Month: April 2019

We have results from three tournaments, two contested in-state and a third just an hour over the border in Brunswick, but one that had substantial Florida representation, particularly among the North. We would have been there — almost any other Saturday in the month or this upcoming one. But we had to put a high school track career on wraps here at home.

Here are the results that we have thus far:

Georgia State AAU Brackets found here: GEORGIA STATE AAU RESULTS

Palm Bay ECW Results found here: PALM BAY ECW RESULTS

Somerset Spring Bash 2 Results found here: SOMERSET SPRING BASH 2 RESULTS

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Welcome back to our annual series of season wrap-up posts, which we cleverly titled as “The Season (2018-19),” because we’re creative like that. Your donation dollars at work, folks.

Teams are being selected on a random basis. Our 15th installment for this season, and second from 2A-District 3, is Middleburg.

Each The Season post will have the same content as they’ve had for the past five seasons.

MIDDLEBURG

You can see everything I have on the Broncos in 2018-19 here –>  MIDDLEBURG

Win/loss record: 10-7 in dual meets. Please review the attached document for a summary of the Broncos’ performance in IBT events.

Season in a nutshell: For a team so short-handed, the Broncos had some decent successes this past year, certainly so at the individual level. Middleburg finished in the top half with a sixth-place finish at the 16-team Westside Kiwanis Invitational the first weekend of December, following that up with a 4-1 performance at the one-day Bulldog Brawl at St Cloud on the second weekend, with a loss only to the hosts. Middleburg was 3-4 at the two-day St Johns River Conference duals tournament just before Christmas, and then took two weeks off. Then, the Broncos had a midpack finish at the Keystone Invitational (10th out of 18 teams) on the first week of January. Middleburg then qualified out of the 2A-District 3 dual team tournament, going 3-1 in the event, on the 9th of January. The Broncos brought a very short-handed group to Yulee for its Battle of the Border, taking eighth out of 11 teams, and then lost in their one dual at the 2A-Region 1 quarterfinals. Solid tournament finishes would be tough to find until the 2A-Region 1 traditional tournament, mainly due to numbers, the rest of the way, as Middleburg was 12th at Trojan Invitational, 21st at Flagler Rotary and 29th at Clay’s Green Cove Springs Rotary. Even the 2A-District 3 traditional tournament proved a challenge, as the Broncos were fifth out of seven teams. But Middleburg posted a nice 11th place finish at Region 1, with three state qualifiers, two of which won matches at states. The Broncos have nine wrestlers back next year that either reached the post-season or saw significant regular-season mat time, but just two of them won a match at districts, and all of their 2019 state qualifiers will graduate next month.

Key returners (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) for 2019-20 (with year in school as they’ll be next year): Riley Girgis (sophomore, 34-16 at 106, district 3rd, 2-2 at regions); Devon Gill (senior, 14-7 at 106/113, did not compete at post-season traditionals); Casey Crafton (sophomroe, 13-18 at 113/120, did not compete at post-season traditionals); Enoch Long (sophomore, 13-4 at 126, did not compete at post-season traditionals); Ephraim Long (sophomore, 13-5 at 132, did not compete at post-season traditionals); Michael Higginbotham (junior, 15-13 at 152/160, did not compete at post-season traditionals); Alex Nayfack (junior, 21-24 at 160, district 4th, 0-2 at regions); Ethan Larsen (sophomore, 9-9 at 170, district 3rd, 1-2 at regions); Chris Conaway (junior, 10-19 at 182, district 4th, 0-2 at regions).

Graduation losses (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) from this year’s team: Storm Mercado (37-5 at 138, district champ, region champ, 1 match from state medal); Chris Burch (30-16 at 145, district champ, region 4th, 0-2 at states); Bryce Williams (27-11 at 152, district champ, region 3rd, 1-2 at states).

