I really thought that the western two districts would rule the roost based on how they performed, at least in the lighter weights. Let’s check the qualifiers list:
District 1 (Wewahitchka) — 12 qualifers: 5 champs, 1 runnerup, three 3rds, three 4ths.
District 2 (not sure who hosted this) — 16 qualifiers: 3 champs, 6 runners-up, five 3rds, two 4ths.
District 3 (Yulee) — 10 qualifiers: 1 champ, 5 runners-up, one 3rd, three 4ths.
District 4 (Episcopal) — 18 qualifiers: 5 champs, 2 runners-up, five 3rds, six 4ths.
All right, so Episcopal should score the highest based upon the number of state qualifiers. Let’s look at each weight class and see how they went down:
106 — West dominates the field
1. District 2 — 51 points. 11-6 as a district. James Boyd (2nd) 3-1, Jonathan Hunter 1-2, Michael Santangelo 2-2, Max Metcalf (3rd) 5-1. Have to hand it to Metcalf after losing in the first round (to an eventual non-qualifier), for being just one of three kids in the entire Bishop Snyder field to win five matches. A rare accomplishment. Suwannee’s Santangelo, an area kid now, will be back.
2. Wewahitchka — 43 points. 8-6 as a district. William Pickren (1st) 4-0, DJ Hanson 3-2, Alexander Zapata 0-2, Gabriel Meyer 1-2. Pickren crushed everybody in his path, and three pins and a tech prove that statement is no exaggeration. Not sure about his tech in the quarters but otherwise he only had to visit the third period one time.
3. Episcopal — 23.5 points. 5-8 as a district. Shayne Kahakua-Lodivero (4th) 3-2, Ryan Timmons 2-2, Cameron Wiley 0-2, KJ Fagan 0-2. K-L — an area kid now, but not when this tournament was contested — spent a lot of the year at 113, and that seemed to help him at this tournament. I expect big things of Timmons this season, hoping to see more off-season work. All four are back, with Wiley and and Fagan still only 8th-graders in 2014-15.
4. Yulee — 14 points. 5-8 as a district. Joseph Haynes 2-2, Parker Poitevint 0-2, Rafael Charriez 1-2, Sydney Williams 1-2. Group as a whole was a bit overmatched. Haynes was the only wrestler to beat Metcalf in this draw. All four will be back next year.
113 — Pretty even throughout
1. District 2 — 34.5 points at weight, 85.5 overall. 7-5 as a district. Larry Smith (1st) 4-0, Bryan Metcalf (2nd) 3-1, Kenneth Foster 0-2, Bye (all byes are assumed to have 0-2 records). Smith and Metcalf did all the heavy lifting in staging a district-final rematch. Smith was never challenged in this group, pinning his way through the draw. He never had to go past the second period. Foster, of Suwannee, will be back next year.
2. Wewahitchka — 24 points at weight, 67 overall. 7-8 as a district. Garrett Jones 1-2, Delton Griffin 2-2, Chance Layfield (4th) 4-2, Wyatt Kirkpatrick 1-2. An interesting group, what with the district 3rd being the lone state qualifier. The records from 1-3 were fairly similar, though.
3. Episcopal — 37 points at weight, 60.5 overall. 8-7 as a district. Jason Griffis (3rd) 3-1, Daniel Porter 2-2, Richard Tran 1-2, Jake Tessar 1-2. Griffis scored bonus points in each of his wins, majoring Layfield twice to ensure the semis and then a higher podium finish. All but Tran are back next season. Really had hoped Porter would make it out — he was just one point shy of punching his ticket for Lakeland as an 8th grader. Expect it in 2015.
4. Yulee — 20 points at weight, 34 overall. 6-8 as a district. John Parker 3-2, Zachary Watson 2-2, Brandon Bostick 0-2, Delmontae Davis 1-2. All four are back for at least two more seasons. Parker was close, finishing among the top six. Yulee’s still waiting for its first state qualifier, however. They’ll come, though — my list isn’t wrong.
