Month: April 2018

Welcome back to our annual series of season wrap-up posts, which we cleverly titled as “The Season (2017-18).” Your donation dollars at work, folks.

This year, we’re not following a rotation scheme. We’re keeping it a bit more random this go-round. Using a highly scientific line of inquiry, our next installment in the series is Middleburg, our second team out of 2A-District 3.

Each The Season post will have the same content as they’ve had for the past four seasons. At the request of a reader last season, we will note the accomplishments of each team’s senior class that will be moving on to new goals in May or June.

MIDDLEBURG

You can see everything I have on the Broncos in 2017-18 here –>  MIDDLEBURG

Win/loss record: 17-9 in dual meets. Please review the attached document for a summary of the Broncos’ performance in IBT events.

Season in a nutshell: With a team that routinely — though not necessarily all season long — forfeited at least four weights, Middleburg experienced some solid success nonetheless this past year. The Broncos opened with a T-12th at the Keystone Invitational, and went 3-2 at Orange Park’s 6-Way to start the season. Middleburg had a solid tournament at St Johns River Conference just before Christmas, going 6-2 with losses only to Fleming Island and Matanzas, and then had a solid 6-3 performance at Gainesville’s Category V duals tournament between Christmas and New Year’s. The Broncos were third at 2A-District 3’s inaugural duals tournament on January 4, and then focused mainly on IBTs from that point going forward. Those were a bit tougher to gain traction for Middleburg, as they were mid-pack at Lincoln’s Trojan Invitational (11th out of 17), Flagler Rotary (19th out of 29) and Clay’s Rotary (19th out of 33 teams). Still, though, the Broncos were solid at districts (third) and took 11th at 2A-Region 1, with a couple of state qualifiers. The Broncos are pretty power-packed from 106 through 152, with a total of 11 returning wrestlers with 15+ matches, so if Middleburg can grow a couple of their kids into the upper weights, watch out. The Broncos will lose just one senior with significant 2017-18 experience.

Key returners (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) for 2018-19 (with year in school as they’ll be next year): Tazz Hampton (junior, 35-12 at 106, district runnerup, region runnerup, 1-2 at states); Gabriel Burch (sophomore, 21-9 at 106/113, did not compete in post-season); James Benton (sophomore, 25-15 at 113, district runnerup, region 4th, 0-2 at states); Logan Kline (senior, 11-10 at 126, did not compete in post-season); Chris Burch (senior, 37-17 at 132, district champ, region 4th, 0-2 at states); Storm Mercado (senior, 37-15 at 138, district runnerup, 1 match short of states); Dustin Tollison (junior, 29-17 at 145, district champ, 0-2 at regions); Bryce Williams (senior, 30-13 at 152, district champ, 1 match short of states); Michael Higginbotham (sophomore, 8-7 at 145/152/160, did not compete in post-season); Chris Conaway (sophomore, 11-21 at 160, did not compete in post-season); Alex Nayfack (sophomore, 9-28 at 160, 1 match from regions).

Graduation losses (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) from this year’s team: Austin Benton (20-8 at 120, district runnerup, 1 match short of states);

2017-18 MVP: As a freshman last year, Tazz Hampton put together a post-season run that outpaced expectations, as Hampton made his way into the state tournament. This year, Hampton took on solid competition for the entirety of the season and proved, by season’s end, that he could hang with the most elite of the lighter weights in the coverage area, and even the state. Hampton found some difficult early competition at Keystone and Orange Park, but then won 12 of 13 matches in a row between St Johns River and Gainesville, with the only loss coming at 113 to an eventual state champion, and the next loss after that against a 3A state placer at 113. Hampton then won nine matches in a row before falling to another 3A placer in the finals at Lincoln. After IDing out of Flagler, Hampton would return for the post-season, where he pushed Ridgeview’s Matthew Rodriquez to the brink after giving up a sizable lead early on. Hampton then repeated the feat in reaching the region finals, and was Middleburg’s only competitor to take a match at states. With a healthy junior season, he’ll be a force for the Broncos.

2018-19 captain: Of the three returning state qualifiers, just one will be a senior next year, and Chris Burch has proven himself to be right on the cusp of being one the area’s stronger middleweights for 2018-19. Burch had a slower start than he would have liked due to a strong 132 field at Keystone, but he ran the table at Keystone and was solid at St Johns River and Gainesville, winning 16 of 18 matches after a 4-3 start, and going on another 9-1 streak shortly after that. Burch ran into some snags down the stretch of the regular season, but did place at both Flagler and Clay Rotaries, no easy feat to pull off. He dominated the scene at districts, running into a pair of tough customers at the region tournament before placing fourth. At states, Burch had two placer-level opponents, losing by just one point in the first round to the Region 4 champion. He’ll be, once again, a key cog in Middleburg’s success in 2018-19.

Heaton’s Hero: While the Broncos typically had coverage at 160 and 170, the freshmen in place at those weights were at a significant strength and experience disadvantage compared to their opponents throughout the season. The one of those freshmen who completed the full season in the Bronco lineup was Alex Nayfack, who spent most of his early time of the season at 160, but split time between there and 170 at St Johns River Conference and wrestled almost every event in January forward at the higher weight. While Nayfack had some early falls at 160 (one at Keystone, two at Orange Park), those got harder to find at 170 as the season wore on; in fact, there might have been just one, at Trojan Invitational (and that would have been at 160). But Nayfack stuck it out the whole season for the Broncos, and for that, Alex Nayfack is the Heaton’s Hero for Middleburg.

