mhsalum 31 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 Decorated Bulldog duo fuels strong wrestling tradition Monday, February 19, 2007 By ANDREW STEVENS - Bulletin Sports Writer They’re not members of the Martinsville High School basketball team. They’ve never won a state championship and there are plenty of people in the area who have never heard of either one of them. Yet wrestlers Rickey Flood and Dorian Carter will graduate this spring as two of the most, if not the most, decorated athletes in the history of a school plenty rich in sports tradition. Carter (145 pounds) and Flood (160) first met as children when Flood lived next to Carter’s grandfather and shortly thereafter their wrestling careers began in elementary school. Their friendship continues today as competitors in practice, and off the mat they are the best of friends who are at times inseparable. “We play cards, we go bowling, we go to basketball games and we eat, we love to eat,†Carter, the 2006-07 Piedmont District Wrestler of the Year, said with a chuckle. “When I lose Rickey’s really the only person I can talk to because he’s really the only person on the team that’s on my level. He can tell me what I did wrong and I can tell him what he does wrong.†Like other teenagers, Carter and Flood enjoy their fun, but while many of their peers spend their free time and summers working or hanging out with friends, these two grapplers devote enormous amounts of time to wrestling. Despite fairly successful football careers, Carter and Flood both gave up the gridiron and now wrestle 12 months out of the year, attending tournaments and camps all across the state and as far away as Fargo, N.D. With a world full of distractions begging for their attention, the three-time team captains spend close to 50 hours a week either training or wrestling, and figure they’ve each wrestled somewhere between 300-400 high school matches, with more than a 100 wins apiece. “Wrestling is their thing and when I see Rickey and Dorian walking around tournaments they’re in their element, that’s their home,†Martinsville Head Coach Chad Ratliff said. “It’s a sport that you have to love because it’s hard. “You’re not just competing against an opponent, you’re competing against fast food, you’re competing against weight and you’re competing against giving up your weekends. It takes hard-nosed kids.†Dedication and hard work don’t stop when Carter and Flood walk off the wrestling mat they carry over to the classroom as well. Carter currently sports a 3.8 GPA and is mulling over U.Va. and Virginia Tech, and Flood was recently accepted to St. Andrew’s College in North Carolina. When asked how often Ratliff reminds the two to stay on top of their school work, Flood didn’t hesistate in responding, “24/7.†As close as Carter and Flood are off the mat they do share a competitive moment that neither of them will quickly forget. What the two believed to be nothing short of a friendly tussle their junior season at a tournament in Brookville turned into a perpetual bragging point for Carter, who won by one point despite giving up a good 15 pounds to his buddy. “I know I can say I beat Rickey in a real match,†Carter said. “I always bring back that match because I beat him, there’s just that one match.†The list of accomplishments Carter and Flood have compiled in their time at Martinsville more than speaks for itself. Carter’s a four-time district champion and Flood’s a three-time winner, they’re both two-time regional champions, multiple-time state qualifiers and are both currently ranked in the top-three in the state in Group AA in their respective weight classes. However, there’s one ultimate prize that’s eluded them both. But, in the eyes of the coach who has seen them work so hard to come so far, there’s much more worth achieving in life than a state championship. “I used to joke that those kids in their freshman class that it was like trying to herd rabbits during practice and competition,†Ratliff said. “It’s all been great but the things I hope they’ve learned in the last four years they’ll carry with them for a lifetime. A state championship is a fantastic memory but it won’t do what a college education will do.†At a school where state championships have become somewhat of a measuring stick, Flood feels his career would be incomplete with anything short of a ring. “I think about it every day,†Flood said. “It would mean a whole lot and it would boost my confidence going into college. That’s the only thing I haven’t accomplished. I need that state championship for my career to be complete.†Carter echoed his lifelong friend with a smile on his face and a gleam in his eye, “I want my picture right there on the wall beside the basketball team,†he said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tullyblanchard 10 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 Great article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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