Month: December 2019

North Florida Matmen staff report

HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL — For Northwestern redshirt freshman Michael DeAugustino (Flagler Palm Coast ’18), the measuring-stick match against Iowa two-time national champion Spencer Lee has to wait a little while longer.

But DeAugustino — the fifth seed in the 125-lb weight class at the 57th annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, staged at the Sears Centre Arena in the northwestern Chicago suburb — did get to the finals of one of, if not the, nation’s premier regular-season collegiate tournaments on Sunday afternoon.

DeAugustino opened the tournament with a 6-1 round-of-32 win over Old Dominion’s Anthony Molton, in which he had takedowns in both the first and second periods. In the round of 16 against 12-seed Bryce West of Northern Illinois, DeAugustino had takedowns in each period en route to an 8-2 win. That set the stage for a quarterfinal against 4-seed Drew Hildebrandt of Central Michigan. The match went into sudden victory, with DeAugustino finding a takedown and earning a quick turn for a 5-1 sudden-victory win.

Sunday began with an incipient Lee-DeAugustino semifinal matchup, but Lee medical forfeited out of the tournament, sending DeAugustino into the final against 2-seed Patrick Glory of Princeton. The two wrestlers had faced off at Disney Duals in the summer of 2017, where Glory — wrestling for MAWA Knight Point — decisioned DeAugustino, then wrestling for CFWA/South Florida Lightning, by a 3-0 count.

The Midlands final followed — largely — the same script, as Glory escaped out to break a scoreless tie seven seconds into the second period, then got a takedown with eight seconds left. In the third period, Glory was able to ride DeAugustino out, earning a riding-time point for a 4-0 win.

Wisconsin was fourth as a team at Midlands, with one title and a pair of thirds. Seth Gross (133) avenged his earlier loss to Iowa’s Austin DeSanto, with a 6-5 win in the final. Evan Wick (165) and Trent Hillger (285) both took thirds, with Tristan Moran (141) placing sixth and Johnny Sebastian (184) eighth. Head coach Chris Bono (Bolles alum) was inducted into the Midlands tournament’s Hall of Fame, as a 4x wrestling champ and head coach of a team champion. “It’s such an unbelievable honor,” Bono said in remarks given for the Badgers’ team website. “I am so glad to be able to share it with all of the greats that were inducted in before me. I really appreciate it.”

Citrus Invitational: At the Broward County Convention Center in Ft Lauderdale on Sunday and Monday, Xaiver Sampsel (Fleming Island ’16) was Keiser’s top scorer at 133, while Zach Ford (Flagler Palm Coast ’13) got a chance to wrestle in-state one last time.

Sampsel was seventh in the 133 bracket. On the front side, he decisioned Washington & Lee’s Mark Fascriocco, 3-1, in the round of 16, but then fell to St Johns (MN)’s Noah Becker (eventual 3rd), 4-0, in the quarters. Sampsel pinned Rhode Island College’s Franky Roman in 54 seconds to secure a placing finish, but then fell to Augsburg’s Gage Zieske (eventual 6th), 8-2, in the consi quarters. Sampsel closed out the tournament on a winning note, with a 4-3 win over University of the Ozarks’ Corey Muniz in the seventh-place match.

Ford placed eighth in the 165 bracket. Ford fell to Cornell (IA)’s Nic Jarvis, 9-4, in the round of 32, and had to win three matches on the back side to earn a place finish. He did that, with wins over Ferrum’s Isaac Hudson (16-10) in consi round 2, teammate Ayomide Onajide (5-1) in round 3 and Ferrum’s Galilee Kissell (6-3) in consi round 4 before medical-forfeiting in the consi quarters to Jarvis and seventh-place match against Augsburg’s Josh Verbeten.

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North Florida Matmen staff report

KISSIMMEE, FLA — Curtis Ruff has already been a state champion. Chad Nix is still chasing one down.

Ruff’s state-title experience of a year ago was undoubtedly helpful in him winning a Knockout Christmas Classic championship on Saturday, while Nix could not avenge a Super 32 loss in his chance at a Knockout title, but the losses should fuel his Feburary/March tournament run just as Ruff’s earlier losses in his career fueled his.

The two area bigs had the top performances of the weekend at Knockout, which saw Fleming Island — as expected — improve significantly over last year’s Knockout tournament finish. The Golden Eagles were 11th as a team with 97 points, with nothing but state champion contenders above them, and two placers in Nix (runnerup at 220) and Raul Gonzalez (3rd at 285).

Buchholz, with one placer in Armando Acosta (6th at 182) was 25th with 51 points, while Florida High (two 5ths from Brooks Dyer at 120 and Tyler Reeve at 126) and Seminole (with Ruff as champ at 285) tied for 29th with 42. Clay was 39th with 13 points and New Smyrna Beach 40th with two.

2A state favorite Lake Gibson held off Georgia 6A powerhouse Woodland, Cartersville for the team title, 218.5-204.5. Tampa Jesuit was third with 203, followed by 3A defending state champ South Dade (153) and 1A state finals contender Somerset Academy (150). Southwest Miami (143.5) was sixth, with Woodward Academy GA (138), Charlotte (137), Thompson AL (104) and Collins Hill GA (101) rounding out the top 10.

A summary of the tournament follows, with local wrestlers recapped as appropriate:

106 — Championship: Tampa Jesuit’s Kai Owen (1st-2A) pinned or teched his way through the bracket over four state-ranked wrestlers, then decisioned Lake Gibson’s Hayden Whidden (2nd-2A, 2 pins & 2 decisions over state-ranked wrestlers prior to final), 5-1.
Place matches: South Dade’s Adrian Morales (1st-3A) won twice on the back, with a 3-1 win over Osceola’s Cooper Haase (4th-3A) for third. Freedom’s Lens Mathurin (3rd-3A; had earlier majored De Dona, 16-8, in quarters) decisioned Manatee’s Angelo De Dona (5th-3A), 4-2, for fifth.
One match short of placing: Springstead’s Dominic Nardini (4th-2A; lost 3-0 to Haase) and Charlotte’s Patrick Nolan (5th-2A: lost 5-4 to De Dona).
Locals: Florida High’s Reed Curry was 0-2 in the tournament, losing by fall on the front to Haase (1:31, round of 32) and on the back to Collins Hill’s Michael Medrala (:19, consi round 3).