Please support our independent journalism by going here and donating to our website: https://www.gofundme.com/north-florida-matmen

Welcome back to our annual series of season wrap-up posts, which we cleverly titled as “The Season (2017-18).” Your donation dollars at work, folks.

This year, we’re not following a rotation scheme. We’re keeping it a bit more random this go-round. Using a highly scientific line of inquiry for the first change, our next installment in the series is Milton, our fourth team from this district. Not sure if any, let alone a few, districts are halfway done like this one.

Each The Season post will have the same content as they’ve had for the past four seasons. At the request of a reader last season, we will note the accomplishments of each team’s senior class that will be moving on to new goals in May or June.

MILTON

You can see everything I have on the Panthers in 2017-18 here –>  MILTON

Win/loss record: 0-18 in dual meets. Please review the attached document for a summary of the Panthers’ performance in IBT events.

Season in a nutshell: Milton got started with its season in the second week, first full one in December, with dual meets only for that month, and duals tended to be a tough go for the Panthers, although they did take Bay to criteria at the Gulf Breeze Duals on December 9. That was just one of two dual losses that came by single digits for Milton, both of those at Gulf Breeze. After winless experiences at Gulf Breeze and Beast of the Beach, the Panthers were done with dual tournaments for the year, with two dates in January against district rivals and a double dual on February 1. Milton had just one regular-season IBT/roundrobin event on the calendar, that being Gator Brawl, where the Panthers were 16th in a 20-team field. After finishing eighth at districts, Milton did post a top-20 finish at Region 1, with one state qualifier. That state qualifier is the Panthers’ lone graduate, with eight returners having 15+ matches this past year, plus several more right on the cusp of 15. Hopefully Milton will be able to enjoy a bit more team success in 2018-19.

Key returners (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) for 2018-19 (with year in school as they’ll be next year): Micah Kendrick (sophomore, 4-20 at 120, 0-2 at districts); Gabriel Walls (sophomore, 5-21 at 126, did not compete in post-season); Brandon Nicholson (junior, 10-6 at 132, district 4th, 1-2 at regions); Ian Van Gestel (senior, 6-13 at 138, 1 match from regions); Christopher Cobbs (senior, 2-7 at 152, 1 match from regions); Daniel McDonal (junior, 16-19 at 160, 1 match from regions); Devin Bundy (senior, 9-26 at 182, district 4th, 0-2 at regions); Caleb Wise (sophomore, 9-12 at 220, did not compete in post-season).

Graduation losses (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) from this year’s team: Connor Saint (26-5 at 285, district 3rd, region runnerup, 0-2 at states).

2017-18 MVP: Without question, Milton’s top wrestler this season — probably last season as well — was Connor Saint, who won his first 16 matches of the year to start the season, with 10 falls among those 16 victories. Saint had a shortened season, to some degree, with a runnerup showing at Tate, and just two matches at Gator Brawl, but he pulled things together when he returned to the lineup in February. Saint took third at districts, but then had a solid tournament run at regions, pinning his way through to the finals to qualify out for state as the Panthers’ lone qualifier. He took two decision losses on Friday in Kissimmee, both of them fairly close. Saint had a pretty solid career in his time with the Panthers.

2018-19 captain: I have a couple of directions I can go with this one, but I think I’m going to go with the most talented returner eligible to come back, and that would be Brandon Nicholson, although he didn’t get that many matches this past year (just 16 for the year after a sparkling freshman season). He did start off fast, with a 5-0 day at Gulf Breeze Duals on the second Saturday in December, but then didn’t get much mat time between the 2A-District 1 duals tournament and the traditional version of that same tournament. Nicholson took four losses in his final six matches of the year, but two of those six were by a combined total of five points. If he can have a complete junior year, he could still very much be in contention for the state tournament before he’s done.

Heaton’s Hero: There wasn’t much in the way of contested-match success for junior 182 Devin Bundy this year, at least early on. He did have a pin in an early dual meet, but that was it until the Aggie Invitational, aisde from a couple of forfeits along the way, and most of his losses came by fall, came quickly, and usually in the first period. But as the season wore on, Bundy picked up just a little bit more success, with three pins at Gator Brawl. After losing by fall in the quarterfinals at districts, it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see an early exit. But Bundy pinned his way past two opponents to extend his season for another week. We like to see that at Matmen, and for his stick-to-it-iveness, Devin Bundy is the Heaton’s Hero for Milton.

Please support our independent journalism by going here and donating to our website: https://www.gofundme.com/north-florida-matmen

Welcome back to our annual series of season wrap-up posts, which we cleverly titled as “The Season (2017-18).” Your donation dollars at work, folks.

This year, we’re not following a rotation scheme. We’re keeping it a bit more random this go-round. Using a highly scientific line of inquiry, our next installment in the series is South Walton, our third team out of 1A-District 1.

