All right, now we look at the Class 3A Region 1 meet at Palm Coast. Which district won this meet? Let’s look at the state qualifiers for a guess or two:
1. Hagerty (District 3) — 21 state qualifiers. 6 champs, 7 runners-up, 3 thirds, 5 fourths.
2. Palm Coast (District 1) — 17 SQ. 3-4-5-5.
3. Ocoee (District 2) — 11 SQ. 4-1-4-2.
4. East River (District 4) — 7 SQ. 1-2-2-2.
Will the total points bear this out?
106
1. Hagerty — 59 points.
11-5 as a district. Jake Semrad (2nd) 3-1, Tyler Garcia (1st) 4-0, Cody Backer (4th) 3-2, Jeremiah Costen 1-2.
Key wins: Everybody did something, but getting three into the semis was a big deal. That was one of the biggest reasons why the district did so well. Lots of bonus points, too, as the district averaged better than five points per win.
2. Ocoee — 23 points.
5-7 as a district. Randy Rivera-Santiago (3rd) 4-1, Mason Rule 0-2, Albert Morales 0-2, Brian Draper 1-2.
Key wins: Just one was able to win on the front side and only Draper found a victory on the back side. Other than Rivera-Santiago, who had bonus points in all four of his wins, not a lot to cheer about.
3. Palm Coast — 18 points.
7-8 as a district. Joseph Cooper 2-2, Zac Branning 3-2, Jaques Hale 1-2, Gant Moore 1-2.
Key wins: From a wins standpoint, it was a solid effort for the Coasts, but only Branning and Hale won on the front side. Not a lot of bonus points to be had, either, with only 2.57 points per win. All four get at least one more shot at it in the future, though.
4. East River — 11 points.
5-8 as a district. Aidan Nunez 2-2, Skyler Dimitry 0-2, Antonio Estrada 0-2, Aaron Barrios 3-2.
Key wins: The top half kids did very well, even after falling into the bottom half after losing in the quarterfinals. Surprisingly, it was the fourth-place finisher who advanced the furthest, and knocked off the district champ in the process.
113
1. Hagerty — 49 points at weight (108 overall).
10-5 as a district. Brandon Staley (1st) 4-0, Taz Neyrinck (3rd) 4-1, Lucas Ruiz 1-2, Logan Flanagan 1-2.
Key wins: Bonus points were again helpful for the Hagertys, as Staley had three falls and Neyrinck had bonus points in each win but the third-place match. Ruiz picked up a fall on the back side as well.
2. Palm Coast — 32 points at weight (50 overall).
7-7 as a district. Chase Robison (4th) 3-2, Jake Kosachiner (2nd) 3-1, Erik Sirmans 1-2, Mitchell Lein 0-2.
Key wins: The qualifiers did most of the work, scoring all but three of the points between them. It’s an early hole that the Coasters have, but that’s more about how strong the Hagertys were at 106 and 113.
3. Ocoee — 17 points at weight (40 overall).
5-8 as a district. William Mitchell 2-2, Teancum Haynes 3-2, Bradley Kata 0-2, Roberto Koncz 0-2.
Key wins: That most of the work was going to be done on the back end wasn’t much of a surprise, as the two best Ocoees — Mitchell and Haynes — fed into Staley and Neyrinck in the quarters.
4. East River — 22 points at weight (33 overall).
6-8 as a district. Victor Sanchez 3-2, Richard Nyarko 2-2, Jael Nazario 1-2, Brandon Mattos 0-2.
Key wins: Like the Ocoees, there were no River semifinalists, meaning most of whatever point production was going to come in the wrestlebacks. Already, there’s a sense of the two haves in this region and the two have-nots — in a general sense.
120
1. Hagerty — 30.5 points at weight (138.5 overall).
9-7 as a district. Austin Day (2nd) 3-1, Zach Larison 3-2, Logan Wishart 2-2, Robert Barlant 1-2.
Key wins: A little bit of coming back to earth for the Hagertys, even though nine wins is a solid tournament. Day had two falls, and Larison knocked out two district opponents en route to coming up one match short of state.
