Commonwealth Notebook

Date published: 2/27/2007

BY JIM Mc CONNELL

Even after winning the first 45 matches of his senior wrestling season and rolling into the Group AAA heavyweight final with three consecutive pins, Josh Wine found himself back on the brink of heartbreak.

It was familiar, if uncomfortable, territory. Just last season, the Massaponax two-sport standout reached the state final before losing 3-2 in double overtime to Centreville's Colin Miller.

Three hundred sixty-four days later, Wine made it back to the final round Saturday at Robinson High School. This time, he faced Fauquier's Nick Cook.

Once again, six minutes weren't enough to crown a champion. The heavyweights were tied 1-1 at the end of regulation. When two overtime periods couldn't resolve the deadlock, they trudged into a sudden-death session that would decide the match one way or another.

Wine's challenge was exactly the same as in last year's state final. He had 30 seconds to escape Cook's control, or else Cook would be declared the winner.

In a heart-pounding finish that brought most of the capacity crowd to its feet, Wine finally earned the escape he needed with just three seconds showing on the scoreboard--three little ticks that made the difference between a state championship and what would've been another tough defeat.

Completely exhausted, Wine couldn't even make it back to his corner before he collapsed in the arms of Massaponax coaches Rob Prebish and Nathan Broughton.

"My coaches told me not to leave anything on the mat. I put everything I had into that match," Wine said yesterday. "I couldn't have worked any harder than I did."

Yesterday, the VMI-bound senior was the star of the morning announcements at Massaponax. In the coming days, he'll have an opportunity to design his own championship ring--an appropriate honor, considering he's the school's first state champ in any sport.

"That's what made it really cool for me," Wine said. "There's going to be plenty of state champions here, but I'll always be known as the first."

Over the years, Stafford has built consistent winners in several girls sports. Soccer, however, hasn't been one of them.

So when Stafford senior Kelsey French was offered a scholarship to play soccer for Wagner College, a Division I program based in Staten Island, N.Y., she knew better than to pass on the opportunity.

French, a second-team all-Commonwealth District selection last season as a center midfielder, first came to the attention of her future coaches last summer at a showcase tournament with her club team, the Stafford Eagles. She made an official visit to the campus in October, then gave an oral commitment to Wagner last month.

French made it official on National Signing Day, choosing Wagner over offers from Division III programs Roanoke College and the University of Mary Washington.

"I don't think anybody expects Stafford to have a Division I player because our team hasn't had much success," she added. "I hope more girls will see that it's possible, that they can do it, too."

Jim McConnell: 540/374-5444
Email: jmcconnell@freelancestar.com

Date published: 2/27/2007