Each The Season post will have the same content as they’ve had for the past four seasons. At the request of a reader last season, we will note the accomplishments of each team’s senior class that will be moving on to new goals in May or June.

SOUTH WALTON

You can see everything I have on the Seahawks in 2017-18 here –>  SOUTH WALTON

Win/loss record: 3-7 in dual meets. Please review the attached document for a summary of the Seahawks’ performance in IBT events.

Season in a nutshell: Small team, big results at the end. We didn’t see all that much from the group as a whole at Border Wars (middle of the pack 14th), or at Capital City Classic (T-18th), but the first solid result was at the inaugural 1A-District 1 duals tournament, where South Walton had two solid wins and then pushed Marianna to the brink before falling by one point in the title match. Being short-handed cost the Seahawks at Beast of the Beach, where they were 1-5 in the two-day duals tournament. Between Christmas and New Year’s, though, the worm started turning, as South Walton was sixth at the Soddy Daisy (TN) Invitational, then fourth at the Billy Saylor at Suwannee. The Seahawks were in the top half of the field at the two-day Louisiana Classic IBT in mid-January, then finished sixth at the 20-team Gator Brawl and at Yulee’s Battle on the Border to close out that month. It was February where South Walton really started putting things together, with runnerup efforts at Wakulla and again in 1A-District 1, with a sixth at regions and a 20th-place team finish at 1A states. Most of the firepower will return in 2018-19 for the Seahawks, with nine of 10 starters back. However, eight of those nine are seniors, so it will be imperative for South Walton to start adding some younger talent to the mix.

Key returners (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) for 2018-19 (with year in school as they’ll be next year): Levi McConnell (senior, 11-6 at 120, did not compete in post-season); Ethan Pickren (senior, 58-2 at 126, district champ, region champ, state 3rd), Seth Weinthal (senior, 41-11 at 132, district champ, region 3rd, 0-2 at states); Dylan Haman (senior, 26-9 at 138, district champ, region 3rd, 1-2 at states); Chase Maddox (sophomore, 26-21 at 145, district runnerup, 2-2 at regions); Joseph Gajewski (senior, 13-20 at 152, 1 match from regions); Harris Barton (senior, 39-14 at 170, district champ, region 4th, 1 match from state medal); Mason Levasseur (senior, 18-5 at 182, district runnerup, did not compete at regions); Cole Anderson (senior, 4-12 at 195/220, 1 match from regions).

Graduation losses from this year’s team: Gunnar Nebel (38-15 at 160, district champ, 1 match from states).

2017-18 MVP: Ethan Pickren wasn’t happy with the way his sophomore season went a year ago, where he qualified for states but couldn’t replicate his state-finalist showing in 2016. The results this season, right from the jump, proved that Pickren was after bigger game, as he won at Border Wars and took second to a three-time 3A state medalist at Capital City. After that loss in Tallahassee, Pickren didn’t lose again until the finals of the Louisiana Classic, winning 21 matches in a row, with titles at Soddy Daisy and Billy Saylor. After that loss, a one-point decision to Louisiana’s top 126, Pickren wouldn’t lose again until states, taking 25 wins in a row, with title wins at Gator Brawl, Battle on the Border, Wakulla, districts and regions. His only loss was to the eventual state champion, by just one takedown. Pickren will be at or very near the top of the state at whatever weight class he competes in for the 2018-19 year.

2018-19 captain: Harris Barton had some pretty impressive wins a few years back, but then spent his first two seasons concentrating on baseball, putting wrestling aside. He returned this year and had a solid if not necessarily spectacular start to the year, going 15-7 through the Billy Saylor tournament, winning seven of nine matches at one point. Down the stretch, though, Barton found a groove. After going 0-2 at the Louisiana Classic, Barton then won 20 of his next 21 matches, with a runnerup finish to a former state qualifier at Gator Brawl, and titles at Yulee, Wakulla and districts. Barton then continued that solid run into regions and states. After a fourth-place finish at Region 1 — including a double-overtime loss in the quarters — Barton then was just one match short of the podium, with two bonus-point wins there. His talent will be a big part of South Walton’s success next year.

Heaton’s Hero: Cole Anderson has been a bit behind his classmates in terms of success on the mats, but he has continued to push through, getting most of his mat time in during the month of December. As part of his four wins this year, Anderson did pick up a pair of pins, one at 1A-District 1 duals and the other at Beast of the Beach, but then didn’t get on the mats again until the post-season, where he went 0-2 and was one match from the region tournament. But Anderson started the year and finished the year with the Seahawks, and for that, Cole Anderson is the Heaton’s Hero for South Walton.

Please support our independent journalism by going here and donating to our website: https://www.gofundme.com/north-florida-matmen

Welcome back to our annual series of season wrap-up posts, which we cleverly titled as “The Season (20xx-xx).” Your donation dollars at work, folks.

This year, we’re not following a rotation scheme. We’re keeping it a bit more random this go-round. Using a highly scientific line of inquiry, our next installment in the series is FSDB, our third team out of 1A-District 4.

Each The Season post will have the same content as they’ve had for the past four seasons. At the request of a reader last season, we will note the accomplishments of each team’s senior class that will be moving on to new goals in May or June.