2. Palm Coast — 47 points at weight (97 overall).
9-5 as a district. Albert Shavers (1st) 4-0, Xaiver Sampsel (3rd) 5-1, Brandon Bemister 0-2, Hayden Raulerson 0-2.
Key wins: Feast or famine for the Coasters, who got all their points from the qualifiers. Sampsel got Day in the quarters, with the blind draw, as opposed to a semi, but came back with four wins on the back. Shavers was impressive all weekend, with two bonus-point wins en route to the Coasters’ first title.
3. Ocoee — 10 points at weight (50 overall).
3-8 as a district. Maurice Williams 2-2, TJ Raemisch 1-2, Josh Te 0-2, Garrett Aycock 0-2.
Key wins: All the wins came on the front side of the bracket, as Williams made the semis and Raemisch won in round 1. Just one bonus-point win made it tough to score.
4. East River — 15 points at weight (38 overall).
7-8 as a district. Yamil Tapia (4th) 3-2, Carl Bernavil 1-2, Austin Smith 2-2, Elver Ortiz 1-2.
Key wins: Seven wins, but just 15 points — means not very many bonus-point victories. In fact, there were none for the Rivers in this bracket.
126
1. Hagerty — 19 points at weight (157.5 overall).
6-7 as a district. Blake Backer (3rd) 5-1, Marcus Medal 1-2, Brandon Pendle 0-2, Nick Sala 0-2.
Key wins: Other than Backer, who lost in the quarters and had to pick up at least three on the back side to punch his Lakeland ticket, there wasn’t much to cheer about for the Hagertys, who might have opened the door a lot here.
2. Palm Coast — 46 points at weight (143 overall).
11-6 as a district. Evan McCall (1st) 4-0, Evyn Insalaco 3-2, Jake Loizos 2-2, Daniel McNeil 2-2.
Key wins: Plenty of them, with McCall getting bonus points in all four matches, Loizos being just that-close to Lakeland (one more scoring move!), Insalaco right on the doorstep and McNeil showing well for a fourth-placer.
3. Ocoee — 20 points at weight (70 overall).
7-8 as a district. Vincent Rita 1-2, Chris Elliott (4th) 3-2, Joel Sams 1-2, Parker Nasman 2-2.
Key wins: Elliott was a pleasant surprise, reaching the semifinal, and everyone else scored at least a little bit. I was surprised to see the champion fall to McNeil in the consis, though.
4. East River — 15 points at weight (53 overall).
4-7 as a district. Gabriel Acosta (2nd) 3-1, Kadian Lugo Marengo 1-2, Chris Ortega 0-2, Jandy Rosario 0-2.
Key wins: Not many outside of Acosta. Other than a low-20s effort at 113, the district hasn’t shown all that well. Acosta at least was its first finalist to punch his ticket for state.
132
1. Palm Coast — 61 points at weight (204 overall).
12-4 as a district. Charles Cuthbert (1st) 4-0, Kaz Maia (2nd) 3-1, Cal Rodgers 2-2, Ollie Dixon (4th) 3-2.
Key wins: Just an enormous performance by everybody to propel the Coasters into the lead. It’s hard to do much better than 12-4 as a four-man win/loss record and get three kids out. All four contributed major bonus points as well.
2. Hagerty — 29 points at weight (186.5 overall).
9-8 as a district. Tyler Ferraris 3-2, Jeremiah Murphy 3-2, Tyson Doss 1-2, Ray Lampron 2-2.
Key wins: For nine wins and getting nobody through, that’s a little bit of a surprise. District 1 kids did the trick on the Hagertys in the top half of the back side, and the lone non-Coaster to get out (or one of their own) did them in for the bottom half.
3. Ocoee — 3.5 points at weight (73.5 overall).
2-8 as a district: Alan Caro 1-2, Alex Esperanza 0-2, Ralph Fevrier 1-2, Jeff Noel 0-2.
Key wins: Not many wins at all. It’s already apparent that it’s a two-district race for first, and a two-district race for third, and there shall be no overlap. Not quite, as it turned out, a have vs. have-not situation, but certainly not as much depth in Ocoee and East River as there was in the top two districts.
