Month: May 2017

As announced Monday, see the below link:

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/sports/20170529/all-jacked-up-state-title-run-earns-nicevilles-johnson-wrestler-of-year

Iconic SE Duals
At Cocoa Exposition Sports Center

Sunday’s Merritt Island results (includes several Matanzas wrestlers)

NOTE: Some weight classes are going to look, for lack of a better word, artificial. Coaches got a couple of their kids multiple matches within a given dual and had to be placed into open weight classes in order for that to happen.

Camden County 76, Merritt Island 3
104: Nathan Orum (Cam) p. Brendan Collins, 1:45. 111: Nick Krug (Cam) p. Shaun Culbreth, :29. 118: Tyler Crew (Cam) tf. Josh Bower, 15-0. 125: Brandon Orum (Cam) tf. Payten Katz, 17-0. 131: Adam Allwine (Cam) p. Jared Blanco, 2:48. 137: Jeff Bell (Cam) p. Stone White, :54. 143: Tyler Dahlgren (Cam) p. Griffin Wilder, 1:08. 150: Raydan Wilder (Cam) p. Reggie Bradley, 1:53. 157: PA Ferguson (Cam) ID over Jason Amato. 165: Kaleb Askin (Cam) p. Riley McDonald, :17. 175: Askin (Cam) fft. 187: Allwine (Cam) p. Caleb Bower, 1:50. 200: B. Orum (Cam) p. Micah Faxon, 2:47. 230: Double fft. 285: Giovanni Allen (MI) d. Kobi Grady, 9-4.

Charlotte 77, Merritt Island 12
104: Kaleb Iverson (Cha) p. Collins, :14. 111: Donny Cataldi (Cha) p. Culbreth, :33. 118: Preston Powell (Cha) tf. Faxon, 16-1. 125: Ted Gjerde (Cha) p. J. Bower, 2:55. 131: Matthew Andou (Cha) p. Katz, 2:50. 137: Cody Rice (Cha) p. White, 4:20. 143: Jacob Woodard (Cha) p. C. Bower, 3:34. 150: Bradley (MI) p. Bryce Peterson, 2:27. 157: Francis Hoffman (Cha) p. McDonald, :29. 165: Malachi Schaeffer (Cha) p. Blanco, 3:48. 175: Yvens Candio (Cha) fft. 187: Anthony Andou (Cha) fft. 200: Dylan Mills (Cha) fft. 230: Tanis Gonzalez (Cha) fft. 285: Allen (MI) p. Bradley Neff, :41.

Merritt Island 40, Cypress Creek 24
104: Akemi Garcia (CC) p. Collins, 1:37. 111: Culbreth (MI) fft. 118: Faxon (MI) DQ over Garcia. 125: Blanco (MI) p. Andy Li, 3:59. 131: Katz (MI) p. Li, :46. 137: Carlos Alicea (CC) p. White, 3:57. 143: Dante Bonino (CC) p. Wilder, 2:18. 150: Amato (MI) md. Michael Zito, 12-1. 157: Bradley (MI) p. Reggie Smith, 2:26. 165: Luis Mayor (CC) p. McDonald, 1:25. 175: Double fft. 187: Double fft. 200: Double fft. 230: Double fft. 285: Allen (MI) p. Genaro Sangio, :32.

ATLANTA — Tate rising senior Jacob Cochran and Fletcher graduate Narek Stepanyan each earned place finishes during the course of the weekend at the 2017 Southeast Regional, contested over two days Saturday and Sunday at the Georgia World Congress Center.

Cochran was first in freestyle and second in Greco-Roman, competing in the junior division at 106. Cochran was 2-1 in freestyle, with a fall over Illinois’ James Pellegrino in 1:17 and a 10-0 tech fall over Georgia’s Ryan Craft. In Greco-Roman, Cochran was 1-1, with a 10-0 tech fall over Craft.

Stepanyan finished second in freestyle and third in Greco, competing in the junior division at 220. He was 3-1 in the freestyle tournament on Sunday, reaching the finals behind two 10-0 techs against Louisiana’s Austin Hotard and Virginia’s James Momon and a 5-5 decision over Illinois’ Andrew Demos before losing by tech in the finals. In Greco on Saturday, he lost his first match by fall to the eventual freestyle champion, but then won four matches on the back to take third, with a 6-2 win over Iowa’s Guy Snow, 12-2 tech over Illinois’ Stephen White, fall in 1:59 over Colorado’s Kaleb Gaede and a 10-4 third-place win over Alabama’s Jaeger Clark.

At Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta

2017 Southeast Regional
Freestyle (locals only)

Junior 106: 1. Jacob Cochran (Pensacola). FALL James Pellegrino (Illinois), 1:17; L-DEC Anthony King (Illinois), 22-13; TF Ryan Craft (Georgia), 10-0.
Junior 120: DNP — Daniel Porter (Team Jax). L-TF Timothy Decatur-Luker (North Carolina), 10-0; L-TF Brandon Foster (Georgia), 24-12.
Junior 132: DNP — James Knox (Beach Rats). FALL Tyler Krause (Illinois), 3:51; TF Ethan Allen (Louisiana); L-TF Tyler Dunn (Illinois), 11-0; L-TF Bryce Farmer (Georgia), 10-0.
Junior 160: DNP — John Jones (Pin N Win). TF Jy Randolph (North Carolina), 10-0; L-TF Tristin Guaman (Illinois), 13-2; L-FALL Brandon Alemany (Florida), :33.
Junior 170: DNP — Delmontae Davis (Pin N Win). TF Harrison Hoffmann (Georgia), 14-4; TF Jacari Deal (North Carolina), 10-0; L-TF Ian Darling (Georgia), 10-0; L-TF Rozell Baker (Illinois), 16-5.
Junior 220: 2. Narek Stepanyan (Beach Rats). TF Austin Hotard (Louisiana), 10-0; TF James Momon (Virginia), 10-0. DEC Andrew Demos (Illinois), 5-5. L-TF Javier Salvador (Tennessee), 11-1.
Cadet 126: DNP — Braxton Henry (Pin N Win). L-TF Ryan Gardner (Illinois), 10-0; L-FALL Nawab Singh (Louisiana), :47.

Greco-Roman (locals only)

Junior 106: 2. Jacob Cochran (Pensacola). L-TF Anthony King (Illinois), 17-8; TF Ryan Craft (Georgia), 10-0.
Junior 120: DNP — Daniel Porter (Team Jax). L-FALL Timothy Decatur-Luker (North Carolina), 1:02; DEC Chandler Akins (Alabama), 12-11; L-TF Brandon Foster (Georgia), 14-3.
Junior 132: DNP — James Knox (Beach Rats). L-TF Tyler Dunn (Illinois), 10-0; DEC Carson Pervier (North Carolina), 8-6; L-TF Devin Polo-Nieto (Alabama), 10-0.
Junior 160: DNP — John Jones (Pin N Win). TF Jy Randolph (North Carolina), 15-5; L-TF Tristin Guaman (Illinois), 10-0; L-FALL Marco Pangallo (North Carolina), 2:46.
Junior 170: DNP — Delmontae Davis (Pin N Win). L-TF Vyshaun Richardson (North Carolina), 13-2; L-FALL Carlos Montiel (Illinois), 4:45.
Junior 220: 3. Narek Stepanyan (Beach Rats). L-FALL Javier Salvador (Tennessee), 1:11; DEC Guy Snow (Iowa), 6-2; TF Stephen White (Illinois), 12-2; FALL Kaleb Gaede (Colorado), 1:59; DEC Jaeger Clark (Alabama), 10-4.

Cadet 126: DNP — Braxton Henry (Pin N Win). L-TF Jackson DiSario (Georgia), 10-0; L-FALL Israel Schultz (South Carolina), :39.

Folkstyle (locals only)

Schoolboy 91: DNP — Brett Knox (Beach Rats). L-FALL Owen Vlach (Kentucky), :37; L-FALL Jayden Howell (North Carolina), 2:51.

I have seen results from the Iconic SE Regional Duals at the Cocoa Exposition Sports Center that took place today, results that include Matanzas wrestlers competing for Merritt Island, but I am not comfortable running them without hearing from Coach White (Editor’s Note: I did hear from his assistant, and those duals have been posted).

In the meantime, here’s North Florida Wrestling Academy’s day at the Southeastern University Duals in Lakeland on Saturday. All spellings as provided by NFWA coaches.

North Florida Wrestling Academy 56, Spec Ops/Young Guns 13
106: Joey Donato (NFWA) tf. Garett Murphy, 15-0. 113: Briar Jackson (NFWA) p. Mason Hart. 120: Ben Buhler (SO) md. Albie Snedaker, 9-1. 126: Jacob Sandoval (NFWA) p. Robert Lawothe. 132: Tyler Williams (NFWA) p. Brandon Saxtor. 138: Luke Chop (NFWA) p. Tanner Crighton. 145: Chance Sharbono (SO) d. Vince Hauser, 6-0. 152: Reese Haley (SO) d. Trace Insalaco, 6-5. 160: Paul Detwiler (NFWA) p. Hunter Weeks. 170: Ian Kincaid (NFWA) p. Desmond Fogle. 182: Stephen Kelle (SO) d. Anthony Breeden, 5-3. 195: Jason Davis (NFWA) p. Logan Malouff. 220: Ryan Smenda (NFWA) p. Evan Akil. 285: Bailey Barnard (NFWA) d. Brendan Bengtsson, 2-0.

North Florida Wrestling Academy 60, Palm Harbor 7
106: Donato (NFWA) md. Danya Jones, 10-0. 113: Jackson (NFWA) d. Gabriel Naranjo, 8-3. 120: Michael Bush (PH) d. Snedaker, 4-2. 126: Sandoval (NFWA) tf. Nick Caputo, 17-1. 132: Jaquan English (NFWA) d. Adrian Severin, 5-0. 138: Williams (NFWA) d. Austin Agazarm, 6-2. 145: Hauser (NFWA) p. Jeffery Phillips. 152: Gavin Mitchiner (PH) md. Insalaco, 13-1. 160: Detwiler (NFWA) p. James Totten. 170: Kincaid (NFWA) p. Ben Mason. 182: Breeden (NFWA) p. Ryan Blatchley. 195: Davis (NFWA) p. Brandon West. 220: Smenda (NFWA) p. Jacob Mason. 285: Jose Concepcion (NFWA) p. Chris Hunt.