120 — West, again
1. District 2 — 30 points at weight, 115.5 overall. 7-7 as a district. Dy’juan Carney (3rd) 4-1, Maxim Harris 3-2, Braxton Marshall 0-2, Brandon Trask 0-2. Carney and Harris did the heavy lifting, with Carney knocking Harris out in order to punch his ticket for states. Trask, a Suwannee kid, will be back next year.
2. Wewahitchka — 40.5 points at weight, 107.5 overall. 7-6 as a district. Richie McClanahan (1st) 4-0, Anthony Ward (4th) 3-2, Alex Cao 0-2, Bye 0-2. Other than in the semi against Carney, McClanahan wasn’t challenged in this tournament. He is lonnnnnnnng. I see that a lot in 120s. Expect, since he’s only a 10th-grader next fall, to see him get a lot bigger.
3. Episcopal — 36.5 points at weight, 97 overall. 8-7 as a district. Nick Toney (2nd) 3-1, Brysen Allen 3-2, Brandon Funderburk 1-2, AJ Rice 1-2. District seemed to be picking up its sea legs after a slow start at 106. Toney was super-solid until he ran into the McClanahan buzzsaw in the final, and Allen was one match away from going to state as an 8th-grader. All four local kids, all but Funderburk are back next year.
4. Yulee — 24 points at weight, 54 overall. 6-8 as a district. Ty Youmans 2-2, Joseph Helm 1-2, Aniko Patterson 0-2, TJ Thompson 0-2. Helm and Patterson will be back next year. Had hoped Youmans would get out, but a narrow loss in the consi quarters ended the tournament.
126 — Yulee gets on the board, scores most points
1. Wewahitchka — 35 points at weight, 142.5 overall. 6-6 as a district. Brock Carlan (1st) 4-0, Blake Kemp 0-2, Joshua Tiernan 2-2, Jeremy Rains 0-2. Carlan did all of the championship-side scoring, with Tiernan bagging a bye and a fairly straight-forward fall in the consis.
2. District 2 — 21.5 points at weight, 137 overall. 5-7 as a district. Hunter Royce (2nd) 3-1, Matthew Cook 1-2, Marcus Lloyd 1-2, Bye. No Suwannee wrestler here. Royce did a good part of the work, almost all of it in fact, as Lloyd’s win was a forfeit win, although Cook did have a quick fall in his match.
3. Episcopal — 28 points at weight, 125 overall. 6-7 as a district. Nate Caron 1-2, Setth Snow 0-2, Michael Brown (3rd) 4-1, Gray Creed 1-2. An interesting group, to say the least. Snow didn’t compete, I’m not 100 percent as to why, as he would surely have won his first-rounder and probably had a very good chance to qualify out. Caron I’m sure would have to call it not his best tournament. Only Creed, who found his mojo at districts the week before, will return next year.
4. Yulee — 41 points at weight, 95 overall. 11-8 as a district. Tharin Hessenauer (4th) 4-2, Demarcus Scott 2-2, Zach Hixson 2-2, George Dale 3-2. All kinds of wins — one would ordinarily expect more than just one 4th-placer with a group that amassed 11 wins. Just didn’t pan out into more podium spots. Three of the back-end four in the consi semis were Yulee qualifiers. Dale is the only one back for next year.
132 — The winds are starting to shift (all 4 districts within 40 points of one another)
1. Wewahitchka — 34 points at weight, 176.5 overall. 6-7 as a district. Paul Patterson (2nd) 3-1, Jameson Maddox (4th) 3-2, Kenney Leavins 0-2, Dylan Demarra 0-2. Both Patterson and Maddox made the semis, both eventually were turned away by the eventual champion. Pretty good point total for just two guys and six wins.