FSDB

You can see everything I have on the Dragons in 2017-18 here –>  FSDB

Win/loss record: 6-18 in dual meets. Please review the attached document for a summary of the Falcons’ performance in IBT events.

Season in a nutshell: The Dragons opened the season with some new faces and some experienced kids not coming back, which has been something of a pattern of late. FSDB struggled some at Arlington Optimist, with a ninth-place start in that tournament, but that would be their last IBT event until the end of January. A mixed bag of dual results gave way to a larger duals tournament, Buchholz’s Bobcat Holiday Duals, where the Dragons were 3-5. FSDB were 1-2 at the St Augustine duals quad to kick off 2018, but then could not find a dual victory at Terry Parker’s Army Duals event on the second weekend in January. Being short-handed — and inexperienced — continued to plague the Dragons into the season’s end, but FSDB did take a dual win over Raines — its first in a month. Tournaments also continued to be a sticking point, with two last-place efforts at Battle of the Border and the 1A-District 4 traditional meet, but FSDB did finish a little bit off the bottom of the 1A-Region 1 heap. FSDB will have six wrestlers returning that had 15 matches or more, five of those with post-season experience and three with region-tournament experience, losing just one senior who had 15+ matches this year.

Key returners (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) for 2018-19 (with year in school as they’ll be next year): Luke Boccuzzo (freshman, 26-6 at 106, district champ, 2-2 at regions); Lance Gardenhire (sophomore, 20-13 at 113, district 4th, 0-2 at regions); Ajani Zahira (7th, 12-19 at 120, district 3rd, 0-2 at regions); Ty Snow (sophomore, 9-16 at 126, 1 match from regions); Tayshaun Smith (junior, 13-16 at 145, 1 match from regions); Willie Noble (freshman, 4-15 at 285, did not compete in post-season).

Graduation losses from this year’s team (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience): Liam Von Mahr (18-12 at 160, did not compete in post-season).

2017-18 MVP: One of the fresh faces that made the biggest impact on the Dragons this past year was eighth-grader Luke Boccuzzo, who jumped into the season with both feet. After losing his very first varsity match, Boccuzzo won his next six, and then 13 of his next 14 to roll out to a 19-2 start. That included several wins at Army Duals, but there were a couple of losses as well. Boccuzzo became the Dragons’ first district champion since (I believe) 2015, when FSDB had three district titlists that year. After a first round bye at regions, Boccuzzo was defeated by a pair of eventual state qualifiers, one in the quarters and another in the blood round, but, assuming that he sticks with the sport, he should have a few more chances to return the FSDB program to the state tournament.

2018-19 captain: Freshman Lance Gardenhire was a regular presence in the Dragon lineup this year after a part-time role in his eighth-grade season, and the results began to start showing this past year. Although he did have a majority of his wins coming via forfeit, he was able to establish himself as more of a winning presence in the lineup, taking several falls in a few different environments, finishing third at Optimist, going 6-2 at Bobcat Holiday Classic, and picking up a few wins along the way at Army Duals. Taking a hotly-contested win over a third-year starter in the quarterfinals of districts was something of a corner turned for Gardenhire, who used that decision victory to help qualify himself out for regions. As he’ll be coming in with two full years’ worth of experience, plus some post-season success, Gardenhire will be a key part of next year’s program.

Heaton’s Hero: Sixth-graders are always up against it when trying to compete against kids anywhere from three to six years older than they are, and that was certainly the case for Ajani Zahira, who had to wrestle up at 120 in part with Boccuzzo and Gardenhire holding down the spots at 106 and 113. Zahira even wrestled up at 132 for a couple of duals and at 126 for seven matches before settling at 120 for the post-season. He had one contested win at Buchholz, but wouldn’t have another one until districts, where he won twice on the backside of the 120 bracket to take third in the weight class. Zahira had a pretty quick region tournament experience, but sticking it out the whole season despite a sizable age difference against a lot of opponents made Ajani Zahira the Heaton’s Hero on a team full of them at FSDB.

Please support our independent journalism by going here and donating to our website: https://www.gofundme.com/north-florida-matmen

We’ll come back to FSDB and The Season hopefully some time today. My energy comes in fits and starts. When I work out, my writing ability tires. When I loaf and don’t go to the gym, I get a lot of Matmen work done.

Here’s some weekend results…

At Farmington, NM, for the Aztec Warrior Championships, Matthew Rodriquez (Ridgeview) won the 15-under division 102-pound weight class title. Rodriquez had four pins and a 13-0 major decision en route to the victory, with fall times in :36, :28, 2:41 and 27 seconds in the finals. That tournament was staged last Friday at McGee Park Coliseum.

At Father Devine (staged at Osceola last Saturday)…

Angelo Philpot (Westside/Pin N Win) took first in the 160-pound weight class, Cadet division, at Father Devine for freestyle last weekend. Philpot was 3-0 with a pin (2:21 over Gladiator’s Christian Llauger) and two tech falls (13-3 over Garage Boyz/Girlz’ Marco Guzman, 12-0 over Gladiator’s Armando Hurtado in the final).