North Florida Wrestling Academy 59, Team Fire 6
106: Donato (NFWA) md. Gage Carr, 9-0. 113: Jackson (NFWA) p. Jacob Thorton. 120: Snedaker (NFWA) d. Jake Spray, 4-3. 126: Sandoval (NFWA) md. Jared McAllister, 15-1. 132: Williams (NFWA) p. Junah Torres. 138: English (NFWA) p. Torres. 145: Hauser (NFWA) d. PA Ferguson, 2-0. 152: Ferguson (TF) d. Insalaco, 3-2. 160: Detwiler (NFWA) p. Tristan Davidson. 170: Davidson (TF) d. Kincaid, 8-2. 182: Breeden (NFWA) d. Lexx Carr, 6-2. 195: Davis (NFWA) p. Cody Bush. 220: Smenda (NFWA) p. Nija Thomas. 285: Barnard (NFWA) d. Reggie Brooks, 7-0.

North Florida Wrestling Academy 30, Camden County 26
106: Donato (NFWA) d. Nathan Orum, 3-2. 113: Nick Crug (Cam) d. Jackson, 5-2. 120: Tyler Crew (Cam) d. Snedaker, 2-0. 126: Brandon Orum (Cam) d. Sandoval, 4-2. 132: Adam Allwine (Cam) d. Williams, 4-3. 138: Jeff Bell (Cam) d. English, 5-2. 145: Tyler Dahlgren (Cam) d. Hauser, 3-2. 152: Wilder (Cam) md. Insalaco, 14-3. 160: Detwiler (NFWA) p. Kaleb Askin. 170: Desmond Fogle (Cam) md. Kincaid, 13-1. 182: Breeden (NFWA) p. RJ Woodard. 195: Davis (NFWA) p. Javonte Graves. 220: Smenda (NFWA) p. Hayden Malson. 285: Concepcion (NFWA) d. Kobi Grady, 5-0.

Spellings as provided by host. Note that some standings will look a little odd, based solely on win/loss records, but this was due in part to injuries and early departures in a few of the groups.

Group 1
Standings: 1. Madison Garofolo (Oakleaf) 4-0. 2. Estin Rackley (Oakleaf) 3-1. 3. Titus Sivyer (Shinsei) 4-2, 4. Ezekiel Rackley (Oakleaf) 1-2. 5. (tie) Shian Gustilo (Oakleaf) 1-3. 5. (tie) Astin Brewer (Oakleaf) 1-3. 7. Mason McCrary (Beach Rats) 0-3.
Results: Es. Rackley d. Brewer, 8-2; Sivyer d. Ez. Rackley, 8-5; Garofolo p. McCreary; Gustilo md. McCrary, 11-2; Sivyer d. Brewer, 12-6; Garofalo d. Es. Rackley, 11-7; Sivyer md. McCrary, 23-9; Garofolo d. Gustilo, 9-2; Ez. Rackley d. Brewer, 2-0; Es. Rackley d. Sivyer, 4-3; Garofolo md. Sivyer, 11-0; Brewer d. Gustilo, 12-6; Es. Rackley p. Ez. Rackley, :42; Sivyer d. Gustilo, 10-5.

Group 2
Standings: 1. Carter De Los Santos (Oakleaf) 3-0. 2. Brianna Turner (Oakleaf) 2-1. 3. Brady Dube 1-2. 4. Noah Pryal 0-3.
Results: De Los Santos d. Turner, 9-2; Dube d. Pryal, 12-7; De Los Santos d. Dube, 7-2; Turner tf. Pryal, 15-0; De Los Santos p. Pryal, 1:55; Turner p. Dube, 2:58.

Group 3
Standings: 1. Eli Jolicoeur (Suwannee) 3-0. 2. Michael Miceli (Clay) 2-1. 3. Carter De Los Santos (Oakleaf) 1-2. 4. Ezra Sivyer (Shinsei) 0-3.
Results: Jolicoeur p. Sivyer; Miceli md. De Los Santos, 13-2; De Los Santos p. Sivyer; Miceli d. Jolicoeur, 3-1; Jolicoeur p. De Los Santos, :44; Miceli tf. Sivyer, 21-5.

Group 4
Standings: 1. Cassidy Miceli (Clay) 4-0. 2. Lincoln Morales (Oakleaf) 3-1. 3. Hayleigh Turner (Oakleaf). 4. Jax Drayton (Shinsei) 1-3. 5. Gabriel Sivyer (Shinsei) 0-4.
Results: Turner d. Sivyer, 12-7; Morales p. Drayton; Miceli d. Sivyer, 10-5; Turner d. Drayton, 6-2; Miceli p. Morales, 3:27; Drayton d. Sivyer, 7-5; Miceli p. Turner; Morales d. Sivyer, 9=7, SV; Miceli tf. Drayton, 16-0; Morales p. Turner.