2018-19 MVP: Senior Storm Mercado made himself into the Broncos’ top competitor this past season, winning his first 13 matches of the year, with a title at Westside Kiwanis and an unbeaten day at Bulldog Brawl. Mercado then won 20 straight matches in a streak that began after a first-day loss at Keystone Invitational on the first weekend of January and didn’t end until the first day of states. Mercado didn’t appear in the lineup from around the middle of January until districts and it perhaps comes as no surprise that the Broncos struggled the most when he wasn’t in the lineup, which proved his value. When he returned, for districts, Mercado won seven straight matches in the post-season series, with district and region titles, and got to Saturday before coming up a match short of a state medal.

2019-20 captain: Freshman 106 Riley Girgis is the only Middleburg returner that made it to the second day at Chiles for regions this past season. Girgis started the year at 113, wrestling his first 11 matches at that weight, with a third-place finish at Westside Kiwanis and an eight-match win streak that included a 5-0 day at Bulldog brawl. Girgis then won five matches in a row at Keystone Invitational, taking third at the Trojan Invitational in mid-July. He added another third-place finish at traditional districts and was 2-2 at regions, and that winning experience will be key for next year’s Bronco team.

Heaton’s Hero: Sophomore Chris Conaway spent the year usually at 182 or 195 as the Broncos’ “big” in the lineup. Conaway got out to a decent start, going 6-3 through the first couple of tournmaments early in December, but when Keystone arrived in January, that’s when struggles began, as Conaway lost 16 of his last 20 matches, including 10 of his last 11, all by fall. But Conaway only missed a couple of outings in the Bronco lineup, continuing to man his post up top. After nearly a month out of action between Flagler Rotary and districts, Conaway re-emerged at 182 for the Broncos, helping the group out with advancement points at the district level. That determination is what we look for, even in the face of adversity, and it makes Chris Conaway the Heaton’s Hero for Middleburg.

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Welcome back to our annual series of season wrap-up posts, which we cleverly titled as “The Season (2018-19),” because we’re creative like that. Your donation dollars at work, folks.

Teams are being selected on a random basis. Our second installment from 2A-District 4, and 15th overall, is Creekside.

Each The Season post will have the same content as they’ve had for the past five seasons.

CREEKSIDE

You can see everything I have on the Knights in 2018-19 here –>  CREEKSIDE

Win/loss record: 21-5 in dual meets. Please review the attached document for a summary of the Knights’ performance in IBT events.

Season in a nutshell: Creekside continued to remain among the area’s more-consistent programs in 2018-19. The Knights were 3-2 at the Matanzas Duals on the first weekend of the season, then swept the field at Orange Park’s six-way duals tournament, a rare Friday-night event. That was it for tournaments in December; on the first Saturday in January, Creekside took second at Episcopal’s Rob Bierbaum Invitational. The following weekend saw the Knights qualify once again for 2A-Region 1 dual team tournament action, as Creekside was second at the District 4 tournament at Nease. The Knights reached the Region 1 semis, falling to Matanzas in that round. Creekside would go on to finish second at the Westside Roundrobin (though it was a hard-won runnerup effort, see more below) and finished 14th at Clay’s Green Cove Springs Rotary. The Knights had consistent post-season tournament finishes, with a second at districts, fifth at regions, and a T-42nd at states. Creekside will have a sizable graduation class this year to overcome, but the cupboard is by no means empty, with 10 returners that either started in the post-season or had significant starting time this past year.

Key returners (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) for 2019-20 (with year in school as they’ll be next year): Cody Smith (sophomore, 25-10 at 106, district champ, 1 match from states); Andrew Feek (sophomore, 3-3 at 113, district 4th (injured), did not compete at regions); Hunter England (junior, 14-7 at 113, did not compete in post-season traditionals); Michael Galiani (senior, 11-11 at 132, district 4th, 0-2 at regions); Hunter Brown (junior, 21-17 at 145, district 4th, 0-2 at regions); Jose Barrera (senior, 7-10 at 145, did not compete in post-season traditionals); Josh Benavides (senior, 12-14 at 152, 1 match from regions); Jalen Hines (senior, 33-15 at 160, district runnerup, region 4th, 0-2 at states); Antonio Carter (sophomore, 16-9 at 170, district 3rd, 2-2 at regions); Bryan McKnight (junior, 18-8 at 220, district 3rd, injured at regions).

