Great Bridge, the Beach District bolstered the region’s contingent. Cox has three semifinalists; Kellam, Kempsville and Hickory each have two.

The Northern Region has 12 semifinalists. The Central has six.