Unorthodox Oddenino, melancholy Payne shine at state tournament

Bennett Payne ducked under the stands inside the Salem Civic Center early Saturday evening.

Hidden from a near-capacity crowd at the Group AA/A state wrestling tournament, he sat on the concrete and tucked his chin to his chest.

Payne had just completed his senior wrestling season with a 40-3 record and career-best second-place finish at state, but he sat dejected.

“It’s embarrassing,” Payne said shortly after losing to Poquoson’s Jeffrey Ogburn in the 126-pound state final by pin in 2 minutes, 41 seconds. “I got pinned in the finals, and it’s my senior year. The title ‘second’ isn’t bad, but the way I lost is.”

He finished the state tournament with a 3-1 record. He didn’t think about those three wins while under the stands, though.

“I know he’s disappointed, but he’s had a great season,” Fauquier coach Doug Fisher said. “He doesn’t lose to slouches.”

Evan Oddenino, also a Fauquier senior, had a different reaction to finishing second at 285 pounds. He grinned after the final whistle despite losing to Lord Botetourt’s Mike Jones, 6-3.

Oddenino (30-5) smiled because, one, he is almost always smiling; two, he had just hung with the undefeated Jones (37-0); and three, he almost escaped Jones’ grip in the second period using a Granby roll.

As that Granby illustrated, Oddenino has the body of a heavyweight, but the mindset of a lightweight.

“I like to prove myself that I’m not just a big-blob slob,” he said. “I like to be an athlete. If I do a move which is meant for smaller weights…it’s a great feeling.”

The Granby roll nearly worked against Jones. Oddenino trailed 2-1 in the second period when he tried to roll out of Jones’ grasp. After the roll, he leaned back on Jones and nearly scored back-points.

“He almost got it,” Fauquier coach Doug Fisher said. “He’s an unorthodox heavyweight. How many heavyweights have you seen out there do Granbys like that.

“He revels in that a little bit,” Fisher said. “He has a good time with it.”

In seasons past, such moves sometimes backfired on Oddenino. He picks his spots better this season.

“That was one of our challenges,” Fisher said. “He’s gotten smarter and he’s stronger.”

“He’s wrestling more like a heavyweight,” Payne said. “Not taking shots when he shouldn’t and getting stretched out.”

Oddenino didn’t even place (top eight) at the state tournament last season, bowing out with a 1-2 record. Prior to this season, he had never won a district championship or a region championship, let alone wrestled in a state championship match.

“To make it into the finals is definitely an accomplishment for me,” said Oddenino, who won Region II and Evergreen District titles earlier this month. “It’s an amazing feeling.”

The state final was a good measure of his improvement. Last season Jones beat Oddenino, 10-1, in the first round of state. Oddenino only trailed 4-2 in the final Saturday until he took a desperate shot with five seconds remaining in the match that gave Jones two more points.

“He wrestled really well this tournament; definitely impressive,” fellow Fauquier senior Landon Dean said. “He’s improved a lot – more aggressive and he hits his moves a lot more clean.”

“He’s a lot more relaxed,” Fisher said. “He’s a lot more confident. He’s a lot more comfortable in his own skin.”

Last season, Oddenino and all the other Fauquier Falcons watched the state finals from the Salem Civic Center stands. They had no finalists for the first time since 2005-06, so they were happy to see Oddenino and Payne warming up on the mats for the finals Saturday.

“We talked about it on the mat,” Oddenino said of Payne. "'It’s sort of weird how it’s just me and you out here and not everyone else.' But I was just glad I had another buddy that made it as far as I did.”

They missed out on eating pizza with their teammates between the afternoon session of state and the evening finals, but that sacrifice was well worth a shot at a state championship. Oddenino and Payne instead relaxed during the break at their hotel in Salem.

Once on the mats, they got to experience the 30-minute introduction announcements.

“It’s insane,” Oddenino said. “You’ve got thousands of people in the stands cheering for you, the lights shining down on you – it’s an intense feeling.”

Payne took the mat first in the 126-pound final. The first period ended scoreless with him and Ogburn (25-3) in neutral position. Payne began the second period on bottom, and that’s how Ogburn turned him for the 2:41 pin.

“I don’t know what happened,” Payne said. “He just completely controlled me.”

Payne also lost to Ogburn last season in the state semifinals en route to a third-place finish (119 pounds). He finished fifth as a sophomore.

Payne won a thrilling match in the semifinals Saturday morning, 6-5, over Brookville’s Troung Doung. He trailed 5-1, but got a reversal and cradled Doung for some back-points to take the lead.

“He was down that far and he was able to come back and get it,” Fisher said. “That’s huge. Bennett’s one of these guys, he give everything out there.”

Oddenino advanced to the 285 final by beating Cave Spring’s Logan Tuner in the semifinals, 3-1.

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