4. East River — 18 points at weight (71 overall).
5-7 as a district. Kurtis Aimable (3rd) 4-1, Ian Montero 1-2, Anthony Perryman 0-2, Noah Williams 0-2.
Key wins: Other than Aimable’s work in getting out, not much happened for the Rivers at this weight. Only one bonus point win anywhere in the weight class, and it was Montero’s.
138
1. Palm Coast — 41.5 points at weight (245.5 overall).
11-6 as a district. David Detwiler (2nd) 3-1, Joshua Sweeten (3rd) 4-1, Tariq Johnson 1-2, Lorenzo Smith 3-2.
Key wins: Another solid performance — can the Coasters get enough separation in the middles to pull out the overall win? They did well here, with Detwiler bagging three bonus-point wins, Sweeten two and Smith three wins on the back end and just one scoring move away from a Lakeland ticket.
2. Hagerty — 38 points at weight (224.5 overall).
9-6 as a district. Jordon Tague (1st) 4-0, Dylan Barrett 3-2, Chris Nieves 2-2, Will Hennessy 0-2.
Key wins: The Hagertys weren’t giving up the lead without some kind of fight. Tague was impressive all weekend, with three falls, and both of the 2-3 guys performed solidly. Key not to give up too much ground.
3. East River — 14 points at weight (85 overall).
5-8 as a district. Christian Ugalde (4th) 3-2, Ethan Lorenzo 1-2, Bryan Arroyo 1-2, Benny Williams 0-2.
Key wins: Thanks largely to Ugalde, the Rivers were able to move into third briefly, but they’ve had just one 20-point effort so far, and it was a weight (113) where they didn’t get a single qualifier out.
4. Ocoee — 10 points at weight (83.5 overall).
3-8 as a district. Terrel Wallace 1-2, David Kollore 2-2, Greg Matienzo 0-2, Noah Widmann 0-2.
Key wins: Had two wins on the front, both with bonus-point falls, which led to 80 percent of the district’s total points. Ocoee’s got horses coming up in the uppers, but have struggled in the last two weights in particular.
145
1T. Hagerty — 51 points at weight (275.5 overall).
10-5 as a district. Dallan McGee (1st) 4-0, James Nereim (2nd) 3-1, Justin Folsom 3-2, Patrick Jaye (not available) 0-2.
Key wins: Nothing like a 1-2 punch to get your rear in gear and back in the lead, however it’s done. McGee had three falls and Nereim one on the front side, with Folsom collecting three bonus-point wins in the bracket as well.
1T. Palm Coast — 30 points at weight (275.5 overall).
8-7 as a district. John Martorano (3rd) 4-1, Anthony Moore (4th) 3-2, Korey Bryl (not available) 0-2, Mitchell Pendleton 1-2.
Key wins: The Coasters didn’t so much let Hagerty back in as Hagerty took it, what with two qualifiers of their own. Moore was the only wrestler McGee didn’t pin during the weekend, and Martorano’s only loss was 6-3 to Nereim.
3. East River — 11 points at weight (96 overall).
4-8 as a district. Austin Wilson 2-2, Jake Sanchez 1-2, Joe Johnson 1-2, Tyler Melchiore 0-2.
Key wins: Hard to believe the third-place team is 180 points behind the “runnerup” and we’re only HALFWAY THROUGH THE INQUIRY. Just one contested win for the Rivers on the front side. Makes it hard to catch up.
4. Ocoee — 20 points at weight (93.5 overall).
6-8 as a district. David Quinones 3-2, Ian Guthrie 2-2, Carlos Estrada 0-2, Roberto Herrera 1-2.
Key wins: No contested wins for the Ocoees on the front, making things tight eventually during the consolation rounds, as district foes wind up fighting each other to stay alive. At the halfway point, though, it’s about time to see this district make a bit of a move.
152
1. Hagerty — 40 points at weight (315.5 overall).
9-5 as a district. Abe Nereim (1st) 4-0, Jaryd Semrad (3rd) 4-1, Curtis Duren 1-2, Colby Colbert (not available) 0-2.