Mario Powers (Nease HS) was third at 182 for Cadets in freestyle. Powers was 0-2 with a 14-4 tech fall loss and loss by fall in 1:37. Powers also took second at 182 for Cadets in Greco-Roman. Powers had a fall (5:37 over Venom’s Alejandro Gonzalez) and two losses (both to Gonzalez, the tiebreaking third match by 14-8 decision).

Ethan Gustilo (Oakleaf Spartans) took third at 145 pounds in the Junior division for Greco-Roman. After a quarterfinal loss to eventual champ Shannon Hanna of Lake Gibson (13-3), Gustilo didn’t lose again, with an injury-default win, two techs (12-2 over Citrus’ Roderick Bruce, 14-2 over Lake Gibson’s Curtis Felton) and a 22-second pin over Oak Ridge’s Jean Voltaire Faustin for third.

Valois Ochoa (First Coast/Pin N Win) was third at 195 in the Junior division for freestyle. Ochoa was 0-2 with a pair of 10-0 tech fall losses.

MaKayla Wilder (Matanzas/Palm Coast Mutiny) took third in the Junior Womens’ division for freestyle. Wilder was 1-2 with a fall over teammate Riley White (3:40), with both of her losses by fall.

Here’s a breakdown of all the Father Devine brackets…

FATHER DEVINE FREESTYLE

FATHER DEVINE GRECO

Welcome back to our annual series of season wrap-up posts, which we cleverly titled as “The Season (20xx-xx).” Your donation dollars at work, folks.

This year, we’re not following a rotation scheme. We’re keeping it a bit more random this go-round. Using a highly scientific line of inquiry for the first change, our next installment in the series is Interlachen, our second team out of 1A-Region 2.

Each The Season post will have the same content as they’ve had for the past four seasons. At the request of a reader last season, we will note the accomplishments of each team’s senior class that will be moving on to new goals in May or June.

INTERLACHEN

You can see everything I have on the Rams in 2017-18 here –>  INTERLACHEN

Win/loss record: 1-23 in dual meets (up through the TD Talbott Legion tournament at Villages, in which the Rams combined with Leesburg in order to compete more fully). Please review the attached document for a summary of the Rams’ performance in IBT events.

Season in a nutshell: Interlachen’s first competition of the season was in the inaugural 1A-District 5 duals tournament, where the Rams’ short-handed team resulted in a pair of dual losses but several individual wins. That short-handed team (just five wrestlers) meant, from a team standpoint, eight dual losses at Buchholz’s Bobcat Holiday Duals, but the Rams again won several individual matches in all but two of those. After Bobcat, however, Interlachen only ever had at most two wrestlers competing. Still, though, the Rams had a dual win (of sorts, a forfeit win secured at Gainesville’s Category V Duals). There would not be any others, though, although the Rams lost by just one point to Keystone Heights and just six to Leesburg in a quad meet on February 3. With only two wrestlers in January onward, IBT performances were difficult, as Interlachen was seventh at the Commander Invitational, fourth at 1A-District 5, and 21st at 1A-Region 2, with one state qualifier. Of the two that finished the season, just one will return, though perhaps the others that wrestled at Buchholz — if not seniors — may come back also.

Key returners (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) for 2018-19 (with year in school as they’ll be next year): Elijah Miller (senior, 9-16 at 126, district runnerup, 0-2 at regions).

Graduation losses (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) from this year’s team: Cade Mason (25-14 at 138, district champ, region 4th, 0-2 at states).

2017-18 MVP: Cade Mason has been a four-year starter for Interlachen and has been the Rams’ linchpin to its prior successes, but had not been able to get past the region tournament in his previous three attempts. Although Mason did occasionally have struggles with some of his stronger competition this season, he won every match that he should have won, and that is a solid mental hurdle to overcome. Toward the end of the season, Mason won 10 of 11 matches, starting just after the Commander Invitational at Ed White and running through districts, with the only loss coming at Talbott. Mason won the District 5 title, losing only at the region level to a pair of top-six state-ranked wrestlers. His fall over Villages in the consi semis secured his spot at states at long last, and Mason nearly got third, falling by a 10-9 decision. It was a quick day at states on Friday, but Mason achieved what few kids do — being among the final 16 kids in the draw.

2018-19 captain & Heaton’s Hero: Elijah Miller was a first-year wrestler out this year, and normally first-year kids are going to struggle — particularly in smaller rooms like Interlachen’s. Prior to January, Miller had just one contested victory, but the wins started to come in when the experience picked up, and the result was a runnerup finish at districts. Miller then went 10-8 in the first round at the Region 2 tournament, but then had to injury-default out of the consolation rounds. Next year, Miller will be the linchpin, perhaps to build a new Rams program. He made it through the entirety of the season, so for that, he will be the team captain and Heaton’s Hero for Interlachen.

Please support our independent journalism by going here and donating to our website: https://www.gofundme.com/north-florida-matmen

Welcome back to our annual series of season wrap-up posts, which we cleverly titled as “The Season (20xx-xx).” Your donation dollars at work, folks.

This year, we’re not following a rotation scheme. We’re keeping it a bit more random this go-round. Using a highly scientific line of inquiry for the first change, our next installment in the series is Englewood, our first team out of 2A-District 3. I believe now that all 10 districts have had at least one team profiled thus far, plus our independents.