Graduation losses (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) from this year’s team: Colin Brown (35-10 at 120, district runnerup, 1 match from states); CJ Sexton (31-10 at 126, district 4th, 1 match from states); Jake Summers (17-14 at 138, district runnerup, 2-2 at regions); Jack Tellin (15-9 at 170, did not compete in post-season traditionals); Caleb Dickens (25-16 at 182, district 4th, 0-2 at regions); Trey Chesser (33-8 at 195, district champ, region champ); Saul Storey (25-6 at 285, district runnerup, region champ, 1 match from state medal).

2018-19 MVP: Senior Saul Storey made the Knights stronger when he was able to be in the lineup at 285. Storey won his first 14 matches of the season, all but one by either fall or forfeit, for the Knights. Storey lost to a district rival at the district duals tournament and took a second in-season loss in late January, but it was an injury-default loss at Westside Roundrobin that really threatened his chances. Storey didn’t compete again until districts and even in that round he was wrestling at far less than full capacity. That didn’t come back fully until the region round, when Storey pinned his way through the draw. At states, Storey had a solid first day, but lost by fall in the blood round. Still, it has been a stellar four years for the big man, who’s going on to a fine college-football career at the next level.

2019-20 captain: Junior Jalen Hines is probably more well-known on campus for his running-back skills in the fall sports season, but Hines will be the only returning state qualifier to next year’s wrestling team. Hines seemed much more comfortable on the mats this year. After going 2-3 at Matanzas, Hines won seven of his next eight matches, and in January and February he would go on to win 11 of 12 at one stretch. While he couldn’t solve all of his district rivals, Hines did place 3rd at Rob Bierbaum, second at Westside Roundrobin, fifth at Clay Rotary, second at districts and won his first two region matches with big bonus points, going on to take fourth, with his second loss at states coming by just one point.

Heaton’s Hero: When Creekside went to the Westside Roundrobin to start February, the Knights lost four starters for at least a couple of weeks. Three of them returned by the post-season or sooner, but one — who might have been Creekside’s most improved wrestler — could not. That was senior Jack Tellin, who shown so much more speed, strength and skill at 170 this past season. Sometimes our Hero choices are based on kids who struggle, sometimes because of something that stood out. In Tellin’s case, it’s a case of what might have been in the post-season. Jack Tellin is the Heaton’s Hero for Creekside.

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Welcome back to our annual series of season wrap-up posts, which we cleverly titled as “The Season (2018-19),” because we’re creative like that. Your donation dollars at work, folks.

Teams are being selected on a random basis. Our second installment from 2A-District 1, and 14th overall, is Milton.

Each The Season post will have the same content as they’ve had for the past five seasons.

MILTON

You can see everything I have on the Panthers in 2018-19 here –>  MILTON

Win/loss record: 4-15 in dual meets. Please review the attached document for a summary of the Panthers’ performance in IBT events.

Season in a nutshell: Looking at the season as a whole, the Panthers simply ran short of mat time in 2018-19, with no regular-season tournaments after December, and no IBTs until the traditional district tournament in late February. Milton’s first larger event was at the Gulf Breeze Duals, which was a solid-enough 3-1 day, but the Panthers only competed on the first day of the Beast of the Beach, going 1-4 there. The Panthers were 0-4 at the one-day Pace Invitational duals tournament and lost in the quarters at the 2A-District 1 dual team tournament in early January. Then the schedule drought kicked in. Milton was scheduled to attend Gator Brawl, but the Panthers did not have presence there, and only had two dual meets against district titan Pace to close out the regular season. Milton has five starters with post-season experience returning, losing just one senior, but all of the Panthers need more mat time in 2019-20. There are some talented kids that only got a couple of matches here and there; if they have a more consistent presence in the lineup, Milton could get a shot in the arm without having to recruit freshmen or absolute newcomers.