2. Episcopal — 35 points at weight, 160 overall. 7-6 as a district. Josh Calhoun (1st) 4-0, Kyle Black 1-2, Blake Addison 1-2, David Glies 1-2. Other a tight semi with Maddox, Calhoun was in control the entire tournament. He’s put himself in position to be a top-podium threat at 138 in 2015. Black, Addison and Glies all had wins on the back side, with Black and Glies getting falls. All four will be back next year.
3. District 2 — 12 points at weight, 149 overall. 4-8 as a district. Joseph Borrell 2-2, Jemel Fanfan 2-2, Alfred Simmons 0-2, Bye. Borrell, a Suwannee kid who’ll be back next year, got to the semis, but then it went downhill from there. He beat two seniors to reach the semis, and he should be much higher in the comparative mix.
4. Yulee — 43 points at weight, 138 overall. 11-7 as a district. Brandon Harvey (3rd) 5-1, Teddy Guillory 1-2, Jacob Savage 2-2, Jade Welsh 3-2. Quick shoutout to Harvey on his third-place individual finish (at 129 POUNDS — he went further down for weightlifting season than for wrestling!) at the state weightlifting tournament yesterday and as part of his team’s state-title effort in Class 1A. Harvey was also the second wrestler to pull together five wins in the tournament field, and so far this has been Yulee’s best individual performance. Welsh knocked out two wrestlers who’d finished above him on the medal stand at Yulee. Only Savage won’t be back for next season.
138 — Wewa makes a HUGE push
1. Wewahitchka — 62 points at weight, 238.5 overall. 12-4 as a district. Chris Warf (1st) 4-0, Johnathan Kenney (3rd) 5-1, Ashraf Elsakka 1-2, Dylan Tuttle 2-2. Eight of the nine wins that Warf and Kenney collected on the weekend were bonus-point wins, with only Warf’s title victory a simple decision. Will it be enough for the Wewas to run away and hide, however?
2. District 2 — 27.5 points at weight, 176.5 overall. 7-7 as a district. Billy Jenkins (2nd) 3-1, Justin Grant 2-2, Josh Douin 2-2, Jean-Louis Standley 0-2. Jenkins, a Suwannee kid who’ll be back for his senior year, gutted out two tough wins to secure his place in the final. Douin reached the semis and Grant won twice in the consis.
3T. Yulee — 26 points at weight, 164 overall. 7-8 as a district. Tim Worthen (4th) 3-2, Jonathan Radomski 1-2, Kason Kelly 3-2, Steve Kish 0-2. Worthen hung in and battled to secure his place at states, knocking out a fellow senior in Kelly, in what was a spirited consi semi. Radomski and Kish (not sure why he didn’t compete, and I have to get the whole Steve vs. Logan thing nailed down next year) will be back in 2014-15.
3T. Episcopal — 4 points at weight, 164 overall. 2-8 as a district. Connor Cronk 0-2, Marcus Maldonado 1-2, Ben Fitzpatrick 1-2, Jonathan Chiotti 1-2. This one just didn’t get off the right foot from the start, having to go into Wewa’s buzzsaw in the first round, and nobody hung a full six minutes in that round. Only Chiotti will not be back for next season.
145 — The Wewa lead extends, but will this be as far as it goes?
1. Wewahitchka — 44.5 points at weight, 283 overall. 10-6 as a district. Cody Pickren (1st) 4-0, Daniel Nguyen 2-2, Stephen Benedik 3-2, Edwin Velez 1-2. Pickren wasn’t working alone, as both Nguyen and Benedik had wins on the championship side as well, with three picking up Ws on the back side.
2. District 2 — 29 points at weight, 205.5 overall. 7-8 as a district. Cody Davis (4th) 3-2, Brandon Hucko 3-2, Marlon Jordan 0-2, Alex Ervin 1-2. Davis reached the semis and then, after losing to the runnerup there, knocked out Suwannee kid Hucko, who’ll be back next year, in the consi semis.