113 — Championship: In a matchup of unbeatens, Southwest Miami’s Danny Martinez (2nd-3A) falled Collins Hill’s Powell Gilbert in 3:04 for the title. Earlier, Martinez had had two pins and two majors (one of those over a state-ranked wrestler).
Place matches: Charlotte’s Andrew Austin (2nd-2A) won four times on the back to come back to third, shutting out Lake Gibson’s Jesse Gehr (3rd-2A), 9-0, in the place match. Thompson’s Yanni Vines decisioned Hagerty’s Jason Shaw (3rd-3A), 5-1, for fifth.
One match short of placing: Woodland, Cartersville’s Carson Bailey (lost by fall to Gehr in 2:49) and Springstead’s Jonathan Dominguez (5th-2A, lost by fall in 2:01 to Austin).
Locals: Clay’s Maverick Rainwater was 0-2 in the tournament, losing by fall on the front to Collins Hill’s Derek Paull (4:28) and on the back to AH-Delray Beach’s Jonathan Hudson, 6-2, in consi round 3.

120 — Championship: In a match of top-ranked Florida kids, Tampa Prep’s Ethan Mojena (1st-1A) had three pins and a tech prior to his finals matchup against Tampa Jesuit’s Braden Basile (1st-2A, 2 pins & tech prior to final), taking an 8-4 decision in the title match.
Place matches: South Dade’s Alex Couto (1st-3A) took two wins on the back, decisioning Colquitt Cty GA’s Ethan Sellers, 6-3, for third. Florida High’s Brooks Dyer (4th-1A at 126) had a 6-2 tournament in taking fifth, majoring Palm Beach Gardens’ Elijah Ortiz (20th-3A), 13-4, in the place match, avenging an earlier loss.
One match short of placing: The hosts’ George Duncan (7th-3A; lost 14-1 to Dyer) and Holt MO’s Ferrell (lost 4-3 to Cruz).
Locals: Dyer started his tournament with a 6-1 win over Lake Gibson’s Alex Walker (6th-2A) in the round of 32, but then lost by fall to Ortiz in the round of 16 (2:40). Dyer then won four times to make podium, with pins over Lassiter GA’s Dima Krizek (1:57) and Clay’s Luke Davis (15th-1A at 126, 2:57) and an 11-6 decision over Hernando’s Jonathan Britton (13th-1A) before majoring Duncan. Dyer then lost by fall to Sellers (2:35) in the consi semis. Davis was 2-2 in the tournament. He opened by pinning Jensen Beach’s Duke Byfield (:36, round of 32), but then lost by fall to Sellers (4:28, round of 16). On the back, Davis majored Freedom’s Hunter Rees (19th-3A), 10-0, before losing to Dyer. Fleming’s Ryan Hobson was 0-2 in the tournament, with losses on the front to Southwest Miami’s Adrian Choa (13-9, round of 32) and Ft Myers’ John Vadyak (12th in 2A; 1-0, consi round 4).

126 — Championship: Tampa Jesuit’s Tom Crook (1st-2A) pinned or teched his way into the semis, with an 11-10 decision in that round and then a second decision, a 10-4 win over Lake Gibson’s Connor Williams (2nd-2A, 2 pins & major prior to final).
Place matches: Woodland, Cartersville’s William Bishop, who’d pushed Crook to the brink before falling 11-10, won twice on the back, with a first-period win by injury default over Southwest Miami’s Sebastian Melguizo (1st-3A). Florida High’s Tyler Reeve (2nd-1A) compiled a 4-2 tournament en route to placing fifth, knocking off Tampa Prep’s Alan Morano (5th-1A), 2-1, in the place match.
One match short of placing: Collins Hill’s Joey Felix (lost 13-4 to Morano) and Thompson’s James Latona (lost 4-3 to Reeve).
Locals: After two byes into the round of 16, Reeve majored Somerset’s Chase Gillis (9th-1A), 17-6, before losing by tech fall to Crook in the quarters (17-1 in 4:27). Reeve won three of four matches on the back, starting with a pin of Charlotte’s Isaac Church (3:39; 5th-2A). After his win over Latona, Reeve would take a 10-6 loss in the consi semis to Melguizo. Buchholz’s Aiden Moore (13th-3A) was 2-2 in the tournament. Moore pinned Jensen Beach’s Dylan Fox (3:42) in the round of 32, then lost by tech to Crook (17-2 in 4:30) in the round of 16. In the consis, Moore edged Freedom’s Julian Rocher, 1-0, but then lost to Gillis, 9-3, in consi round 5. Fleming’s Riley Holton (6th-3A) was 1-2 in the tournament. Holton fell to Hagerty’s Kamdon Harrison (2nd-3A), 6-3, in the round of 32, but bounced back with an 8-2 win over Holt’s Tyler Bierman. He then lost to Lake Gibson’s Blake Walker (9th-2A), 2-0, in consi round 5.

132 — Championship: Unbeaten Woodward Academy senior Nick Masters racked up three pins and two decisions en route to the title; in the finals, Masters pinned the hosts’ Jaekus Hines (1st-3A; 2 pins & 2 decisions prior to final) in 1:58, giving Hines his first loss of the season.
Place matches: Jesuit’s Jack Crook (2nd-2A) won twice on the back, with a 12-4 major in the third-place match over Woodland, Cartersville’s Caleb Jones. Lake Gibson’s Alejandro Rosario (3rd-2A) pinned Golden Gate’s Christian Moder (6th-2A) in 4:02 for fifth.
One match short of placing: Valdosta GA’s Jordan Hampton (lost 5-2 to Rosario) and Collins Hill’s Clint Griffin (lost 12-2 to Jones).
Locals: New Smyrna Beach’s Michael Shannon (10th-2A) and Fleming Island’s Isaac Padgett (16th-3A) were both 1-2 in the tournament. Shannon lost to Rosario in the round of 32 (12-2) on the front; in the consis, Shannon downed Padgett, 5-1, in consi round 3, but then lost to Tampa Prep’s Collin Mojena (4th-1A), 7-3, in the fourth consi round. Padgett fell to former Georgia state champ David Panone of Lassiter, 9-1, in the round of 32; in consi round 2, Padgett falled Valdosta’s John Walsh in 2:27, then met Shannon.
Buchholz’s Kason Nichols was 0-2 in the tournament, losing by tech to Jones (17-2 in 4 minutes) in the round of 32 on the front and to Southwest Miami’s Daniel Cabrera, 3-0, in consi round 3.