Group 5
Standings: 1. Gunner Ivey (Clay) 3-0. 2. Hunter VanVactor (Oakleaf) 2-1. 3. Brett Millard (Monsta) 1-2. 4. Will Brencle (Shinsei) 0-3.
Results: Ivey p. Millard, 4:37; VanVactor p. Brencle, :32; Ivey d. VanVactor, 3-2; Millard p. Brencle, 1:44; VanVactor p. Millard, 3:00; Ivey d. Brindle, 4-2.

Group 6
Standings: 1. Egan Gustilo (Oakleaf), 3-0. 2. Ty Tillman (Monsta) 4-1. 3. Wyatt Leduc (Clay) 3-1. 4. Nicholas Edgerton (Oakleaf) 3-2. 5. Tristan Mirgeaux (Cacique) 2-3. 6. Mason Cobb (Shinsei) 1-4. 7. Troy Aliaga (Oakleaf) 0-5.
Results: Leduc md. Aliaga, 17-3; Edgerton p. Mirgeaux; Tillman p. Cobb; Gustilo p. Leduc, 3:14; Tillman md. Mirgeaux, 9-1; Edgerton d. Cobb, 7-6; Mirgeaux p. Aliaga; Tillman md. Edgerton, 12-3; Gustilo p. Cobb; Gustilo p. Tillman; Leduc p. Mirgeaux, :18; Leduc md. Edgerton, 18-6; Cobb p. Aliaga, :29; Tillman d. Aliaga, 5-0; Mirgeaux d. Cobb, 8-6; Edgerton p. Aliaga.

Group 7
Standings: 1. Ethan Bordy (Shinsei Martial) 2-0. 2. Sofia Shirley (Oakleaf) 0-2.
Results: Bordy p. Shirley, 2:33; Bordy p. Shirley, :31.

Group 8
Standings: 1. Timothy Jolicoeur (Suwannee) 3-0. 2. Abdeer Escobar (Oakleaf) 2-1. 3. Lucas Crawford (Yulee) 1-3. 4. Max Lewallen (unattached) 1-3. 5. Avery Miller (Oakleaf) 1-1.
Results: Lewallen d. Miller, 6-0; Jolicoeur p. Crawford, :22; Miller p. Crawford; Jolicoeur d. Escobar, 5-2; Escobar p. Crawford, :38; Jolicoeur p. Lewallen; Escobar p. Lewallen; Crawford d. Lewallen.

Group 9
Standings: 1. Devan Gill (Camden) 3-0. 2. Robert Iglesias (Old City) 2-1. 3. John Myers (Camden) 1-2. 4. Trey Martinez (Oakleaf) 0-3.
Results: Gill p. Martinez; Iglesias d. Myers, 8-7; Myers p. Martinez; Gill d. Iglesias, 5-2; Gill p. Myers; Iglesias p. Martinez.

Group 10
Standings: 1. Marcus Reid (Ridgeview) 3-0. 2. Martin Lee (Monsta) 3-1. 3. Caleb Picard (Camden) 2-3. 4. Brandean Bacolor (Oakleaf) 2-2. 5. Sean Arnold (Cacique) 2-1. 6. Jordan Ware (Suwannee) 1-3. 7. Andrew McGowan (Ridgeview) 0-3.
Results: Reid p. Picard, 2:02; Lee p. Ware; Bacolor p. McGowan, :23; Lee tf. Bacolor, 15-0; Arnold tf. McGowan, 15-0; Picard d. Ware, 8-6; Lee md. Picard, 12-0; Reid p. Arnold; Ware p. McGowan; Reid p. Lee; Arnold d. Picard, 7-0; Bacolor p. Ware, :22; Picard d. Bacolor, 8-3.

Group 11
Standings: 1. Ethan Gustilo (Oakleaf) 5-0. 2. Daniel Mann (Monsta) 3-1. 3. Charles Morton (Camden) 2-2. 4. Jacob McGowan (Ridgeview) 2-3. 5. Alex McGuigan (Monsta) 1-3. 6. Caleb Ellis (Camden) 0-4.
Results: Mann p. McGowan, :17; Gustilo p. Ellis; Morton p. McGuigan; McGuigan d. Ellis, 8-2; Mann tf. Morton, 15-0; Gustilo d. McGowan, 13-7; Gustilo p. McGuigan, :46; Morton d. McGowan, 6-0; Mann md. Ellis, 15-4; Gustilo d. Mann, 15-9; McGowan md. Ellis, 16-7; McGowan d. McGuigan, 6-0; Gustilo p. Morton, :35.

Group 12
Standings: 1. William Vincent (Camden) 3-0. 2. Requan Works (Ridgeview) 3-1. 3. William Tharpe (West Nassau) 2-1. 4. (tie) Matt Ross (Monsta) 1-2, 4. (tie) Drew Norris 1-2. 6. Braden Hill (Cacique) 0-4.
Results: Vincent d. Tharpe, 9-7; Works p. Ross, :13; Norris md. Hill, 10-2; Tharpe tf. Norris, 17-1; Vincent d. Works, 7-4; Ross tf. Hill, 16-0; Works d. Norris, 7-1; Vincent fft over Ross; Tharpe md. Hill, 15-2; Works d. Hill, 6-2.

