Month: December 2014

We’re holding off on Sandalwood because of no Lakeland brackets received yet.

As for the #1 Bulldogs, I have so many questions, mostly coming from a place of just not having a lot of knowledge about the Northeast Florida wrestling scene: How long have they had a strong team? Is this a new phenomenon? What caused all of this to take place? And how much better can Palm Coast get? This is going to be an interesting 2 1/2 months seeing how it plays out. One thing’s for sure: the Bulldogs are certainly committed to excellence, and I admire the crap out of that commitment.

This closes out the 3As. On Monday-Tuesday of next week, I will catch up all of the teams that had to be skipped temporarily due to missing results. Hopefully, those results won’t be missing for much longer.

PALM COAST 14-15 RECORDS I

A team that hangs together, on paper, in a dual concept than it would seem to in an IBT format has done well in both environments this year. When I first saw the Mustangs, they were struggling just to get kids out of districts. Now, they’re positioned for a potential state qualifier. I really enjoy it when teams create goals and start working together as a unit to achieve those goals.

MANDARIN 14-15 RECORDS I

We’re holding off on Fleming Island until early next week, as I could not get their Knockout results in record form situated today. Lot to do. So we’ll move on with Fletcher, a team that has been the power inside the Gateway Conference for some time now. While the looks of it suggest surely a new team will come out on top, the Senators have surprised me at spots in the lineup where they’ve gotten better, and could get better still. Don’t count Fletcher out.

FLETCHER 14-15 RECORDS I

The big dogs are back in the room, and they make the Buccaneers much better. Perhaps Gateway champion better. There’s a couple of teams with a lot to say about that, and their records will either be published in a few minutes…or next week.

FIRST COAST 14-15 RECORDS I

As much kudos as I’ve given John White at Matanzas for my expansion efforts, a near-equal measure also has to go to Billy Pankey at Buchholz. His energy for what I’m trying to do here is infectious.

BUCHHOLZ 14-15 RECORDS I

Let’s get some 3As out there before it gets all crazy and 2015 on us here. We’ll send out six of the eight 3A-District 1 teams tonight. Tell you what, for a first time host, Atlantic Coast did a heckuva job with its Stingray Duals two weeks ago.

ATLANTIC COAST 14-15 RECORDS I

Knockout Christmas brackets are on the 14-15 IBTs page. When I get Lakeland’s, hopefully soon, I will add them. 3A records rollouts sometime during the next 12-15 hours…depending on work needs…

Northeast Florida Matmen staff report

KISSIMMEE — Points are hard to come by in the second days of tournaments like the Osceola Knockout Christmas Classi.

#3 Fleming Island got a sense of that on Tuesday, as points and wins were very hard to come by in the second day of Knockout tournament action. The Golden Eagles wound up 11th overall in the 27-team tournament, finishing with 93.5 points in the tournament after a 74.5-point first day.

Only three FIHS wrestlers found wins on Tuesday, all of them on the back end.

Junior David Detwiler (138) won twice and lost twice to bring home sixth place in that bracket. His only losses were to Osceola’s Gavin Arnold (twice, including the fifth-place match) and South Dade’s Marcelo Sierra (5th statewide in 3A at 132).

Fellow junior John Martorano also went 2-2, but at 160, to finish sixth. As it turned out, none of Martorano’s losses were to Florida wrestlers. After losing to Camden’s Bunni Smith in the quarters, Martorano lost 3-2 to a Maryland competitor and then was pinned by Wentzville-Holt’s 160 in the fifth-place match.

Also finding some success was junior Xaiver Sampsel (120), who’d had his championship progress halted by Winter Springs’ Brandon Staley in the quarters on Monday. Sampsel won twice in three matches on the back side to take seventh place at 120.

Both of Fleming’s semifinalists in the tournament wound up finishing in sixth place in their brackets. Having the better go of it was Anthony Petrelli (145), who forced overtime against eventual bracket champion James Nereim of Winter Springs before falling, 12-10, in the semis.

Chase Robison (113) hung in against top seed and 2014 Missouri state champion Sidney Oliver of Wentzville-Holt, but fell 5-1, and eventually wound up taking a medical forfeit in the fifth-place match.

Tracy Davis (126), Ryan Smenda (170), Austin Smenda (195) and Jose Concepcion (285) all lost their opening matches Tuesday, and were each one match short of medaling.

South Dade won the team title with 213 points, while Camden County of Georgia was second at 183.5. Winter Springs put on a huge surge in the second day to jump from seventh to third place (173). Wentzville-Holt and Lake Highland Prep rounded out the top five.

Complete brackets should be posted to the site by 9 a.m. Wednesday morning.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it now. The Bears are the sleeping-giant program. Not a top-10 team locally, not quite in the honorable mention list, but if there was an Also Receiving Votes, they’d be near the top. And their coach won’t be satisfied with that.

And that’s a wrap on 2A. 3A tomorrow sometime…

BARTRAM TRAIL 14-15 RECORDS I

The change in schedule to a December-March competitive calendar did a number on a couple of teams this season. Bishop Snyder was one, the Sharks are another. Still looking to put some things together.

PONTE VEDRA 14-15 RECORDS I