138 — Championship: American Heritage-Delray’s Frankie Tal Shahar (1st in 1A) added a Knockout title to his December list (he won Ironman two weekends ago), with a pin, tech and three decisions, taking down Lake Gibson’s Brendon Abdon (1st-2A; 3 pins & decision prior to final), 9-2.
Place matches: Woodland, Cartersville’s Caden McCrary won twice on the back after losing to Abdon in the semis, with a 9-3 third-place win over Countryside’s Stevie Chopek (2nd-2A). Woodward Academy GA’s Michael Kilic decisioned Holt’s Carter Smith, 8-3, for fifth.
One match short of placing: Collins Hill’s Clint Gilbert (lost 10-3 to Smith) and South Dade’s Cordell White (8th-3A, lost by fall in :42 to Kilic).
Locals: Buchholz’s Cole Nixon and Clay’s Luke Boree were both 0-2 in the tournament. Nixon lost by fall on the front to Southwest Miami’s Sebastian Montero (1:51; Montero 12th-3A) in the round of 32 and on the back to Freedom’s Brennon Reid (1:27; Reid 18th-3A at 132) in consi round 3. Boree lost to Manatee’s William Scholl (6-3) in the round of 32 on the front and to Woodward’s Ayden Lightner, 2-1, in consi round 3.

145 — Championship: Woodland, Cartersville’s Caleb Henson pinned his way into the semis, where he took down a pair of top-ranked Florida state champs, first Jesuit’s Ethan Basile (1st-2A), 8-7, in the semis, and then South Dade’s Bretli Reyna (1st-3A, 2 techs & 2 decisions prior to final), 5-4, in the championship match.
Place matches: Jesuit’s Basile won twice on the back, taking a 7-2 decision for third place over Woodward’s Vincent Mannella. Lake Gibson’s Evan Butler (2nd-2A) found a takedown in sudden victory, 12-10, in the fifth place match over Holt’s Brett Smith.
One match short of placing: Fleming Island’s Gannon Janssen (2nd-3A, lost 10-3 to Butler) and Colquitt’s Deontae Edwards (lost 9-1 to Smith).
Locals: Janssen was 3-2 in the tournament. After a bye, Janssen pinned Hagerty’s Tyler Swingle (1:43, round of 32) and Edwards (1:45, round of 16) before losing by fall to Henson (1:17) in the quarters. On the back, Janssen falled Countryside’s Brian Burburija (1:39) in consi round 6 before facing Butler in the consi quarters. Buchholz’s Timothy Bowen was 1-2 in the tournament. Bowen pinned Mater Lakes Academy’s Dalexis Galguera (1:25) in the round of 32, then fell to Basile (1:50) in the round of 16. In the consis, Bowen fell to Southwest Miami’s Gabriel Perez (4th-3A; 2:41) in consi round 4.

152 — Championship: Golden Gate’s Andy Martinez (1st-2A at 160) bookended three decisions with a pair of falls, with his second pin in the final over Somerset’s Darian Estevez (4th-1A, 4 decisions prior to final) in 3:51 for the championship.
Place matches: Charlotte’s Lucas Willis (1st-2A) won twice on the back, with two pins in 2:36, falling Thompson’s Will Miller in 1:44 for third. Winter Springs’ JJ Contreras (2nd-2A) was fifth, decisioning Holt’s Nathan Undertajlo, 6-4.
One match short of placing: Hagerty’s Dylan Kohn (5th-3A, lost 2-0 in double-overtime to Undertajlo) and Fleming Island’s Tanner Hill (4th-3A, lost 8-5 to Contreras).
Locals: Hill was 3-2 in the tournament. After a bye, Hill falled Powhatan VA’s Matthew Bales (:59, round of 32) and decisioned Undertajlo, 5-2, in the round of 16 before going six minutes with Willis in a 9-2 quarterfinal loss. In the consis, Hill decisioned Mater Lakes’ Eric Temes (2nd-1A), 4-3, in round 6 before meeting Contreras.
Clay’s Cale Hoskinson (5th-1A) was 2-2 in the tournament. After a bye, Hoskinson edged Colquitt’s Nathanial Taylor, 8-7, in the round of 32, but then fell to Miller, 3-2, in the round of 16. In the consis, Hoskinson decisioned Southwest Miami’s Brandon Moreno, 3-2, in consi round 4, but then lost to Temes, 5-2, in the fifth round.

160 — Championship: Woodward’s Matthew Singleton had two pins, a decision and two majors en route to the title, with a 10-1 major in the final over Collins Hill’s Lucas DeSilva (3 pins & major prior to final).
Place matches: Woodland, Cartersville’s Cole Cochran made it 1-2-3 Georgia on the podium with two bonus-point wins, including a fall in 4:15 for third over South Dade’s Steven Villalobos (1st-3A). Southwest Miami’s George Llanes (5th-3A) won by forfeit over Carrollwood Day’s Jonathan Conrad (1st-1A) for fifth place.
One match short of placing: Fleming Island’s Luke Chop (3rd-3A, lost by DQ to Conrad) and Thompson’s Ashunti Perry (lost 2-0 to Llanes).
Locals: Chop was 3-2 in the tournament. After a bye, Chop pinned Golden Gate’s Lais Cardero (3:31, round of 32) and decisioned Palm Beach Gardens’ Will George (6th-3A), 3-2 in the ultimate tiebreaker, in the round of 16. Chop was the only wrestler to go six minutes without giving up bonus points to Singleton, falling 6-0 in the quarters. In the consis, Chop downed Hagerty’s Ryan Cody (4th-3A), 3-0, before facing Conrad in the consi quarters. Florida High’s Micah Perdue was 0-2 in the tournament. Perdue fell to Charlotte’s Matthew Andou (9th-2A), 18-5, in the round of 32, and to Winter Springs’ Davis Deal, 14-8, in consi round 4.

170 — Championship: Manatee’s Ty Lukens (2nd-3A) bonus-pointed his way into the semis, then decisioned a pair of state champs for the title, first Southwest Miami’s Adrian Vidaud (1st-3A), 3-0, in the semis and then Woodland, Cartersville’s Jaxon Smith (10-8 in sudden victory) for the championship.
Place matches: Newsome’s Kohl Drake (6th-3A at 182) won four times on the back, with the fourth a 5-2 win over Charlotte’s Cody Rice (4th-2A) for third. Vidaud, who lost to Drake in sudden victory in the consi semis, downed American Heritage-Delray’s Shane Cannon (1st-1A), 8-4, for fifth.
One match short of placing: Ft Myers’ Riley Hackworth (5th-2A, lost 9-6 to Rice) and Lake Gibson’s Raul Soto (6th-2A, lost 14-3 to Drake).
Locals: Fleming’s Gavin Smith (7th-3A) and Buchholz’s Matt Vann (17th-3A) were both 2-2 in the tournament. After a bye, Smith falled North Port’s Evan Burch (18th-3A) in 2:53 in the round of 32 and Woodward’s Malachi Wiley (5:07) in the round of 16, falling to Vidaud, 3-2, in the quarters, and to Rice, 9-3, in consi round 6.
Vann majored Lassiter’s Anthony Fiorenza, 12-0, in the round of 32, before losing by fall to Jaxon Smith (2:33) in the round of 16. In the consis, Vann pinned Holt’s Isaiah Slaughter (:33) before losing by fall to Rice (2:19) in consi round 5.