Group 13
Standings: 1. (tie) Ian McGuigan (Monsta) 2-1. 1. (tie) Jackson Osteen (Wakulla) 2-1. 1. (tie) David Parkes (Oakleaf) 2-1. 4. Killian Prentice (Oakleaf) 1-1. 5. Johne Castillo (Cacique) 0-3.
Results: Osteen p. Prentice, 2:45; McGuigan p. Castillo, :37; Parkes p. Castillo; McGuigan md. Osteen, 9-1; Osteen tf. Parkes, 16-1; Prentice p. Castillo, 2:15; Parkes md. McGuigan, 12-3.

Group 14
Standings: 1. Omega Clark (Camden) 2-0. 2. Jacob Campbell (Oakleaf) 3-1. 3. (tie) John Aguilar (Camden) 1-1. 3. (tie) Tyler Floyd (Camden) 1-1. 5. Dyllan Sutton (Clay) 0-4.
Results: Clark md. Sutton, 10-0; Campbell p. Floyd, 4:23; Campbell d. Aguilar, 9-6; Floyd p. Sutton, 2:20; Clark d. Campbell, 7-1; Aguilar p. Sutton; Campbell md. Sutton, 9-1.

Group 15
Standings: 1. Isaiah Graham (Oakleaf) 4-0. 2. Tanner Hill (Cacique) 3-1. 3. Mitchell Gregory (Monsta) 2-2. 4. River Perkins (Camden) 1-3. 5. Devin Cummins (Ridgeview) 0-4.
Results: Graham p. Cummins, :57; Hill d. Perkins, 6-1; Hill p. Gregory, 2:53; Perkins d. Cummins, 8-5; Gregory p. Cummins, 2:26; Graham md. Perkins, 14-2; Hill p. Cummins, :42; Graham md. Gregory, 13-4; Gregory p. Perkins, 2:13; Graham d. Hill, 3-1.

Group 16
Standings: 1. Cody Eastwood (Oakleaf) 3-0. 2. Gunner Harrison (Yulee) 2-1. 3. David Thompson (Monsta) 1-2. 4. Adrian Fitzpatrick (Camden) 0-3.
Results: Thompson d. Fitzpatrick, 4-2; Eastwood p. Harrison, :31; Eastwood p. Thompson, 2:59; Harrison d. Fitzpatrick, 8-3; Eastwood p. Fitzpatrick, 2:28; Harrison md. Thompson, 11-3.

Group 17
Standings: David Crawford (Yulee) 2-0, Creed Cody (Camden) 1-1, Guillermo Molinares (Monsta) 0-2.
Results: Crawford p. Molinares, :45; Cody p. Molinares, 2:43; Crawford p. Cody, :29.

Group 18
Standings: 1. Tyler Dehart (Oakleaf) 2-1. 2. McKenzie Lewis (Yulee) 1-2.
Results: Lewis d. Dehart, 6-3; Dehart d. Lewis, 5-4; Dehart d. Lewis, 3-1.

We have recapped the seasons of 70 Florida wrestling teams in rolling these posts out. That’s around 20% of the entire state. No one else in Florida does this. I would like you to keep that in mind if you’re not happy with the way your team was recapped.

But that being said, that doesn’t mean that The Season recaps can’t be made better going forward. I had a couple of questions that cropped up during the rollout that I thought I should take a moment or two to address:

Why do we do them? Well, the post-season time tends to be about the biggest stars and the best teams. A lot more is going on besides what the aces are doing. I want to make sure every team is recognized, in some small way, for their season-long effort. This sport isn’t easy, and I’m just required (my son would quibble with me over this word) to watch. I think anyone who steps out there and puts himself or herself on the line ought to be celebrated.

What about the seniors, and why aren’t they mentioned? This is a good point, and to answer that I can only really go back to my original thoughts for starting these. In 2014, it seemed to me that most people in the community didn’t have too much of an idea about who was coming back next year for the teams that their kids were facing. So I thought I would rectify that by preparing a scouting report of sorts, noting all of the kids who were likeliest to make impacts in the coming year. By that logic, the seniors would have moved on. But at the same time, it really isn’t just a scouting report: it’s an end-of-season recap. I think for the 2017-18 year, I’ll include another paragraph that lists the seniors in a similar fashion as the returners. But (as I’ll note in the next paragraph) there will be some limits on that.

How do you decide who is a “returning starter” and who is not? This is another good question. There are a few teams who had pretty defined starters. More often, teams had some platoon situations, and some teams had a lot of injury issues. Lines have to be drawn somewhere. If you wrestled in the post-season, and have eligibility to return, that seemed obvious to me. But it occurred to me that kids could have made significant impacts on a team during that year and not wrestled in the post-season. So where to draw the line? 30 matches seemed pretty high. 5 or fewer seemed pretty low. I’ve set the line at 15 matches in the past, but have revised it to 10 or more in the past couple of seasons. Even kids who were starters in the past, and would have been starters were it not for season-long recovery from surgery or other reasons, still have to have met a 10-match threshold. Again, it’s about where to draw the line for the hundreds of kids, if not thousands, that make up the entirety of the coverage area. Otherwise, I would need to mention everyone that made an appearance, even one time. This will be the case for seniors, next year, as well.