Key wins: Plenty from the qualifiers, as a 1-3 pushed Hagerty back into a lead it might not lose again. It wasn’t easy, though, for the Hagertys, as Nereim had just one fall on the weekend and all of Semrad’s wins were by simple decision.
2. Palm Coast — 28 points at weight (303.5 overall).
8-8 as a district. Myckel Hutchinson 3-2, Jackson Trivett 3-2, Jason Davis 2-2, Dillon May 0-2.
Key wins: The three who won matches combined for six bonus-point victories (all of Trivett’s were by fall), and Trivett was just one or two moves away from a Lakeland ticket. He’s got another shot next year, and so will Hutchinson and Davis.
3. East River — 22 points at weight (118 overall).
7-8 as a district. Marco Atesiano (4th) 3-2, John McCarthy 2-2, Shawnjay Holtham 1-2, Jonathan Gomez 1-2.
Key wins: Finally, another 20-plus-er, thanks mainly to Atesiano’s work on both sides of the bracket, but still just the one medal and still not much in the way of separation from Ocoee. That could cost later.
4. Ocoee — 17 points at weight (110.5 overall).
4-7 as a district. Nick Celella (2nd) 3-1, Josh Lange 1-2, Haresh Maharaj 0-2, Christian Santiago 0-2.
Key wins: Other than Celella, no Ocoee won a contested match at Palm Coast at this weight. Perhaps that move is still forthcoming another weight or two down the pike…
160
1. Hagerty — 33.5 points at weight (349 overall).
9-7 as a district. Will Young (2nd) 3-1, Miguel Hernandez 3-2, Kahtrell Treadwell 2-2, Wes Carter 1-2.
Key wins: Hard to tell whether a consi second-round win is more key than another, but right now it’s hard to argue with the tech fall Treadwell got there. Were it not for that tech — had that been just a major — the Hagertys and Coasts would be tied again.
2. Palm Coast — 41 points at weight (348.5 overall).
10-7 as a district. Justin Boyle (4th) 3-2, Jerome Abbott (3rd) 4-1, William Kohlhaas 2-2, Noah Perez 1-2.
Key wins: This was one of the local area’s stronger weights, depth-wise, for 3A, and it showed up here, as everybody did something and everybody got bonus points at least once (Boyle did it in all three of his wins) in what was, for each of them, their final region competitiions.
3. Ocoee — 24 points at weight (134.5 overall).
5-6 as a district. Jordan Mainer (1st) 4-0, Anthony Perez 1-2, Jared Berley 0-2, Tyler Lessacher 0-2.
Key wins: Don’t get me wrong, Mainer was clearly the best at this weight during the weekend, but this wasn’t the move I was talking about. Ocoee is still revving the engines up. The title here was just the opening act.
4. East River — 15 points at weight (133 overall).
4-8 as a district. Jackson Saffold 3-2, Ryan Chapman 1-2, Adam Faidy 0-2, Angel Soto 0-2.
Key wins: For a freshman 60, Saffold had a nice tournament, getting within one match of state, but he didn’t get all that much help from his fellow Rivers, though. Just five weights to go, and East River is right there for third.
170
1. Hagerty — 26 points at weight (375 overall).
7-7 as a district. Pierce Plusk (2nd) 3-1, Gabe Gallardo 1-2, Iryan Sanchez 1-2, Ethan Kaufmann 2-2.
Key wins: This was a very evenly-contested weight, as will be seen in the four point totals. There were only three pins in the entire bracket, and just one on the championship side. Getting two out to the semis helped the Hagertys here.
2. Palm Coast — 24 points at weight (372.5 overall).
5-7 as a district. Heath Whiddon (3rd) 4-1, Zaki Majboor 1-2, Devonte Woods 0-2, Skylor Coxon 0-2.
Key wins: Whiddon did most of the heavy lifting, with 20 points of his own and three bonus-point wins. Majboor was the only wrestler in the tournament to get a fall in the championship side of the bracket.