182 — Championship: Lake Gibson’s Ashton Habeil (1st-2A) had four pins and a 12-6 decision in taking the title, falling the hosts’ Nolin Eaddy (2nd-3A, 3 pins & decision prior to final) in 3:06 for the championship.
Place matches: Hagerty’s Ethan Lopez (5th-3A), who went 12-6 with Habeil in the semis, won twice on the back for third, pinning Countryside’s Desmon Marshall (10th-2A, ranked as St Petersburg) in 1:52 for third. Somerset’s Sean Concepcion (3rd-1A) won by forfeit over Buchholz’s Armando Acosta (4th-3A) for fifth.
One match short of placing: South Dade’s Jalen Durham (lost by fall in 4:47 to Concepcion) and Southwest Miami’s Jeremiah Mauras (10th-3A, lost by fall to Marshall in 1:43).
Locals: After two byes into the round of 16, Acosta reached the semis with a fall over Charlotte’s Cael Newton (2:31) and 5-1 decision over Concepcion in the quarters, losing by a 4-2 sudden-victory decision to Eaddy in the semis. From there, Acosta did not engage in further competition, leading to the sixth-place finish. Florida High’s Diego Duprey was 0-2 in the tournament, losing by fall to Marshall (1:09) in the round of 32 on the front and to the hosts’ LaQuavio Pinellas (4-2) in consi round 3.

195 — Championship: Palm Beach Gardens’ Bryan Canedo (1st-3A) had a fall and three decisions in taking the championship, decisioning Ft Myers’ Gregory Dennard (7th-2A, 2 pins & decision prior to final), 7-2, in the final.
Place matches: Woodland, Cartersville’s Demarcus Williams had two wins on the back, pinning Jesuit’s Andre Mortensen (5th-2A) in 3:40 for third. Thompson’s Michael Jackson was fifth, decisioning Somerset’s Daniel Miranda (1st-1A), 6-4, in the place match.
One match short of placing: Hagerty’s Bertilus Bornelus (13th-3A), lost by fall in :36 to Miranda) and Florida High’s Marcus Haigler (lost by fall to Jackson in 4:24).
Locals: Haigler was 3-2 in the tournament. After two byes to the round of 16, Haigler lost by fall (4:57) to Williams; on the back, Haigler decisioned Collins Hill’s Jackson (3-0), won by forfeit over Manatee’s Bryson Johnson (11th-3A) and by injury default over Freedom’s Colton Curtis (1st-3A) in consi round 6 before facing Jackson. Buchholz’s Jason Martin was 2-2 in the tournament. Martin pinned Golden Gate’s Cole Smith (1:00, round of 32) before losing by fall to Miranda (1:05) in the round of 16. In the consis, Martin decisioned Collins Hill’s David Reyes, 10-5, but then lost by fall (:44) to Jackson in consi round 6.

220 — Championship: West Laurens’ Chase Horne max-pointed his way into the final, setting up a Super 32 rematch against Nix (1st-3A), who had two pins and two decisions. The Knockout match had the same outcome as earlier, with a 7-1 win for Horne.
Place matches: Somerset’s Nicholas Benton (2nd-1A) won twice on the back with bonus-point wins, falling Winter Springs’ Marvin Collins (11th-2A) in 2:37 for third place. Lake Gibson’s Caden Cunningham (1st-2A at 195) was fifth, winning by medical forfeit over Woodland, Cartersville’s Brice Shedd.
One match short of placing: Osceola’s Dylan Ruiz (2nd-3A, lost 10-5 in double-overtime to Collins) and Ft Myers’ Ethan Carr (3rd-2A, lost 7-3 to Cunningham).
Locals: Nix got to the final with pins over Buchholz’s Drew Lewis (:37, round of 32) and North Port’s Mike Walz (:27, round of 16), then decisioned Collins, 10-3, in the quarters and Benton, 10-5, in the semifinal round. Seminole’s Jordan Smith was 3-2 in the tournament. Smith decisioned Powhatan’s Micah Holt, 13-10, in the round of 32, but then lost by fall to Cunningham (4:24) in the round of 16. In the consis, Smith pinned Southwest Miami’s Jonathan Fraga (1:57) and decisioned Collins Hill’s Collin Wagner, 6-3, but then lost to Collins, 5-2, in consi round 6. Lewis and Clay’s Garrett Tyre were both 0-2 in the tournament. Lewis fell to Thompson’s Alex Ward (3:46) in consi round 3, while Tyre lost to Ruiz, 6-0, in the round of 32 and to Wagner (3:21) in consi round 4.

285 — Championship: Ruff (1st-3A) pinned his way into the final, with four falls in all; in the finals, he decisioned fellow #1 Mason Arnold of Tampa Jesuit (1st-2A), 5-1, for the championship.
Place matches: Fleming’s Raul Gonzalez (8th-3A) won twice on the back side for third, pinning Mater Lakes’ Ethan Vergara (13th-1A) in 4:33 in the place match. Somerset’s Matthew Jimenez decisioned Lassiter’s Francisco Valle, 7-1, for fifth.
One match short of placing: Southwest Miami’s Adrien Sans (lost by fall in 4:12 to Jimenez) and Springstead’s Kyle Curl (lost by fall in 2:20 to Valle).
Locals: Ruff pinned Palm Beach Gardens’ Timothy Van (:38, round of 32), Golden Gate’s Javier Ramirez (2:31, round of 16), Valle (1:29, quarters) and Vergara (3:59, semis) to reach the final. Gonzalez had falls over Sans (1:59, round of 32) and Curl (3:17, round of 16) and had a 5-1, double-overtime win over Hernando’s Devin Williams in the quarters before falling to Arnold, 8-1, in the semi. Gonzalez then downed Valle, 4-3, in the consi semis before pinning Vergara for third. Buchholz’s Jacob Robinson was 3-2 in the tournament. On the front, Robinson pinned Thompson’s Tucker Hutson (1:40) in the round of 32, then lost by fall to Arnold (1:07) in the round of 16. In the consis, Robinson pinned Osceola’s Cody Carter (4:08) and knocked off Hernando’s Sam Fleming (4th-1A), 5-3, before falling to Valle (2:03) in consi round 6.