Key returners (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) for 2019-20 (with year in school as they’ll be next year): David Quarrells (junior, 1-6 at 138, 0-2 at districts); Michael McCain (junior, 5-8 at 145, 0-2 at districts); Daniel McDonal (senior, 12-8 at 160, district runnerup, 1-2 at regions); Aaron Kennington (senior, 8-9 at 170, did not compete in post-season traditionals); Ethan Cale (senior, 6-9 at 220, 0-2 at districts).

Graduation losses (15+ matches this past season or prior/current post-season experience) from this year’s team: Dylan Hoard (4-10 at 120, 0-2 at districts); Ian Van Gestel (11-11 at 132, district 3rd, 1-2 at regions).

2018-19 MVP: Senior Ian Van Gestel, with 22 matches to his credit this year (by Matmen’s count) has had a presence in the Milton varsity lineup since his freshman year, and his record in contested matches this year reflected a lot of hard-won experience in the previous three seasons, as Van Gestel had seven pins and a major under his belt. Van Gestel was 3-1 at Gulf Breeze, and rallied back from a quarterfinal loss at districts to come back and finish third at 132, with a fall over the wrestler who beat him in the quarters. Van Gestel picked up a win at regions as well.

2019-20 captain: Junior Daniel McDonal‘s record as reported to FHSAA had several more wins than I had, and he seemed to have several more matches than his teammates. Still, though, McDonal will be the top returner in 2019-20, as he was Milton’s top performer at the district tournament, reaching the finals at 160. McDonal also got out to a 7-1 start in December, with a loss only to a 2A state qualifier. He has had varsity experience each of the past three years, and he’ll need it next year.

Heaton’s Hero: Sophomore David Quarrells was behind the eight-ball heading into districts in late February. Quarrells had only had varsity appearances in four events prior to the post-season, three of those being single-dual events and the fourth a part-time appearance at a lower weight at Gulf Breeze Duals. But Quarrells suited up for districts nevertheless and gave it his best shot, and for that I give him props. David Quarrells is the Heaton’s Hero for Milton.

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• We’re on Venmo now:  Shannon-Heaton-6
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Welcome back to our annual series of season wrap-up posts, which we cleverly titled as “The Season (2018-19),” because we’re creative like that. Your donation dollars at work, folks.

Teams are being selected on a random basis. Our second installment out of 1A-District 5, and 13th overall, is Keystone Heights, which was a full-fledged FHSAA squad this past year.

Each The Season post will have the same content as they’ve had for the past five seasons.

KEYSTONE HEIGHTS

You can see everything I have on the Indians in 2018-19 here –>  KEYSTONE HEIGHTS

Win/loss record: 3-27 in dual meets. Please review the attached document for a summary of the Indians’ performance in IBT events.

Season in a nutshell: After competing and finishing 16th at the Westside Kiwanis the first weekend, Keystone Heights were off for a couple of weeks until Buchholz’s Bobcat Holiday Duals just before Christmas. With only a few weights covered, dual success was tough to find there. In fact, there would not be any team contested wins until the Parker Duals in late January. In between times, the Indians met eight opponents at the USMC Duals, also hosted by Terry Parker, in mid-January, plus a couple of midweek duals along the way. At Parker Duals, the Indians finally got that contested win with a dual victory over Paxon and added a second at regular season’s end with a dual win over Bradford. For all that, though, Keystone had enough starters who’d gotten enough bruises in duals to score a third-place team finish at the District 5 traditional tournament, with one wrestler reaching the second day at the Region 2 tournament. All seven Indian wrestlers that competed in the post-season this past year have eligibility to return next year.

Key returners (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) for 2019-20 (with year in school as they’ll be next year): Jason Bowden (freshman, 21-14 at 106, district runnerup, 1-2 at regions); Isabella Hanna (senior, 10-19 at 126, 2-2 at girls’ state meet, district 4th, did not compete at regions); Sam Ulsch (freshman, 8-10 at 132, 1 match short of regions); Dylan Page (sophomore, 18-17 at 145, district runnerup, 0-2 at regions); Caleb Crawford (sophomore, 18-17 at 152, district runnerup, 0-2 at regions); Steven Reinhart (freshman, 5-21 at 170, district runnerup, 0-2 at regions); Gabe Adams (junior, 9-13 at 195, district runnerup, 0-2 at regions).

