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Shadows & ShowmanshipBy BOB PUTNAM, Times Staff Writer© St. Petersburg Times published March 2, 2003
CLEARWATER -- To follow Countryside High's wrestling team means to be acquainted with the dark. Before the start of each home dual meet, the gymnasium's lights cut out, save for a dome light shining on the mat below. Then, the walls vibrate -- the Countryside wrestlers are pounding on the back of the bleachers. The rattling gives way to a Cougar howl roaring over the sound system. Then, a bell rings. Ding-ding-ding. It's show time. Fourteen wrestlers sprint out from behind the bleachers to the tune of Survivor's Eye of the Tiger. Da. . . . da-da-da.
The antics conclude with the Cougars piling on one another and yelling. As opening ceremonies go, this one rocks -- with both sound and fury. "I counted on giving them six to 10 points just because of that light," Bradenton Manatee coach Andy Gugliemini said when his team wrestled at Countryside in 2001. For junior varsity matches, the lights come back on. But for varsity, only dome light overhead illuminates the wrestlers. Countryside coach Dave Frayer never intended for the atmosphere he created to scare opponents. "I wanted something that would bring some excitement to my kids and to the program," he said. "I just thought it was a neat thing to do." Frayer has had the idea for the dome light since his college days in the 1970s, when he wrestled at Ball State in Indiana and saw a similar spotlight used at a match in Minnesota. "It was just so different, and it really raised the intensity when we wrestled there," Frayer said. "I always remembered that." It took awhile before Frayer turned dual meets into an event at Countryside. He came to the school in 1981 and quickly turned the wrestling program into one of the best in the state. The Cougars won state titles in 1987 and '90. But Frayer wanted something more. He purchased a dome light in 1993, the first of its kind in Pinellas County. The music and other premeet festivities came from the wrestlers. At first, opposing coaches were not receptive to the light. In fact, some wanted it removed. Public perception changed through the years, though. Now, four other Tampa Bay area schools -- Land O'Lakes, Palm Harbor University, Ridgewood and Springstead -- have dome lights. "I don't think it's intimidating at all," Seminole coach Kevin Kennedy said. "If anything, it's exciting and gets them pumped up. I make my wrestlers watch it. Heck, I get pumped up."
"We have no interest in watching it," Stern said. "It's all just for show. The music is nice, but the light is a bad idea. You can't see anything. Shadows look like shoulders. It's hard to call pins. It's more of a hindrance than anything else." Not for Countryside. The Cougars have hogged the spotlight since installing it. They have just one loss this season and were undefeated at home. On Saturday, they wrapped up their season at the state tournament in Lakeland. (See Sports for results.) "Having the light is definitely a big advantage when we're home," Countryside senior Matt Turtzo said. "It's something that's been a part of my family for a while. "I first saw it watching my brother (Chris) run out onto the mat. I couldn't wait to do that and wanted more than anything to be the first person out of that tunnel. It's a rush and probably my favorite thing I've done while wrestling here." The teamVince Scholl, junior, 112 pounds A. Jay Hixon , junior, 119 pounds Mike Flood, senior, 125 pounds DominicDeNunzio, junior, 130 pounds Steve Spicuzza, senior, 135 pounds Matt Turtzo, senior, 140 pounds Wes Walker, sophomore, 145 pounds Sean Murphy, junior, 152 pounds Garry Dodds, senior, 160 pounds
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