Full brackets from the tournament can be found HERE. Official Florida rankings courtesy Brant Parsons of the Orlando Sentinel, as endorsed by Matmen.

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North Florida Matmen staff report

WETUMPKA, AL — For having fewer wrestlers than any other team in the top five at this weekend’s Indians Invitational, Gulf Breeze hung in well as Florida’s lone representative in the 14-team tournament.

The Dolphins were fifth with 141.5 points, with just 11 wrestlers. Ben Russell held off the hosts, 255.5-227, for the title, while Prattville was third with 165 and Stanhope Elmore fourth with 154. All other teams in the field were from Alabama.

Below follows a summary of the tournament, with all Gulf Breeze results recapped:

106: Wetumpka’s Chad Strickland had four first-period falls to win the title in a five-person roundrobin. His Round 4 fall in 1 minute over the Dolphins’ Nate Weber was the “effective” championship match, as Weber was 3-1, with pins over third-place Ethan Sharkey of Gulf Shores and fourth-place Damion Billups of Ben Russell (1:54), plus a 16-0 tech (3:12) over fifth-place Garrison Beatty of Holtville.

113: Ben Russell’s Sandlin Pike had six pins — three in Pool B, three in the bracket — to take first, falling St James’ Tennison Norton in 1:28 for the title. Gulf Breeze’s Elijah Johnson was sixth. Johnson was 0-3 in Pool B, falling to Norton (1:03) in the crossover quarters. Johnson won by forfeit over Elmore’s Kristian Seals in the consi semis before taking a loss by fall (1:19) to Wetumpka’s Parker McKee in the fifth-place match.

120: Wetumpka’s Xander McWilliams had three pins and an 8-4 decision in a five-person roundrobin, with his decision win coming in round 3 over runnerup Kyle Mattox of Ben Russell for the effective title. Gulf Breeze’s Logan Merritt took third with a 2-2 record. Merritt pinned fourth-place Jared Cherry of Elmore (1:01) in round 1 and falled fifth-place Jordan Parlette (:20) of Prattville in round 3, with losses to McWilliams (2:49) in round 4 and Mattox (19-2 in 4:16) in round 5.

126: Ben Russell’s Nyshaad Hannon was 4-0 in Pool A (3 pins & decision), then decisioned Gulf Breeze’s Colson Elliott, 7-3, for the title. Elliott won Pool B with pins over Robert E. Lee’s Wendell Cheney (2:29, round 1), Prattville’s sixth-place Dylan Romo (2:26, round 2) and Wetumpka’s Jay Nowden (4:56 in round 5), plus a 6-4 win over third-place Jonathan Medeiros of Dothan in Round 4.

132: Ben Russell’s Bobby Charsha was 4-0 with three decisions and a injury-default win to take the title. Charsha won by ID in round 5 over Wetumpka’s Kyler Adams in the effective championship match. Gulf Breeze’s Ian Daily was fifth. Daily was 0-1, with a 4-0 loss to Charsha in round 1, and did not compete further in the tournament.

138: Prattville’s Nathan Tate won Pool A with four bonus-point wins (3 pins & major), then pinned Daphne’s Chandler Holder, the Pool B champ, in 3:38 for the title. Gulf Breeze’s Dylan Lawrence was third. Lawrence was the only wrestler in the weight class to go six with Tate, falling 11-2 in round 3. He had pool wins over Ben Russell’s Devion Freeman (8-5, round 1), Robert E. Lee’s Aldreious Hill (15-0 in 3:57, round 2), and pinned sixth-place Jake Taunton of Elmore (2:51 in round 5) before falling Wetumpka’s Dawson Tadlock in 1:45 for third place.

145: Daphne’s Ethan Lassere won Pool D, then had three wins in the crossover bracket, with a pin and two decisions, the second of those a 4-2 win over St James’ Gabe Robbins, the Pool C champ, for the title. Gulf Breeze’s Wyatt Sise was second in Pool B, with a tech fall win over Dothan’s Coleman (17-0 in 5:10) and loss by fall to Wetumpka’s fourth-place Tyler Anthony (3:43). Sise then lost by fall in the crossover quarters to third-place Brady George of Gulf Shores (1:41) and did not compete further, resulting in an eighth-place finish.

152: Ben Russell’s Saxon Coker won Pool A with four pins, then shut out Prattville’s Jonathan Dury, the Pool B champ, 7-0, in the title match. Gulf Breeze’s Garret Rudick was third in Pool A with a 2-2 mark, with pins over Elmore’s Kyan Lewis (:55 in round 4) and Holtville’s Carson Heathcote (:54 in round 5) after earlier losses to Coker (2:31 in round 2) and fourth-place Andrew Crumpton of Daphne (2:58 in round 3). In the fifth-place match, Rudick fell to Wetumpka’s Trent Blankenship in 2:25.

160: Montgomery Catholic’s Jack Burt bonus-pointed through the day, with two pins to win Pool A, then two more in crossover before majoring Elmore’s Jeremiah Cherry-Daniel, the Pool B champ, 17-4. Gulf Breeze’s Mason Bourgeois was fifth overall and second in Pool B. After pinning Prattville’s Cedric Thomas in 1:10 in round 1, Bourgeois lost to Cherry-Daniel by fall in round 2 (:33). After a second loss to Burt in the quarters (1:35), Bourgeois came back for fifth, with a forfeit over Prattville’s Grant Johnson in the consi semis and fall over Dothan’s Donald Glenn in 1:43 for fifth.

170: After winning Pool B (tech & pin), Ben Russell’s Hezekiah Hunter needed just 2:38 to pin through the crossover bracket, falling Pool A champ John Paul Uter of Gulf Shores in 1:36 for the title. No Gulf Breeze wrestlers at this weight.

182: Wetumpka’s Mason Blackwell pinned his way through the weight class, with four falls to win Pool A and a fifth fall in 1:40 over Pool B champ Matt Prater of St James for the title. Gulf Breeze’s Micah Barker was sixth, going 2-2 to finish third in Pool B. He pinned Elmore’s Dylan Davis (1:02 in round 1) and won by forfeit over Prattville’s Micah Parrish in round 5, with losses to third-place Kentarious Fulks of Sidney Lanier (:56, round 3) and Prater (:17, round 4). In the fifth-place match, Barker medical-forfeited to Gulf Shores’ Bobby Williams.