ARNOLD

You can see everything I have on the Marlins in 2016-17 here –>  ARNOLD

Win/loss record: 22-10 in dual meets. Please review the attached document for a summary of the Marlins’ performance in IBT events.

Season in a nutshell: While I have all results from everything on Arnold’s schedule per their submissions to me and per Trackwrestling (with the exception of the Camden County Callout on the third Saturday in January), there are substantial disconnects between the records I have and the records reported at districts, disconnects that aren’t explained by the Camden missing results. I have shown the records as reported in the attached PDF, counting back from the post-season to Camden. That all being said, Arnold continued to rule the 1A Gulfside roost in 2016-17. The Merlins jumped out to a 9-0 start in dual meets, with wins in 12 of 13 duals and a runnerup showing at the 2016 Beast of the Beach two-day event hosted by Ft Walton Beach. After a solid start at Deep South Bayou Duals, some tough southern competition region wide led to five dual losses in a row, but Arnold responded with a nine-match dual win streak that included a Bay County Conference title and fourth-place showing at the Gulf Coast Slam. In IBT/roundrobin formats, the Marlins had a solid eighth at the Border Wars, seventh at Capital City, third at Lincoln’s Trojan Invitational and sixth at Clay’s Rotary event. Arnold also posted a solid fourth-place finish at Region 1 and finished in the top five at 1A states once again this year. The Marlins will have nine post-season starters back in 2017-18, including three returning state qualifiers and three former medalists.

2016-17 MVP: Senior 138 Richie McClanahan followed up his signing with Penn State on a mission this past year. Although records for districts indicated otherwise, his only regular-season loss came by injury-default in the round of 16 at Capital City Classic. Otherwise, his record was perfect up to the final day of the season, with a 9-0 record at Beast, 8-0 at Deep South, and IBT titles at Lincoln and Clay, with every victory in the regular season except for three earning the Marlins at least one bonus point (including 29 pins in all non-Camden results). McClanahan rolled up three first-period falls to take the District 1 title, his fourth, and added a third Region 1 title behind four bonus-point wins. At states, his bid for a second 1A state title was derailed by a one-point loss in the semis, but he rallied for third by outscoring his opponents by a 29-5 count. While we don’t know what kind of career he’ll have at Penn State, he’s going to be in the room where it happens, and it will be fun to find out.

2017-18 captain: Two years ago, the transfer of the Pickren brothers helped give the Marlins a shot in the arm. This past season, the Maddox brothers made it a double-boost. Junior 170 Cole Maddox, in particular, made a massive impact upon the state scene at his weight class, advancing the furthest among Arnold returning wrestlers this past season. Coming over from Marianna, Maddox was fifth at Border Wars and third at Capital City, but then won 18 straight matches in December, not losing again until Deep South. Maddox was locked in after the Trojan Invitational, however, winning all but one match down the homestretch of the regular season (with only a 2A state finalist beating him, and in double overtime at that). Maddox pinned his way through both District 1 and Region 1 in sweeping to titles for both, and got an opportunity to take down a multiple-time former state placer from Lake Highland on Saturday night in Kissimmee. From a workrate standpoint, Maddox’s productivity is tough to match and a model for some of the less-experienced Arnold kids this year.

Heaton’s Hero: It’s not often that a 30-match winner and history-maker gets noted here, but as we’ll soon see, Julia Merrill was no ordinary Marlin senior wrestler. Merrill had some struggles at 113 for Border Wars and Capital City (I’ll chalk those up more to the competition she faced rather than the higher weight class), but started to figure some things out by Beast of the Beach, where she had five pins. Deep South, again due to the competitive level, was a tough two days, as was the Trojan Invitational, but she made her mark at Bay County, becoming the first female wrestler to win a title in the history of that event. Competing at 106 there, Merrill was 5-0 with three first-period falls during the event. She also won three matches at girls’ state two weeks later, losing only to eventual region qualifiers along the way. A loss by injury-default at District 1 ended her season, but her place in program history was secure. For that, Julia Merrill is the Heaton’s Hero for Arnold.

Projected returning starters for 2017-18 (with year in school as they’ll be next year): Griffin Hebert (junior, 113, district champ, 2-2 at regions); Justin Ivy (sophomore, 120, district 4th, 1-2 at regions); Ethan Pickren (junior, 126, district champ, region runnerup, 1 match from state medal); Jonathan Lozada (senior, 145, district champ, 2-2 at regions); Drew St. Amant (senior, 152, district champ, region champ, state 5th); John Maddox (sophomore, 160, 1 match from regions); C. Maddox (senior, 170, district champ, region champ, state runnerup); Jared Froehlich (senior, 182, district 4th, 1-2 at regions); Veryl White (senior, 220, district champ, 1-2 at regions). Also: Tanner Brockman (junior, 106, did not compete in post-season); Bradley Chapman (junior, 138, did not compete in post-season); Josh Young (sophomore, 195, did not compete in post-season).