3. Episcopal — 29 points at weight, 193 overall. 6-7 as a district. Cody Joseph (3rd) 4-1, Kyle McCreath 1-2, Michael Surenyan 0-2, Colin Warren 1-2. Joseph was the only one to win on the championship side, and had a nice tournament, going 6-4 with champion Pickren in the semis; otherwise, he had four pins. Surenyan and Warren will be back next year.
4. Yulee — 25 points at weight, 189 overall. 5-7 as a district. Josh Helm (2nd) 3-1, Kody Kellum 2-2, Patrick Dollison 0-2, John Forehand 0-2. Helm bonus-pointed his way into the finals, but then couldn’t come up with any offense against Pickren in the title match. Kellum, Dollison and Forehand (who didn’t compete) will be back next year.
152 — Even weight class here
1. Wewahitchka — 31 points at weight, 314 overall. 7-7 as a weight class. Devin Combs (3rd) 4-1, Brian Girard 3-2, Jakob Gay 0-2, Andy Keipert 0-2. Combs and Girard did all of the major work, with Combs knocking Girard out of the tournament to secure his spot at states.
2. District 2 — 38 points at weight, 243.5 overall. 8-6 as a weight class. Tyler Foster (1st) 4-0, Drew Hostetter 2-2, Jacob Austin 1-2, Tyren Bell 0-2. Foster, a Suwannee kid who’ll be a junior next year, had two tough matches with Combs in the semi and then Thomas Monaghan of Fernandina in the final on a tense takedown call in SV.
3. Episcopal — 25 points at weight, 218 overall. 6-8 as a weight class. Rodney Padgett (4th) 3-2, Bradshaw Steele 3-2, Hunter Selton 0-2, Josh Miller 0-2. Padgett had a good tournament to get into the Lakeland field, pinning Steele to secure his spot for states. However, Padgett and Steele did most of the lifting this year. Padgett and Miller will be back in 2014-15.
4. Yulee — 26 points at weight, 215 overall. 7-7 as a weight class. Thomas Monaghan (2nd) 3-1, Daniel Beverly 2-2, Brian Thomas 1-2, Tyler Imrich 1-2. Everyone contributed, and .500 isn’t a bad effort for an overall group, and Beverly also joined Monaghan as first-round championship winners. Beverly and Thomas will be back for next season.
160 — And here comes District 4!
1. Wewahitchka — 20.5 points at weight, 334.5 overall. 6-8 as a weight class. Benjamin Byrd 3-2, Jimmy Rogers 1-2, Jonah Authement 1-2, Chance Delinger 0-2. Byrd knocked out two of his district rivals after losing by fall in the quarterfinals. Not much in the way of bonus points with each win.
2. District 2 — 24.5 points at weight, 268 overall. 5-7 as a weight class. Shawn Brown (3rd) 4-1, Josh Strickland 1-2, William Bozeman 0-2, Benjamin Brooks 0-2. While Brown — who we’ll track as we can when he pursues what should be a collegiate career next year — would put together his ultimate run the next weekend, his semifinal wasn’t perfect — but it was crazy entertaining to watch.
3. Episcopal — 48 points at weight, 266 overall. 10-6 as a weight class. Jarraid Forsyth (1st) 4-0, Daniel Folkner (4th) 3-2, Wesley Homewood 3-2, Dillon Morency 0-2. Can’t argue with the run Forsyth had, beating Brown in the semi and Michael Dudzinski in the final — whoever won this weight class earned it. No shame in Folkner’s finish; he’ll be back next year, as will Homewood and Morency. Homewood was one match from states — expect him to get there in 2015.
4. Yulee — 29 points at weight, 244 overall. 7-7 as a weight class. Michael Dudzinski (2nd) 3-1, Anthony Dukes 2-2, Demonta Bell 1-2, Dominique Williams 1-2. This district’s reps have TONS of athletic ability; all four will be back next year. Dudzinski WILL make the states field. Whether any of the others do depends on their off-season and summer work.