195: Opelika’s Benjamin Daughtry max-pointed through a six-person roundrobin, with four pins and a win by DQ for the title. His fall in round 5 (2:45) over Wetumpka’s Nathan Waters was the effective championship match. No Gulf Breeze wrestlers at this weight.

220: Gulf Shores’ Charlie Hollis was 6-0 with five pins in a seven-person roundrobin, with a round-3 fall in 4:24 over Robert E. Lee’s Rondarius Webb the effective championship match. Gulf Breeze’s Bryson Wick was fourth, with a 3-3 record. After losing by fall in round 2 to Hollis (1:39), Wick pinned St James’ Hamilton Cunningham (:48, round 3), then won by medical forfeit over Prattville’s Chad Nichols in round 4. After a loss to Webb (1:34) in round 5, Wick pinned Montgomery Catholic’s Maverick Friday (3:22) in round 6, then fell in an effective third-place match to Wetumpka’s Ezra Phillips (1:21) in round 7.

285: Opelika’s Michael Bawson ws 6-0 with four pins and two decisions in a seven-person roundrobin, with the championship match coming down to a 5-0 decision in round 5 over Robert E. Lee’s Reggie Fowler. No Gulf Breeze wrestlers at this weight.

Full brackets from the tournament can be found HERE.

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SHREVEPORT, LA — The pessimistic look at the Lone Survivor shows Wewahitchka deep in the team table.

The optimistic look is that the Gators finished ahead of all other similarly-sized (four wrestlers or less) in the 22-team tournament, as Wewa had two placers and finished 16th with 44 points.

In-state powerhouse Parkway held off Harrah OKL for the team title, 319-283.5. Teurlings Catholic (271), East Ascension (245.5) and Grissom ALA (208) rounded out the top five teams.

Below follows a summary of the tournament, with Wewahitchka results noted where applicable:

106: Airline LA’s Ernie Perry bonus-pointed his way through the bracket, with three pins and a major, falling Grissom’s Teurlings’ Catholic’s Ethan Boudreaux in 1:41 for the title. Wewa’s Justin Johnson was 0-3 in Pool A competition, with two losses by fall (including a 47-second loss to Perry) and a 7-2 decision loss. He was 0-2 in the bracketed competition on Saturday.

113: Harrah’s Cade Carter ran through the tournament unbeaten, with two pins in the bracket prior to majoring Teurlings’ Ashton Sonnier, 13-0, in the title match. No Wewa wrestlers at this weight.

120: Parkway’s Joshua Keeler had three pins in 3:03 for the title, falling Grissom’s Jacob Handy in 1:30 for the title.
Wewa’s Conner Roberts was fifth in the bracket. Roberts was 3-1 in Pool A competition with pins over East Ascension’s Terry Gulley (1:31), Airline’s Waylon Carter (:35) and Harrah’s Kaden Harris (3:35), losing only to Keeler by fall. Roberts only lost once in the bracket as well. In the bracket, after falling in the quarters to Rayne’s third-place Daylon Dugas by fall, Roberts won three straight on the back for fifth, decisioning Harris (6-3) and pins over Bossier’s Cameron Carradine (2:13) and Teurlings Catholic’s Samuel Dartez (4:06).

126: Teurlings’ Matthew Carrier pinned his way into the final, where he took down Harrah’s Wheeler Williams, 11-4, in the final. Wewa’s Kaylee Easter was 1-3 in Pool B competition, with a first-round pin over Caddo Magnet’s Alexander Krepak (2:47), with the losses by fall (including a 33-second loss by fall to Williams). Easter was 0-2 in the bracketed competition on Saturday, with a round-of-16 loss to third-place Chadlee Humphries of Harrah.

132: Harrah’s Kyler Damron ran the table for the title, with four pins in the bracket, the last over Grissom’s Andrew Wiggs in 2:25 for first. Wewa’s Jaden Moseley was sixth in the bracket. Moseley won Pool D with pins over Rayne’s Reese Carrier (1:42) and Bossier’s Moses Thomas (2:46), plus a 7-6 win over Parkway’s eventual fourth-place Brandon Turner. In the bracket, after falling in the quarters by fall to Teurlings’ third-place Logan Smith, Moseley won twice by fall over Teurlings’ Matthew Blakely (3:28) and North Desoto’s Jacob Cristler (2:27), but then lost by fall to East Ascension’s Anthony Krass (4:26) in the fifth-place match.

138: C.E. Byrd’s Demetri Teddlie had two pins to reach the final, where he took down East Ascension’s Jamarius Koshko, 13-7, for first place. No Wewa wrestlers at this weight.

145: East Ascension’s Josiah Wakefield max-pointed through the bracket, with three pins and an injury-default win, falling Rayne’s Ryder Hawley in 1:11 for the championship. No Wewa wrestlers at this weight.

152: East Ascension’s Brad Mahoney bonus-pointed through the bracket rounds, with two first-period pins and a 13-4 major. Mahoney falled Harrah’s Patrick Montgomery in 1:13 for the bracket win. No Wewa wrestlers at this weight.

160: In the closest final of the day, Parkway’s Jacob Chittom had three first-period pins to get to the final, where he found a takedown in sudden victory to overcome East Ascension’s Santos Ramos, 9-7. No Wewa wrestlers at this weight.

170: East Ascension’s Trent Mahoney pinned his way into the final, where he teched Grissom’s Warren Hoyt, 16-0 in 6 minutes, for the weight-class win. No Wewa wrestlers at this weight.

182: Harrah’s Hunter Mauldin had two pins in 90 seconds to reach the final, then went the full six to decision Teurlings’ David Bernard, 11-5, giving Bernard his first loss of the year. No Wewa wrestlers at this weight.

195: C.E. Byrd’s Bailee Creasey had a tech and survived a 2-0 semifinal win, then went on to pin Haughton LA’s Justin Nixon in 3:05 for the title. No Wewa wrestlers at this weight.

220: In a battle of wrestlers using decisions to move through the bracket, Benton’s Preston Fisher won his third decision of the day with a 6-2 win over Airline’s Christian Carradine. No Wewa wrestlers at this weight.

285: Harrah’s Seth Goodman max-pointed his way into the final, where he decisioned C.E. Byrd’s Bobby Simpson, 6-3, for the title. No Wewa wrestlers at this weight.

Full brackets from the tournament can be found HERE.