FLEMING ISLAND

You can see everything I have on the Golden Eagles in 2016-17 here –>  FLEMING ISLAND

Win/loss record: 17-0 in dual meets. Please review the attached document for a summary of the Golden Eagles’ performance in IBT events.

Season in a nutshell: What can one say that has not already been said in stories throughout the season? The area’s strongest team this season, Fleming Island experienced a great deal of success to pay off that strength in 2016-17. The Golden Eagles were 5-0 to win the Bobcat Duals holiday tournament at Buchholz just before Christmas, and dominated the St Johns River Conference meet in Matanzas on the third weekend of January, during which they held five SJRC opponents to less than 10 points. For the season, Fleming was 17-0 in duals. In IBTs, the Golden Eagles finished no lower than fifth in any one given meet this year, and that was the first one, with four tournament wins in January and February with a full lineup in tow. Fleming Island was fourth at Knockout, fourth at Lake Mary’s Tournament of Champions (with a short-handed lineup), first at Osceola, third at Flagler Rotary and won the Green Cove Springs Rotary. The Golden Eagles left no doubt in both the District 1 and Region 1 tournaments, sweeping to titles there, and finished second at states after taking 11 to Kissimmee. While many teams would not recover well from losing three state qualifiers (including a champion) to graduation, Fleming Island returns eleven post-season starters in 2017-18, eight of those with state experience a year ago, with four of those eight podium finishers. And, they’ll have a lot of depth back as well, with a wave of freshmen coming in this year.

2016-17 MVP: Senior 182 Jason Davis was just on First Coast News last night as a finalist for that media organization’s Athlete of the Year. We are not surprised by that accolade. Davis had just two losses in his run to the 3A state championship at 182, and both of those came to — arguably — the state’s best senior in any weight class this year, and a multiple-time state champion. Davis didn’t make his first appearance until Lyman in the third week of December, and ripped through three falls and a tech before losing in the finals. He then won eight in a row through Knockout and Tournament of Champions (not appearing at Buchholz), with a second loss in the finals at the Lake Mary event, by the same score to the same wrestler. That was it. Davis won his final 36 matches of the season, 23 of those by fall and all but one of his remaining regular-season wins were bonus-point wins. Davis pinned his way through the District 1 tournament, with three bonus-point wins and a shutout decision at Region 1. He proved he could win the close ones at Kissimmee, with three decisions in the quarters, semis and final in succession to take the championship. Perhaps the biggest surprise in all of this was that Davis dropped a weight from where he had previously competed in his junior year.

2017-18 captain: I really went back-and-forth on this one. Both candidates will be key leaders next year, but as I can take only one, I will go with junior 152 Paul Detwiler. Detwiler won his first eight matches in 2016-17, taking first at Clash of the Titans at University-Orange City on the first weekend of the season, leading the charge of a fairly short-handed FIHS side. Detwiler finished second to a multiple-time state champ in the Lyman finals two weekends later, and took two losses to the same wrestler at Knockout, finishing fourth (his lowest tournament finish of the season) there. Another multiple-time state champ gave Detwiler his fourth loss of the year at Lake Mary, but after that Detwiler would bag 27 wins in a row, 18 of those by fall, with tournament wins at Flagler, Clay, District 1 and Region 1 along the way. Detwiler pinned his way through districts and had two falls and two techs at regions. At states, another multiple-time champion knocked him out of the championship side of the bracket in the semis, but Detwiler came back to place third, finishing off a 50+-win season.

Heaton’s Hero: On a lot of teams with the typical schedule those teams might wrestle, a freshman middleweight competitor like Luke Chop might, with the talent Chop brought to the table, put together a 25-win season. But this being Fleming Island and the Golden Eagles wrestling the schedule that they do, Chop had to pay some dues just to hang around the .500 line (if it’s any consolation, Davis was 19-15 through districts as a freshman, at a middle-weight class himself). Chop was probably a more natural 138, getting his first varsity action at that weight at the Buchholz event just before Christmas, but bumped up to 145 for the two-day duals/IBT Osceola tournament in mid-January, staying there for the remainder of the year. I thought he did OK, going 4-2 at St Johns River (including four straight wins), with a 2-2 showing at Flagler Rotary. At Clay’s Rotary tournament, his exit was quick, but he lost to two solid kids by a combined total of six points. Chop was the only post-season starter not to make the region tournament, but of the next wave of upcoming freshmen in Fleming’s lineup, he was the only one to get the chance to try. Luke Chop is the Heaton’s Hero for Fleming Island.