170 — One last gasp from the leaders
1. Wewahitchka — 34.5 points at weight, 369 overall. 8-7 as a weight class. Trevon Johnson (3rd) 4-1, Michael Lee 2-2, Andrew Veldman 1-2, Payton Strain 1-2. Johnson dominated everyone he saw, all but the eventual champion in this weight class. While he did well, he didn’t get a lot of help, as Veldman and Strain’s wins were byes and Lee had a forfeit win before taking out Strain.
2. Episcopal — 37.5 points at weight, 303.5 overall. 7-6 as a weight class. Kuba Kaszuba (1st) 4-0, Brandon Dattoli (4th) 3-2, Ty Merry 0-2, Mac Weldon 0-2. Kaszuba and Dattoli did all of the point collection (Merry, the only returner for 2014-15, didn’t compete), but they were very, very good at it.
3. District 2 — 24 points at weight, 292 overall. 5-7 as a weight class. Sasha Key (2nd) 3-1, Cody Ochat 2-2, two byes. Key, a Suwannee kid who’ll be a senior next year, got closer to Kaszuba in their rematch from the regular season. He should be a medalist threat at 182 in 2014-15, if he chooses to go that route.
4. Yulee — 26 points at weight, 270 overall. 8-8 as a weight class. RJ Adams 3-2, Nathan Cleland 3-2, Tracy Russell 1-2, Tyrann Baxter 1-2. Several wins, two wrestlers one win short of state, it’s a situation of close but not enough for the Yulees. All four will be back next year; both Adams and Cleland are definite states threats.
182 — Hard to believe Yulee’s effort wasn’t overall best here
1. Wewahitchka — 16 points at weight, 385 overall. 4-8 as a weight class. Marquette Roulhac 2-2, Michael Harris 1-2, Stefan Makarov 1-2, Silas Mosco 0-2. Three of the four wins actually came in the first round of the championship bracket (actually, all of them did), but things kind of fell apart from there. Better kids just got in the way.
2. Yulee — 66 points at weight, 336 overall. 12-5 as a weight class. Brandon Marshall (1st) 4-0, Jermaine Oliver (2nd) 3-1, Kelsey Greathouse 3-2, Joseph Turner 2-2. Not surprised at all that Marshall and Oliver staged a district-final rematch, I had hoped that Greathouse would get out, too, thinking that he might. He did deliver, as did Turner, substantial bonus points along with the wins. Only Oliver returns for next season.
3. District 2 — 41 points at weight, 333 overall. 10-7 as a weight class. Nathan Tyre (3rd) 4-1, Robert Rodriguez (4th) 4-2, Demetrius Strong 2-2, Joseph Street 0-2. Rodriguez, a Suwannee kid who’ll also be a senior next year, ran through four opponents to punch his ticket for states after losing by fall to Greathouse in round 1. Look for him as a podium threat at 195 in 2015.
4. Episcopal — 7 points at weight, 310.5 overall. 2-8 as a weight class. Ethan Yates 1-2, Philip DeWees 1-2, Imed Touahri 0-2, Aaron Smith 0-2. Just too much experience gap to overcome compared to their more highly-touted neighbors to the north and west. Touahri and Smith will be back for at least two more years each.
195 — The Episcopal tidal wave starts to sweep through
1. Wewahitchka — 13 points at weight, 398 overall. 4-8 as a weight class. Randy Koscak 3-2, Nick Kraus 1-2, Chris Nesbitt 0-2, Bye. Koscak righted the ship after a first-round loss, getting within one match of state, but he was the only Wewa to win a contested match in the bracket.
2. Yulee — 38 points at weight, 374 overall. 8-7 as a weight class. Nathan Morales (2nd) 3-1, James Carter 2-2, Duna Pollard 1-2, Rashad McClain 2-2. Morales did his job, as he so often did this past season, but I had hoped Carter and Pollard would have had better tournaments. I would have picked either of them, both seniors, to knock off the freshman Koscak in the consis. Only McClain will return for next season.