Each The Season post will have the same content as they’ve had for the past four seasons. At the request of a reader last season, we will note the accomplishments of each team’s senior class that will be moving on to new goals in May or June.

ENGLEWOOD

You can see everything I have on the Rams in 2017-18 here –>  ENGLEWOOD

Win/loss record: 9-12 in dual meets. Please review the attached document for a summary of the Rams’ performance in IBT events.

Season in a nutshell: Under new management this year, the Rams got to a solid start at Terry Parker’s Arlington Optimist, placing fourth there, but then stepped up in competition — with a corresponding result — at Fletcher’s Preudhomme Duals on the second Saturday of December. Rallying from a winless tournament, the Rams closed out 2017 on a winning note, with three wins in the third and fourth weeks of December, coming back to competition at Army Duals, also at Parker, the second weekend of January. That kicked off a tricky month for Englewood, as it was 2-5 at Army and just outside the top half at Gateway. But the Rams were able to rally somewhat, taking fourth at Parker Duals with a 2-2 mark, dual wins over Stanton and Mandarin to close out the dual season, and a fourth at the 2A-District 3 traditional tournament. The Rams have a fair amount of starters returning (11 with post-season experience), losing just two seniors from this year’s group, with only one of those having multiple years at Englewood.

Key returners (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) for 2018-19 (with year in school as they’ll be next year): Cameron Courtenay (junior, 19-10 at 106, district 4th, 1-2 at regions); Raequan Staples (sophomore, 5-4 at 113, 1 match from regions); Hunter Padgett (junior, 11-14 at 120, 1 match from regions); Dairo Guerra (senior, 16-14 at 132, district 3rd, 2-2 at regions); Benjamin Paramo (senior, 22-10 at 138, district 4th, 1-2 at regions); Tamer Fakhouri (senior, 18-11 at 145, district 3rd, 1-2 at regions); Kelly Charles (junior, 6-14 at 152, 1 match from regions); Jordan Mitchell (junior, 6-18 at 170, district 4th, 0-2 at regions); Eric Moore (junior, 2-7 at 182, 1 match from regions); Colin Williams (senior, 4-8 at 195, 1 match from regions); Christopher Lands (senior, 18-8 at 285, district champ, 1-2 at regions).

Graduation losses (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) from this year’s team: Tyler Crawford (13-11 at 126, district 3rd, 0-2 at regions); Ehab Fakhouri (11-18 at 160, district 4th, 1-2 at regions).

2017-18 MVP: Chris Lands spent half of the year at 220 and half the year at 285, and if the way his season came to an end is any indication, we’ll see more of Lands at heavyweight next year. Lands was second at Optimist, at 220, and did take a couple more losses the following week at Fletcher, but he slowly started to figure some things out, with a 5-1 showing at Army Duals. At 220 for Gateway, Lands wound up placing fourth, but he wouldn’t lose again after Gateway until the Region 1 tournament. Lands pinned his way through districts at 285, then won his first match by fall at Region 1 before dropping matches to two eventual state qualifiers. Winning that district title was a definite stage of improvement for Lands, one which may propel him perhaps to becoming a state contender next season.

2018-19 captain: One of the pleasant surprises — and there were a few — in watching the Englewood season play out was the development of first-year Rams starter Ben Paramo. Paramo reached the finals of the Optimist Invitational, and lost just one match at the Preudhomme Duals the following week. From there, Paramo won 10 of 11 matches to run his record out to 16-4 at one point. Although he had what might have been a subpar Gateway Conference tournament (fourth), Paramo did come back to finish fourth at the 2A-District 3 traditional tournament — getting closer against a Gateway rival in the process — and had a solid Friday at the Region 1 tournament, where two District 1 rivals took decisions by a combined total of six points. Englewood’s got a nice group of seniors returning, and Paramo will be one of those that could send the Rams to some new heights in 2018-19.

Heaton’s Hero: Eric Moore was a first-year wrestler this year, starting in the lineup at 160 where he saw time at Arlington Optimist, and in a pair of mid-December duals. His only win at 160 was by forfeit. He was out of the lineup, then, until Gateway, this time up at 182. The conference meet wasn’t a whole lot better in terms of outcomes, but Moore stayed in the lineup throughout the entire season, finishing it at districts. That he’s a thrower in track and field is of course a plus in his favor, but his dedication to finishing the year makes Eric Moore the Heaton’s Hero for Englewood.

Please support our independent journalism by going here and donating to our website: https://www.gofundme.com/north-florida-matmen

Welcome back to our annual series of season wrap-up posts, which we cleverly titled as “The Season (20xx-xx).” Your donation dollars at work, folks.

This year, we’re not following a rotation scheme. We’re keeping it a bit more random this go-round. Using a highly scientific line of inquiry for the first change, our next installment in the series is Sandalwood, our fourth team from this district.

Each The Season post will have the same content as they’ve had for the past four seasons. At the request of a reader last season, we will note the accomplishments of each team’s senior class that will be moving on to new goals in May or June.

SANDALWOOD

You can see everything I have on the Saints in 2017-18 here –>  SANDALWOOD

Win/loss record: 3-5 in dual meets. Please review the attached document for a summary of the Saints’ performance in IBT events.