Graduation losses (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) from this year’s team: None.

2018-19 MVP: Eighth-grader Jason Bowden came in and made a decent impact at 106 for the Indians, as the only Keystone Heights competitor to make it to the second day of a very difficult region tournament. There were some valleys to go along with the peaks, which included win streaks of five and six along the way, with the five-match win streak at Bobcat Holiday Dualss and the six-match streak starting at Parker Duals and continuing into the district tournament. Bowden will still have some work to do into his high school years, but a 21-win eighth-grade season at the varsity level is a pretty solid start.

2019-20 captain: I don’t lightly choose junior Isabella Hanna to be a captain for the Indians next year (she is, by my reckoning, the first female wrestler to earn a captaincy in this space). Hanna (126) is the lone senior coming back to a team that needs to fill out its lineup and continues to need to work steadily toward getting better. The Indians need seniors, and Hanna fills the bill on that front, but she also was a capable competitor this past season, going 2-2 at girls’ state (after seeing the top seed in the very first round). Joining the FHSAA was a big step for the Indians. Having a wrestler like Hanna, who competed in both the girls’ state meet and the FHSAA post-season series, is a big deal.

Heaton’s Hero: After competing the first weekend at Westside Kiwanis, we didn’t see eighth-grader Samuel Ulsch (132) again until mid-January. Losing six weeks to the regular season is a big chunk of season, particularly so for a middle-schooler. Ulsch did pick up contested wins once he came back to the lineup, but he was the only wrestler in the district who wound up not being able to move on to the region tournament. Nevertheless, despite being an eighth-grader trying to compete in what’s essentially a middleweight, Ulsch took a shot at it, and that’s what makes Samuel Ulsch the Heaton’s Hero for Keystone Heights.

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Here’s results from three statewide events contested this past weekend.

We’ll add Father Devine results, as we can, when we have the three-monitor setup (assuming my email doesn’t crash out once per division like it seems to have to lately every time I have to deal with FloArena snips of results) on Monday.

FLAGLER ECW SCUFFLE RESULTS: FLAGLER DoW ECW SCUFFLE

OSCEOLA CTY MIDDLE SCHOOL BRACKETS: OCMS BRACKETS

RIVERDALE ROUNDROBIN #3 RESULTS: RIVERDALE ROUNDROBIN 3

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Welcome back to our annual series of season wrap-up posts, which we cleverly titled as “The Season (2018-19),” because we’re creative like that. Your donation dollars at work, folks.

Teams are being selected on a random basis. Our 12th installment for this season, and second from 1A-District 3, is Fernandina Beach.

Each The Season post will have the same content as they’ve had for the past five seasons.

FERNANDINA BEACH

You can see everything I have on the Pirates in 2018-19 here –>  FERNANDINA BEACH

Win/loss record: 10-18 in dual meets. Please review the attached document for a summary of the Pirates’ performance in IBT events.

Season in a nutshell: The Pirates had a numbers issue (unsurprising for a program with a first-year coach), but almost everyone that was in the Fernandina lineup performed pretty solidly. They were 10th at Terry Parker’s Optimist Invitational and took third at County a week before Christmas, going 3-4 at the two-day Yulee Duals. Fernandina opened January with an 0-2 performance at 1A-District 3 duals and were seventh at Yulee’s Battle of the Border IBT. While the Pirates finished midpack at the Parker Duals, in each of Fernandina’s four dual wins the Pirates won nearly every contested match. The Pirates were fourth at Westside’s eight-team roundrobin and finished seventh at the Bell-Raulerson IBT to largely wrap up the regular season. Fernandina’s best finish might have been its fourth at the 1A-District 3 traditional tournament, and the Pirates were in the top half at regions, with two state qualifiers, one of them returning.