3. Episcopal — 56.5 points at weight, 369 overall. 11-6 as a weight class. Trey Miller (1st) 4-0, Garrett Fairbanks (4th) 3-2, Caleb Calhoun 1-2, Hayes Oken 3-2. Miller dominated every time he stepped on the mat, Fairbanks dominated a pair of times and Oken had two dominating wins in getting to the consi semis, but had to default. Only Calhoun, who’s getting off-season work in and following older brother Josh’s example, returns in 2014-15.
4. District 2 — 23 points at weight, 356 overall. 4-7 as a weight class. James Douin (3rd) 4-1, three byes. Douin had a walkover to get to region and handled everyone he faced except for Miller.
220 — It’s anyone’s to win….or is it?
1. Wewahitchka — 21 points at weight, 419 overall. 5-8 as a weight class. Gregory Screen 3-2, Michael Mosley 2-2, Roy Shirah 0-2, Bye. Screen lost only to two state qualifiers and Mosley contributed two contested wins, both by fall, but the handwriting might be on the wall, because…
2. Episcopal — 49 points at weight, 416 overall. 11-6 as a weight class. Max Cobb (3rd) 4-1, David Trigg (2nd) 3-1, Conor Chepenik 2-2, Jordan Jackson 2-2. Cobb impressed me with his win at districts, and again here, where he beat everybody but the eventual champion. I would not have picked his third-place match that way, I would have been wrong about it. And Trigg, let me say again and clearly, was hosed epicly (epically?) in the title match. I was four feet from where he secured the pin that should have been called. All four are back next year, which should make 285 very interesting in 2014-15.
3. Yulee — 27 points at weight, 401 overall. 7-8 as a weight class. Nick Cleland 1-2, Lenny Carter (4th) 4-2, Nick Parker 1-2, Bradley Sikes 1-2. It wasn’t Cleland’s best tournament, but he’ll be back to fix it next year. Sikes will be back next year also, and he’ll have a shot to record some contested wins in 2015.
4. District 2 — 31 points at weight, 387 overall. 5-6 as a weight class. Keith Godden (1st) 4-0, DeAndre Glover 1-2, two byes. Godden was the only 2 to win a contested match, earning recorded pins throughout the bracket. But he had virtually no help.
285 — Dominant heavies carry the day in the end
1. Episcopal — 68 points at weight, 484 overall. 12-5 as a weight class. Jamal Fiffer (1st) 4-0, Alexander Condoroteanu-oroveanu 1-2, DeAngeles Harris (3rd) 4-1, Austin Gwin (4th) 3-2. Strongest performance by any group of four wrestlers at any weight in the region. All three who made it to states wound up on the states podium as well. Condoroteanu-oroveanu and Harris will be back next year, but they’ll see pushes from a strong 220 class.
2. Wewahitchka — 24 points at weight, 443 overall. 7-8 as a weight class. Vern Barth 1-2, Jarod Melvin 2-2, Kekoa Haina-Scott 2-2, Richard Davis 1-2. They did enough to hold second for the district, but they had some help along the way.
3. District 2 — 32 points at weight, 419 overall. 8-7 as a weight class. MaShawn Knight (2nd) 3-1, Rosie Williams 3-2, Jacob Marin 2-2, Christian Patterson 0-2. Knight got his revenge the following week, but I’m going to focus on Williams, a Suwannee kid who should be back next year. He was one match from state, and might get there in 2014-15.
4. Yulee — 3 points at weight, 404 overall. 1-8 as a weight class. Kahlil Welsh 0-2, Christian DeLosSantos 1-2, Austin Turpin 0-2, Jackson Moyle 0-2. I had thought the group would do better and it would have done better had Welsh competed, for sure. Welsh and Moyle will be back next year — I see Moyle having a better tournament. Welsh is still my top heavy in 2014-15, but Harris — particularly if he gets in some off-season or camp work — will be a hard charger for that spot.
North Florida Matmen 