3. East River — 28 points at weight (161 overall).
7-6 as a district. Joel Nivar (1st) 4-0, David Rivera 3-2, Curt Branford 0-2, George Pierre (not available) 0-2.
Key wins: Finally, East River picked up a region title, but it would be the Rivers’ only one. Nivar didn’t blow anyone out completely (5-3 quarter, 4-3 win over Whiddon in the semi that might have been for the “real” title and 7-1 in the final), but he was solid all weekend.
4. Ocoee — 24 points at weight (158.5 overall).
9-8 as a district. Aaron Bruce 2-2, Malik Minter 1-2, Steven Veus 2-2, Nick Williams (4th) 4-2.
Key wins: The Ocoees had the most wins as a district, but tied for the fewest points…and yet were only four fewer than the leader, and only dropped 2 1/2 back of third place. Still waiting for the surge, guys. Any time.
182
1. Hagerty — 48 points at weight (423 overall).
10-5 as a district. David Moodie (1st) 4-0, Ruben Lara (2nd) 3-1, Jaylon Couch (4th) 4-2, Sean Ponder 0-2.
Key wins: Well, that should just about decide it in favor of the Hagertys at the top. Moodie had three bonus-point wins before the district-title rematch with Lara, who, in turn, won his three by a combined total of four points and only lost the final by two. Couch lost in the first round and had to win four in a row to punch his ticket. Impressive that he got there.
2. Palm Coast — 15 points at weight (387.5 overall).
5-8 as a district. Glaston McKenzie 3-2, Samuel Hernandez 1-2, Devan Farrar 1-2, Andrew Joshua 0-2.
Key wins: Fewest points for the Coasts so far at a given weight, and only one other would go lower before the inquiry ends. I thought there would be more here. McKenzie was close, though, getting just one win away from state.
3. Ocoee — 32 points at weight (190.5 overall).
8-7 as a district. David Hellinger (3rd) 4-1, Leo Aldaba 2-2, Peterson Joseph 2-2, Chris Briscoe 0-2.
Key wins: The engines are starting to rev again, and just maybe some signs that Ocoee will finally pull away for third. Two semifinalists in Hellinger and Aldaba, but Couch — who’d lost to Aldaba in the first round — didn’t want to lose again, this time in the consi semis with state on the line, in his senior year.
4. East River — 7 points at weight (168 overall).
4-8 as a district. Darrell Wallace 2-2, Neilson Branford 1-2, Hunter Wilkins 1-2, Clinton Nickerson 0-2.
Key wins: Not many, with just seven points. Wallace, with a round 1 major, was the only wrestler in the district to get a bonus-point win in this tournament. Third might be starting to slip away.
195
1. Hagerty — 34 points at weight (457 overall).
9-8 as a district. Kevin Barahona 3-2, Ryan MacGeorge (4th) 4-2, Parks Moore 2-2, Anquon Whittaker 0-2.
Key wins: Started off pretty well, with three rd 1 wins, and things didn’t get too far off track for the Hagertys in another evenly-matched weight class. ALl three of the winners picked up bonus points, with Barahona going bonus in all three wins.
2. Palm Coast — 24 points at weight (411.5 overall).
5-7 as a district. Jonathan Muniz (2nd) 3-1, Jahlan Walker 1-2, Mike Gant 1-2, Tanner Hagerty 0-2.
Key wins: All five of the wins were big bonus wins (four pins and one win by forfeit), but only Muniz was able to win on the front side of the bracket, and that’s what hurt the Coasters the most here.
3. Ocoee — 36 points at weight (226.5 overall).
7-6 as a district. Dylan Meeks (1st) 4-0, Jules Joseph 2-2, Jin Lee 1-2, Pedro Lloret (not available) 0-2.
Key wins: Can’t argue with three pins and a major, and that was Meeks’ weekend. Joseph reached the semis, also, before running into Muniz. The Ocoees made their wins count, averaging more than five points per win.
4. East River — 30 points at weight (198 overall).
7-7 as a district. Tyler Cameron (3rd) 4-1, Ahmad Khatar 2-2, Romel Stimphill 1-2, Jude Altidor 0-2.