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GAINESVILLE — A year ago, Tennessee’s Brentwood Academy had made the seven-hour trip from the Nashville area to Kissimmee for the Knockout Christmas Classic.

This year, with a younger team, Brentwood postponed their visit to Universal Studios until the Sunday after competition; while they struggled some at Knockout a year ago, they will be back in Kissimmee on a winning note this year, going 5-0 on Saturday to win Gainesville’s Category 5 Duals.

Brentwood Academy took wins over Lecanto (39-38), University Christian (66-12), Bradford (72-0), Union Cty (60-24) and Baker County (60-18).

It was not just the closeness of the score of the Lecanto dual that made it the “effective” championship dual. The Panthers were otherwise 4-1 on the day, with subsequent wins over Baker Cty (42-33), University Christian (54-12), Gainesville (46-0) and Union Cty (65-12).

Locally, Baker County was tops in the field at 3-2. The Wildcats defeated University Christian (72-12), Bradford (72-6) and Union Cty (66-18).

Union and Bradford both were 2-3, but the Tigers’ 54-18 win over the Tornadoes in round 1 gave them the head-to-head for fourth. Union also defeated Gainesville, 46-24, while Bradford took down Gainesville, 24-22, and University Christian, 24-12.

The host Hurricanes were 1-3 (with an odd number of teams in the tournament, seven, they had to give up one dual meet), with a 30-6 win over University Christian to close out the day. The Christians finished 0-5.

Below follows a summary of the top individual performers for each area team:

Baker Cty: The Wildcats had 12 in the lineup, and at 11 of the 12 weights had a solid individual performance. Leading the way was Daeshawn Larry (285), who “max-pointed” (scored 6 team dual points in each dual the team wrestled) through the day to go 5-0, with three pins. Clayton Dennison (160), Conner South (195, pin) and Pierce Kirkland (220, 3 pins) each were 4-1 for Baker County, with Dennison the only area wrestler in the tournament to record four pins. In a regular but not exclusive starting role, David Jackson (126, major) was 3-0 for the Wildcats, while Shane Bullard (120) was 3-1 and Juan Torres (132, pin), Dylen Goldsmith (138, 2 pins), Clark Bryant (145), Char’Quez Mosley (170, pin) and Toby Kinghorn (182, 2 pins) were all 3-2 for Baker County.

Union: The Tigers had 12 weights filled and a second consecutive tournament showing they are not willing to settle for a typical first-year program’s results. Union’s Jonathan Maldonaldo (106) and Christian Simmons (113) both max-pointed to 5-0 days for the Tigers, while Brandon Mecusker (152, 2 pins) and Allan McClellon (182/195, 2 pins) were each 3-2 for Union, while Davalier Blocker (220, pin) had a 2-2 tournament.

Bradford: The Tornadoes had just five wrestlers in the lineup, but that was enough for two dual wins, as four of those five won contested matches. James Smith (145/152, pin) was 3-2 on the day for Bradford.

Gainesville: The Hurricanes only had six wrestlers in the lineup (and just five in two of their duals), but Gainesville’s individuals all had their hands raised, as they lost just two matches outside of their dual with Lecanto. Brennan Kade (120/126/132, pin), Zachary Collins (138, pin & major), Nicholas Hanson (160/170, 2 pins) and Logan Fernandez-Smith (170/182, 2 pins) all were 3-1 on the day for the Hurricanes, while Carlos Nelson (182/195) had a 2-2 day.

University Christian: While the Christians, with just three wrestlers in the lineup at the start, weren’t going to win any duals Saturday, two of their wrestlers were unbeaten. Egan Gustilo (120) max-pointed to a 5-0 day, with two pins, while Jayce Paridon (106) was 3-0.

Results from all 17 duals wrestled Saturday can be found HERE.

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Just a couple of notes from area college alumni prior to Christmas:

Desert Duals: At Las Vegas on December 22, UNC-Pembroke was 2-2, with wins over Minot State (26-12) and Vanguard (32-9), falling to Northern State (22-18) and Upper Iowa (26-12). Kaleb Warner (Columbia ’15) was 2-2 for the Braves at 165, with wins over Minot State’s Nathan Baca (4:26) and Vanguard’s Luke Lussier (17-4), falling to Northern State’s Billy Holtan (5-1) and Upper Iowa’s Brock Benitz (6-4).

Gator Boots Duals: At Nashville TN on December 21, Simpson was 1-3 in duals, with a 25-15 win over University of the Ozarks and losses to Delaware Valley (27-25), Manchester (32-12) and Millikin (34-12). Josh Bower (Matanzas ’19) got two starts at 133, with an 11-0 major over Univ. of the Ozarks’ Stephen Fox and 9-3 loss to Millikin’s Ren Dazey.

Huntingdon was 0-3 at the same event, with losses to Millikin (37-7), Pennsylvania Tech (24-16) and Luther IA (45-5). Joseph Pearson (Ft Walton Beach ’17) started at 285 in all three duals, with a 3-1 win over Penn Tech’s Brendan McGinley and losses to Millikin’s Frank Tomaskovic (1:56) and Luther’s Keenan Feldpausch (4-2).

Upcoming: We’ll have a #NextLevel post after the Midlands and Citrus Invitational, both of which conclude on Monday, and potentially a second one after Southern Scuffle, depending on representation.

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FT WALTON BEACH — The beat at the Beast goes on for Wakulla.

Making a four-peat happen at Beast of the Beach almost didn’t happen for the War Eagles, which entered the tournament championship dual with less than an ideal lineup, as at least three projected post-season starters didn’t have full appearances in the tournament and a fourth such starter came in with injury but wrestled out the weekend nevertheless.

And lined up across the way was powerhouse Georgia team Veteran’s, which Peach State observers are touting as a 5A dual state finalist — at least — coming up in a few weeks.

But the team from the tiny town on the Forgotten Coast persevered against the Georgia hammers, earning the four-peat with a 37-35 championship-dual victory in the War Eagles’ first duals appearance of the 2019-20 season.

Wakulla (9-0) jumped out to a 16-0 lead on wins from Jayven Hearns (3-0 at 285), Julian Harvey (9-8 at 106), a 12-2 major from George Hernandez at 113 and fall from Juan Jimenez (1:08) at 120.

The teams traded pins at 126 and 132, with Matthew Owen (132) taking a 29-second fall, but then the Warhawks’ middles, including their most massive hammers on a team filled with them — including one Division I commit and a second Division I prospect — pulled Veteran’s into a 24-22 lead. The teams traded big bonus points over the next four weights, but the Warhawks were still up, 35-34, going into the final match of thousands contested.