Key returners (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) for 2019-20 (with year in school as they’ll be next year): Jeremy Mahoney (junior, 37-7 at 113, district champ, region runnerup, 0-2 at states); Bryce Bourqain (junior, 10-19 at 126, 1 match from regions); Jeremiah Giedrys (senior, 28-19 at 152, district runnerup, 2-2 at regions); Kolby Kidd (junior, 7-16 at 285, 1 match from regions); Samuel Loper (sophomore, 10-11 at 285, did not compete in post-season traditionals).

Graduation losses (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) from this year’s team: Zhane Funchess (24-18 at 160, 1 match from regions); Nathan Manning (30-9 at 182, district champ, region 4th, 0-2 at states); Uriah Giedrys (35-11 at 195, district 4th, 1-2 at regions); Robbie Elefterion (35-13 at 220, district 3rd, 1 match from states).

2018-19 MVP: Senior Nathan Manning, when he was in the lineup, was the glue in the Pirates’ lineup in 2018-19. Manning got off to a slow start at Arlington Optimist, but then won nine matches in a row after that and 17 of 18, with a title at Yulee’s Battle on the Border. After a loss to a 2A state placewinner at Parker Duals, Manning won nine of his next 10 matches, which included one of the Pirates’ two district titles. Still, though, he missed all of Fernandina’s February regular-season dates, and that might have made his path trickier at regions, where he lost one contested match and took fourth overall. His opening-round draw did him no favors, but Manning was still able to make the Show for the Pirates.

2019-20 captain: Sophomore Jeremy Mahoney was certainly Fernandina’s best wrestler throughout the season, a year that included 25 consecutive wins from Mahoney’s third-place match at Battle of the Border in mid-January all the way up to the region final in early March. During that stretch, Mahoney had 15 pins and 21 max-point victories. Two of his regular-season losses were at Battle, to a Camden wrestler, and the other two came early, one at Optimist and one at County. At regions, Mahoney went 7-2 with the eventual state runnerup, and he had Fernandina’s lone state victory. A two-time district champion, Mahoney will be the Pirates’ team leader on the mats next season.

Heaton’s Hero: With a lineup opening at 220, sophomore Kolby Kidd was called upon to fill in that space in December. Kidd then dropped down to 195 and into a backup role, largely, but got one starting assignment at Bell-Raulerson when the starting 195 took a shot at 182 in Manning’s absence. With seniors at each spot from 182 through 220, Kidd’s season could have been over, but he won the varsity spot at 285 and got a chance to get a taste of the post-season. He lost to a pair of region qualifiers, but the experience will be very valuable next year, when all those seniors will have moved on. For his team-player attitude throughout the year, Kolby Kidd is the Heaton’s Hero for Fernandina Beach.

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Welcome back to our annual series of season wrap-up posts, which we cleverly titled as “The Season (2018-19),” because we’re creative like that. Your donation dollars at work, folks.

Teams are being selected on a random basis. Our first installment for Round 2 (11th overall), and second from 2A-District 2, is Columbia.

Each The Season post will have the same content as they’ve had for the past five seasons.

COLUMBIA

You can see everything I have on the Tigers in 2018-19 here –>  COLUMBIA

Win/loss record: 21-2 in dual meets. Please review the attached document for a summary of the Tigers’ performance in IBT events.

Season in a nutshell: Had we done team rankings this year, the Tigers would certainly have been a fixture in the top 10 in north Florida throughout the season. Columbia started the year in Georgia, winning Cook County’s Hornet Duals with a 9-0 record, then followed that solid dual start with sixths at both Capital City in Tallahassee and Allstate Wildcat in Valdosta. The Tigers finished 2018 unbeaten in duals, going 5-0 to win their own one-day duals tournament just before New Year’s. Columbia was second only to Fleming Island at the Golden Eagles’ Keystone Invitational, and took second only to Lincoln — which handed the Tigers both of their only dual losses of the season — at district duals. Columbia got to the 2A-Region 1 semis before the second loss to the Trojans, coming back to finish third at Gator Brawl and 11th at Clay’s Green Cove Springs Rotary. In the February post-season, the Tigers were second at District 2, eighth at regions and was T-42nd, behind four state qualifiers, at Kissimmee. Don’t expect much of a, if any, dropoff in 2019-20 from the Tigers, who have 17 post-season or key contributors (most of whom were regular starters prior to season-ending injury) returning next year, including two state qualifiers, with only three post-season starters/key contributors graduating.