Key wins: This was the Rivers’ best showing, point total-wise, of any of the weight classes, and it still couldn’t keep them close to Ocoee in the battle for third. Cameron and Khatar each had two bonus-point wins along the way.
220
1. Hagerty — 33 points at weight (490 overall).
8-7 as a district. Brandon Rod (2nd) 3-1, Omar Siller 3-2, Rocco DeLenardos 1-2, Jassem Alawahdi 1-2.
Key wins: Solid performances by the Hagertys, now just about in victory-lap mode, with Rod and Siller both collecting two bonus-point falls. Siller also had an 18-13 win in the consi quarters. Don’t see that a whole lot in the 220 range. That one must have given both sets of coaches gray hairs.
2. Palm Coast — 27 points at weight (438.5 overall).
6-8 as a district. Vincent Sunter (4th) 3-2, Scott Dollison 2-2, David Taylor 1-2, Gary Anderson 0-2.
Key wins: Sunter had all of his wins here by fall and Dollison had one — I expect Dollison to be back and to do damage next year, as he and Siller are the only top-six returning 220s next season.
3. Ocoee — 61.5 points at weight (287.5 overall).
13-5 as a district. Jack Bales (1st) 4-0, Edison Munnings (3rd) 5-1, Chris Beltran 2-2, Latavious Melton 2-2.
Key wins: I think this wound up being the most any district won in any weight class. This, at long last, is the Ocoee Surge. Just tons of bonus points everywhere.
4. East River — 3 points at weight (201 overall).
1-8 as a district. Jace Burrell 0-2, Derrick Jones 1-2, Antonio Nieves (not available) 0-2, William Moore (not available) 0-2.
Key wins: No, one win as a group is NOT key. It’s very difficult to do anything in a four-man group, when your four-man group has just two actually in it. I’ve written on this in other inquiries. It’s just unconscionable to me not that kids want to be done with the season (although that rankles, not gonna lie), but that there isn’t a Plan B in place. Take alternates from the district, have alternates from another district available. Something.
285
1. Hagerty — 40 points at weight (530 overall).
10-8 as a district. Alec Shriner (4th) 3-2, Austin Haupert 2-2, Devonte Petty 2-2, Jacob Dillplaine 3-2.
Key wins: It wasn’t wire-to-wire in favor of the Hagertys, but they were never all that far off the pace and even when they did trail for a couple of weights, they didn’t have a bad weight class really anywhere that hurt them (lowest point total was 126, with 19 points). This group was consistently solid.
2. Palm Coast — 8 points at weight (446.5 overall).
2-8 as a district. Ashley Williams 1-2, Jakob Dempsey 1-2, Richard Johnson 0-2, Codie Miller 0-2.
Key wins: Not many key wins here; Dempsey picked up the only contested win. As a district, Palm Coast was at its best from 113-160, and where it struggled, it struggled quite a bit. Still, though, it had more solid depth than Ocoee or East River, by a long shot.
3. Ocoee — 50 points at weight (337.5 overall).
9-5 as a district. Colby Meeks (1st) 4-0, Devyn Lewis (3rd) 5-1, Preston Gibson 0-2, Maxwell Lopez (not available) 0-2.
Key wins: Meeks and Lewis did all the work for a group that continued the Surge. Fully one-third of Ocoee’s points came from the two uppermost weights, and 70 percent came from the upper half. If the Ocoees were as strong from 106-145 as they were 152-up, they would have overcome Palm Coast and would have pushed Hagerty very hard.
4. East River — 25 points at weight (226 overall).
7-7 as a district. Paulo Rubio (2nd) 3-1, Alex Levy 2-2, Sam Roberto 1-2, Matt Steinbach 1-2.
Key wins: Rubio won his matches by a combined total of 10 points, but made the final, beating the third and the fourth-place finishers along the way. For East River, it was a depth question. Averaging 16 points per weight class means just not enough depth to go against the Hagertys and Palm Coasts, but there were a few individual bright lights along the way.
North Florida Matmen 