Projected returning starters for 2017-18 (with year in school as they’ll be next year): Briar Jackson (junior, 106, district champ, region champ, state 3rd); Albie Snedaker (senior, 113, district champ, region champ, 1-2 at states); DeAndre Demus (junior, 120, district runnerup, region runnerup, 1-2 at states); Jacob Sandoval (senior, 126, district runnerup, region 4th, 1-2 at states); Trace Insalaco (junior, 132, district 3rd, region 4th, 0-2 at states); Vince Hauser (junior, 138, district runnerup, 2-2 at regions); Chop (sophomore, 145, 1 match from regions); Detwiler (senior, 152, district champ, region champ, state 3rd); Jalyn Robinson (senior, 170, district runnerup, 1 match from states); Ryan Smenda (senior, 195, district champ, region runnerup, state 5th); Jose Concepcion (senior, 285, district runnerup, region 3rd, state 6th). Also: Joseph Donato (sophomore, 106, did not compete in post-season); Tyler Williams (sophomore, 132, did not compete in post-season); Seamus Wade (senior, 152, did not compete in post-season); Ian Kincaid (junior, 160, did not compete in post-season); Anthony Breeden (junior, 170, did not compete in post-season); Bennett Corey (sophomore, 195, did not compete in post-season).

BOZEMAN

You can see everything I have on the Bucks in 2016-17 here –>  BOZEMAN

Win/loss record: Unknown in dual meets. Please review the attached document for a summary of the Bucks’ performance in IBT events.

Season in a nutshell: We only received partial results for Bozeman from Gulf Coast Slam, but I’m seeing at least eight dual wins on the season for the Bucks. Bozeman had a tough start in its dual season, going 1-7 at Beast of the Beach, a record that held up until Bay County, where the Bucks finished third with a 3-2 mark. Bozeman also was 4-4 at North Bay Haven’s two-day Bash duals event. In the regular season, round-robin tournaments were also a bit tough for the Bucks to compete in, as they finished at or near the bottom of two of them, with a middle-pack finish at Wewahitchka’s Gator Brawl. However, with just eight wrestlers in the lineup, and no district champions, Bozeman pulled together a runnerup showing at District 1, its strongest event showing of the 2016-17 season. Things got tougher for the Bucks at Clay for the Region 1 tournament, as only three wrestlers were able to move into the second day of competition (one of them returning). If Bozeman can consistently fill some more weights, they should improve on this year’s results, but being able to consistently fill weights was the most difficult challenge Bozeman faced this season.

2016-17 MVP: Junior 120 Douglas Hanson was one of Bozeman’s most consistent presences in the lineup in 2016-17. Hanson was second at the Seminole Wrestling Classic, winning 10 matches in a row at one point to carry a 12-1 record. Gator Brawl was a tougher weekend for him, an event in which he took three losses over the course of the two-day round-robin, but after that Hanson won nine matches in succession. Hanson would pull together another seven in a row in early February, but things got tougher from there, as he took a loss by injury default in the District 1 final, and that might have derailed his chances of getting out to states the following weekend. Hanson did get to the second day of Region 1, and at least this coming year he’ll be the only Bozeman wrestler who did so. As a sophomore, he was one match away from states, so if he can remain healthy in 2017-18, he’s got a shot at going to Kissimmee.

2017-18 captain: Another solid presence in the Bucks’ middle of the lineup — where he was often the only wrestler in the lineup between 132 and 152 — was junior 138 Triston Tiller. Tiller had a six-match win streak during Beast of the Beach, and after a subpar Beast of the Beach event — at least from his standpoint — Tiller had three bonus wins in a row, and five of six, to reach the top four at Gator Brawl, but then took an injury-default loss in the semis, and had only partial appearances at Bay County and Gulf Coast Slam. He took a second injury-default loss at North Bay Haven Bash, but later got that loss back. A loss in the District 1 semis sent Tiller to the consis at Wewahitchka, but he had two quick falls (both in under a minute) to finish third there, with losses to either Matmen team captains or MVPs in the first day of regions on Friday at Clay.

Heaton’s Hero: At almost every point of the 2016-17 season, Bozeman starting 113 Wylie DeBarr was giving up at least two years in age to every other competitor he faced last year, and from a confidence standpoint, that’s a very difficult thing to overcome. But, other than one day of the North Bay Haven Bash, DeBarr, a 7th-grader this past year, was a consistent presence in the Bozeman lineup after getting a few matches in as a sixth-grader in 2015-16. DeBarr had a solid start and finish to his season. It was just the middle of January that was largely forgettable, as DeBarr was on the good side of .500 just before the Bucks traveled to the Atlantic coast for Yulee’s Battle on the Border. That stretch began in the first full weekend of January and continued through Bay County, closer to the end, but DeBarr didn’t give up, even getting out to regions. For that persistence, Wylie DeBarr is the Heaton’s Hero for Bozeman.

Projected returning starters for 2017-18 (with year in school as they’ll be next year): DeBarr (8th grade, 113, district 3rd, 1-2 at regions); Hanson (senior, 120, district runnerup, 2-2 at regions); Brian Zerr (junior, 126, district 4th, 1-2 at regions); Tiller (senior, 138, district 3rd, 1-2 at regions); Geovanny Toscano (sophomore, 195, district 4th, did not compete at regions); Joey Delarosa (senior, 285, district runnerup, 1-2 at regions). Also: Justin Johnson (7th grade, 106, did not compete in post-season); Matthew Green (senior, 132, did not compete in post-season); Trey Elmore (junior, 145, did not compete in post-season); Caleb Ward (junior, 170, did not compete in post-season).