Season in a nutshell: As has been the case in the Casey Gibson era, the Saints focused predominantly on IBTs this past season, opening with top-six finishes at Terry Parker’s Arlington Optimist (third) and Bishop Snyder’s Westside Kiwanis (sixth). Sandalwood had their only duals experience in the third weekend of December, going 3-5 to finish sixth at the Bobcat Holiday Duals hosted by Buchholz. The Saints had a mid-pack finish at Lyman just before Christmas, and then were off until the Gateway Conference meet in the third weekend of January. After a tough outcome at Flagler Rotary, Sandalwood’s Pagan sisters pulled the Saints to a mid-pack finish at the girls’ state meet. From there, Sandalwood had some struggles in the FHSAA post-season series, taking eighth at the District 1 traditional meet and 34th at Region 1. The Saints have a number of kids back last year, losing just one senior with 15+ matches, but Sandalwood will need extensive off-season work to forge a return to the glories found earlier this decade.

Key returners (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) for 2018-19 (with year in school as they’ll be next year): Gabriel Daltro (unknown year, 8-8 at 113, did not compete in post-season); Lance Owens (sophomore, 5-13 at 132, did not compete in post-season); Nakeem Murphy (junior, 4-10 at 138, 0-2 at districts); Blake Friend (junior, 7-17 at 145, 1 match from regions); Layza Pagan (junior, 145, 1-2 at girls’ state); Lavaughn Brown (junior, 18-12 at 152, district 3rd, 1-2 at regions); Aixanet Pagan (sophomore, 160, 2-2 at girls’ state); Leonardo Alonzo (senior, 13-8 at 182, district 4th, 1-2 at regions); Joshua Brown (sophomore, 6-16 at 195, 0-2 at districts); Joshua Newkirk (sophomore, 0-4 at 220, 0-2 at districts); Devin Smith (junior, 14-10 at 220, did not compete in post-season); Gustavo Martinez (junior, 16-11 at 285, did not compete in post-season).

Graduation losses (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) from this year’s team: Leon Cruz (14-13 at 113, 1 match from regions).

2017-18 MVP: Sophomore Lavaughn Brown wouldn’t be quite so able to sneak up on folks after a freshman season in which he led all freshmen in the Matmen coverage area in victories. Brown had a pair of runnerup efforts to start the season, with seconds at both Arlington Optimist and Westside Kiwanis, and had a solid 6-2 weekend at Buchholz, but then struggled a bit at Lyman. Brown picked up a third runnerup finish at Gateway, adding a third at districts with a loss only to an eventual state qualifier, but ran into two solid District 2 kids at the Region 1 event. Should he get in some summer work, I could see Brown making a serious run for the state tournament in the next two seasons.

2018-19 captain: Leonardo Alonzo was probably the most capable wrestler after Brown in the Saints’ lineup this year, returning to the lineup after a solid freshman season two years ago. Alonzo took the title at Optimist and finished third at Kiwanis and Gateway, with a 2-2 tournament at Flagler Rotary, but he was not in the lineup for either the Bobcat duals tournament at Buchholz or at Lyman, and those two events might have given him just a bit more familiarity with the 3A-Region 1 field. Alonzo did qualify out of districts — something a lot of other quality kids did not do — but two very solid District 3 kids ended his post-season run on Friday at regions. Alonzo will be among the most-experienced kids in the Sandalwood lineup in 2018-19.

Heaton’s Hero: Sophomore Blake Friend wrestled all but two matches at 145, as a way perhaps to help the team, with one appearance at Flagler Rotary at 138. Friend came up with seven wins, four of those via fall, but all of his losses were also by fall as well. Still, though, Friend was a regular in the lineup at every tournament with the exception of Gateway Conference. If Friend can pull together some more off-season work, he might be able to earn himself some more success on the mats, but his determination to keep working throughout the season has earned Blake Friend the Heaton’s Hero nomination for Sandalwood.

Please support our independent journalism by going here and donating to our website: https://www.gofundme.com/north-florida-matmen

Welcome back to our annual series of season wrap-up posts, which we cleverly titled as “The Season (20xx-xx).” Your donation dollars at work, folks.

This year, we’re not following a rotation scheme. We’re keeping it a bit more random this go-round. Using a highly scientific line of inquiry for the first change, our next installment in the series is Crestview, our third team from this district.

Each The Season post will have the same content as they’ve had for the past four seasons. At the request of a reader last season, we will note the accomplishments of each team’s senior class that will be moving on to new goals in May or June.

CRESTVIEW

You can see everything I have on the Bulldogs in 2017-18 here –>  CRESTVIEW

Win/loss record: Unknown in dual meets (we had one missing dual meet involving Crestview this year; not all individual records are available as a result). I believe the Bulldogs were 16-11, if I had to guess. Please review the attached document for a summary of the Bulldogs’ performance in IBT events.