Key returners (15+ matches this past season or post-season experience) for 2019-20 (with year in school as they’ll be next year): Brett Millard (junior, 31-28 at 106, district 3rd, 2-2 at regions); Braxton Abbott (sophomore, 14-8 at 106/113, did not participate in post-season traditionals); Thomas Greene (sophomore, 36-20 at 120, district 3rd, 0-2 at regions); Ian McGuigan (senior, 56-11 at 126, district champ, region 3rd, 1 match from state medal); Alex McGuigan (senior, 51-13 at 132, district champ, region 3rd, 0-2 at states); Daveyon Brown (senior, 28-8 at 138, did not participate in post-season traditionals); Kaleb Davis (junior, 12-13 at 145, did not particpate in post-season traditionals); Trevon Patterson (junior, 14-7 at 145/152, did not participate in post-season traditionals); Obie Smith (junior, 28-19 at 152, district runnerup, 2-2 at regions); Preston O’Quinn (senior, 33-19 at 160, district 4th, 0-2 at regions); Joseph Rice (sophomore, 20-15 at 170, 1 match from regions); David Thompson (senior, 17-9 at 170, did not participate in post-season traditionals); Shawn Raggins (sophomore, 15-16 at 182, district 3rd, 1-2 at regions); Noah Stubblefield (senior, 7-12 at 182, did not participate in post-season traditionals); Julius Moreland (sophomore, 23-23 at 195, district runnerup, 1-2 at regions); Zhaquez Griffin (senior, 9-6 at 220, district 3rd, 2-2 at regions); Jaycob Jones (sophomore, 16-13 at 285, did not participate in post-season traditionals).

Graduation losses (15+ matches this past season or prior/current post-season experience) from this year’s team: Matthew Arango (36-19 at 138, district champ, region 4th, 0-2 at states); Matt Ross (41-14 at 145, district champ, region 3rd, 1-2 at states); Chad Sapp (21-5 at 195/220, did not participate in post-season traditionals).

2018-19 MVP: I can’t say for sure if senior Matt Ross will be 100% happy with his final season in the Tiger lineup, but Ross’ end results wound up being pretty good from our standpoint, as he both qualified for states and also signed to wrestle at UNC-Pembroke for 2019-20. Ross was 7-1 in Georgia at Hornet Duals, then placed fourth at Capital City, and went 7-0 after a tournament-opening loss at Keystone. Ross won nine matches in a row at one point, with a third-place finish at Gator Brawl, sixth at Clay Rotary, a district title and losses only to one specific wrestler at regions (3rd) and a 1-2 finish at states. Columbia was at its best when Ross was in the lineup, and he will be missed.

2019-20 captains: Judging solely by the pictures alone post-tournaments, I am guessing juniors Ian and Alex McGuigan hate to lose. I wish my son hated losing as much as they seem to hate to lose, but that’s a story for another time. We normally only pick one captain per team per year, but you’ll indulge me if I pick the identical-twin McGuigans, one of whom I know has spoken to me a few occasions but I can’t tell them apart (Editor’s Note: The one with more hair, which is a closer call than you’d guess given that both go very close-cropped, this past season). They combined for 107 individual wins by my count this past season, two district titles, two region thirds, and one near-miss at a state medal (Ian, at 126). The McGuigans will be the headliners of a nice senior class in 2019-20.

Heaton’s Hero: The team that had depth for days at the start of the season needed a bit of a pick-me-up from its middles to fill a hole in the post-season lineup at 170. Not sure how that process all went down, but when it was said and done, freshman Joseph Rice was the guy who bumped up two weight classes (three from his lowest weight of the year) to fill the spot. He took two losses by fall against pretty experienced 170s at districts, but he gave the Tigers a chance at the weight class in a district where most of the 170s were far more talented and experienced, so it couldn’t have been an easy challenge to accept. But he did, and that’s what makes Joseph Rice the Heaton’s Hero for Columbia.

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