Season in a nutshell: Crestview started under new coach Roman Rozell with Fleming Island’s Keystone Invitational, with some decent results along the way to a 12th-place finish. The Bulldogs had one of their stronger tournament finishes with a 5-0 effort at the Gulf Breeze Duals, and were 3-2 at the inaugural 2A-District 1 duals tournament on February 16. Their last duals tournament of December came at Beast of the Beach, where Crestview was 4-4, but had a solid start. The Bulldogs were fourth at Tate’s Aggie Invitational, their best IBT effort of the year, but then struggled at the Scott Rohrer Memorial in Alabama to start January. A better tournament came at Mosley’s Panhandle Championships, where Crestview took fifth, and the Bulldogs followed that with a fourth at Wewahitchka’s Gator Brawl. I am pretty sure Crestview was 4-3 at North Bay Haven’s second annual Bash event. Post-season tournament results were a bit mixed, as the Bulldogs were seventh at 2A-District 1’s traditional tournament, but finished in the top half at 2A-Region 1, 13th out of 27 teams. The upside heading into next year is that Crestview has 12 wrestlers returning with 15+ matches. The downside for the Bulldogs is that most of this past year’s post-season success will leave the room along with their senior class, as none of the 12 wrestlers with 15+ matches this year have experience at the region-tournament level.

Key returners (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) for 2018-19 (with year in school as they’ll be next year): Javan Alto (senior, 113, did not compete in post-season); Dylan Fife (sophomore, 9-8 at 120, did not compete in post-season); Easton Flamand (junior, 126, 1 match from regions); Malachi Santiago (sophomore, 132, 0-2 at districts); Kendra Sanders (senior, 138, 0-1 at girls’ state); Karter Watson (senior, 4-22 at 145, did not compete in post-season); Rowan Gomez (sophomore, 145, 1 match from regions); Dakota Matthews (senior, 11-20 at 145/160, did not compete in post-season); Eddie Olesiuk (senior, 17-7 at 160, did not compete in post-season); James Secrest (senior, 6-6, 1 match from regions); Kennard Madden (junior, 195, 1 match from regions); Rolando Hernandez (junior, 11-10 at 220, did not compete in post-season).

Graduation losses (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) from this year’s team: Noah Kryfka (33-9 at 106, district champ, region 3rd, 1-2 at states); Katie Meinert (106, 0-2 at girls’ state); Angel Ortega (39-20 at 138, district runnerup, 2-2 at regions); Nathan Gunn (160, district 3rd, 2-2 at regions); Ryan Stontenburgh (182, 0-2 at districts); Coleman Young (220, district champ, region champ, 0-2 at states); Xavier Molina (285, district runnerup, 1 match from states).

2017-18 MVP: One of if not the most consistent presence in the Crestview lineup was Coleman Young at 220. Young won his first 11 matches, after not competing at Keystone, with seven of those wins coming by fall. Young went on to a 27-2 start, winning 14 matches in a row between Scott Rohrer Invitational and continuing through Gator Brawl, as well as a couple of wins at North Bay Haven Bash before running into a South Dade wrestler. We’re not 100% certain, but the smart money says that was Young’s last loss until the state tournament, during which he swept to district and region titles, the only Bulldog to win both. Although both of his matches ended up in decision losses, Young’s consistency at the top of the lineup was unmatched.

2018-19 captain: There are a couple of seniors that could be returning that had more matches, but I’m never sure if guys are going to come back if they for whatever reason don’t finish the season (I’m always thinking it’s due to injury). So I’m going to go with James Secrest in this role, given that he’s had prior experience in the lineup even before this season, even though by my count he only had 12 matches. Nearly half of those were at either Gulf Breeze’s duals event or at districts, and he was hurt at Tate’s Aggie Invitational, not appearing back in the lineup until districts, where he was only able to compete in one match before defaulting out. If healthy next season, Secrest’s experience should be helpful to the Bulldogs in 2018-19.

Heaton’s Hero: We saw freshman Rowan Gomez start for the Bulldogs at Tate, and there were not a lot of opportunities for him to find success — one at Scott Rohrer, one at Panhandle, one at Gator Brawl and one at North Bay Haven Bash. Most of the losses were by fall, and a lot of them were pretty quick, but since joining the starting lineup Gomez was a regular presence. Gomez finished the year in the lineup, with a districts appearance, so even though it was mostly January and the post-season, Gomez did soldier through despite a lot of struggles, and for that, Rowan Gomez is the Heaton’s Hero for Crestview.

Please support our independent journalism by going here and donating to our website: https://www.gofundme.com/north-florida-matmen

So we got a chance to go out and see some scrappin for a couple of hours today. Nice to get back into a live event, probably won’t be the last of the spring. Boy has had track competitions every Saturday for a while, but he’s on a church retreat in Keystone Heights this weekend, so Dad had a little time to himself.

We’re going to finish Crestview late this afternoon/early this evening, and probably pick up another one tonight as well. Watch for an announcement later on this afternoon on my story (you have to friend me on Facebook — my personal page, not the one with a wrestling photo or two on it; I just don’t have the time to monitor multiple Facebooks and Twitters).

Was blessed to receive an invite, as well, to the Beef & Beer event on May 5th. Of course I shall come. I’ll bring my son, so hopefully there’s root beer or lemonade, after we watch (or, hopefully, participate in) Day 2 of the state track meet at UNF earlier in the day.

Here’s a few photos from the day. Not awful for a cell phone, one day we’ll have a better camera (and, quite possibly down the road, Matmen will have an in-house photographer — literally):