In that one, senior Slade Watkins came through, taking a 7-3 win at 220 to give Wakulla a 37-35 victory and the championship.

But the War Eagles had a lot of wrestling before that, going 5-0 on Friday in the 2PM-B pool, with wins over Choctaw (81-0), host Ft Walton Beach (62-12), Auburn ALA’s #2 team (75-6), Crestview (78-4) and St Amant LA (60-10).

In the championship bracket, Wakulla rolled past Tate, 82-0, in the round of 16. The quarterfinal victory, a 39-27 win over Carrollton GA, was a tough one, as yet another War Eagle stalwart went down with injury. Still, though, Wakulla persevered, taking down Arab ALA, 43-30, in the semis, to set up the matchup with Veteran’s.

For a team that had so much team success, just one War Eagle survived the weekend undefeated. That was Hernandez, who was 9-0 at 113, with three pins, a major and decision.

Harvey (106, 2 pins & 2 decisions), Raymond Hatchman (126, 5 pins & decision), Chase Roberts (152, 7 pins & major), Cole Baggett (160, 6 pins & decision), Jackson Osteen (170, 7 pins), Watkins (220, 2 pins/major/3 decisions) and Jayven Hearns (285, 5 pins & decision) all were 8-1 for the War Eagles.

John Trevor Hinsey (195, 4 pins & decision) was 6-1, losing by injury-default in the Carrollton dual, while Jackson Merrick (138, 4 pins & major), who’d missed Capital City with a shoulder injury, came back to Beast and went 6-3 over the two days. Jimenez (120, 3 pins/major/decision) was 5-4. Making key appearances in regular but not exclusive starting roles were Owen (5-1 at 132, 5 pins), Jayvon Brown (4-1 at 182, pin & 2 decisions) and Tyler Edenfield (4-2 at 182/195, 2 pins).

Below follows a summary of the other area teams that were in the tournament, with all performances noted that had .500 or better records in a plurality of the duals in which the team contested:

Pace (4th and 7-2 overall; 5-0 in 8AM-B pool): The Patriots also rolled through the Friday morning/early afternoon session, with pool wins over Pigeon Forge TN (45-29), Brusly LA (54-15), Niceville (59-21), Tallassee ALA (48-31) and Ada OK (39-33). On Saturday, Pace opened with a pair of wins over local parents, winning over Marianna (48-33) in the round of 16 and the hosts (52-24). Pace nearly knocked off Veteran’s themselves in the semis, falling by a 36-33 count and then took a 44-33 loss in the third-place dual to Arab.

Four Patriot wrestlers were unbeaten on the weekend, as Derrick Lancero (120, 2 pins, 2 techs, 4 decisions), Ethan Billhimer (126, 6 pins & decision) and Gabe Jacobs (182/195, 8 pins & decision) were all 9-0 for Pace, while Joseph Cortez (152/160, 4 pins & decision) was 8-0 on the weekend. Cameron Goodenow (285, 6 pins) had an 8-1 tournament for the Patriots, while Seth O’Gara (138, 4 pins & tech) was 6-2 and Wyatt Dillon (195/220, 5 pins & decision) 6-3; Brody Andrews (160/170, 3 pins & decision) contributed a 5-4 tournament for Pace.

Ft Walton Beach (8th and 4-4 overall; 3-2 in 2PM-B pool): The Vikings won in pool over Auburn #2 (66-16), Crestview (64-18) and Choctaw (72-12), with an out-of-area loss to St Amant LA (43-29). In the championship pool, Ft Walton Beach turned back Archbishop Shaw, 42-32, in the round of 16; in the 5th place semis, the Vikings fell to Pigeon Forge (54-22), setting up a prospective second meeting with St Amant for seventh that was not wrestled in order to get the Louisiana team on the road home. Kaleb Williams (220, 2 pins/major/2 decisions) led Ft Walton Beach with a 7-1 record, while Eddie Alexis (182, 5 pins & decision) was 6-1. Jean Maldonaldo (152, 4 pins & decision) and Caleb Tourgee (160, 3 pins & 2 majors) were both 5-1 for the Vikings, while Weston Burbidge (126, 5 pins) and Patrick Adams (195, 3 pins & decision) were both 5-3. In a regular but not exclusive starting role, Brandon Mallin (120, 3 pins & major) was 4-2, and Reid Gannon (106, 2 pins), Carter Tobik (170, 3 pins) and Spencer Mackenzie (285, 3 pins & injury-default) were all 4-4 for the Vikings.

Crestview (14th and 3-5 overall; 2-3 in 2PM-B pool): The 2A Bulldogs had pool victories over Choctaw (54-24) and Auburn #2 (48-18), with an out-of-area loss to St Amant (69-12). On Saturday, Crestview lost to Pigeon Forge (66-18) in the round of 16, then took a loss in the 9th-place quarters to Ada (60-22), but won their final contested dual in the 13th-place quarters over Tate (48-18); the Bulldogs did not wrestle for 13th against Brusly. Kennard Madden led the charge for Crestview at 220, with 3 pins on a 6-2 weekend. AJ Richardson (120, 4 pins & major), Easton Flamand (138, 2 pins) and Jakob Allen (145/152, 2 pins & major) each were 5-3 on the weekend, while Andrew Sippos (132, 2 pins & decision) and Luke Baker (182, 3 pins) each added 4-4 weekends for the Bulldogs.

Marianna (15th and 3-6 overall; 2-3 in 2PM-A pool): The 1A Bulldogs took losses in their first three pool duals, but rallied for wins over Tate (48-30) and Wakulla #2 (54-18), with out-of-area losses to Auburn (54-24) and Veteran’s (63-6). On Saturday, Marianna fell in the 9th-place quarters to Archbishop Shaw LA (52-30) and 13th-place quarters to Brusly (42-36) before taking a team forfeit win in the 15th-place match over Tate. Marianna’s top upper weights — John Maddox (170/182, 4 pins), Christian Cosson (170/182, 3 pins) and Corey Davis (195/220, 6 pins & decision) — all were 8-1 to lead the Bulldogs, with Chase Maddox (160, 6 pins) not far behind at 7-2. Dustin Arnold (132, 3 pins) and Trett Phillips (138, 3 pins) each contributed 5-4 weekends for Marianna.

Tate (16th and 2-6 overall; 2-3 in 2PM-A pool): The Aggies found pool victories over Wakulla #2 (60-24) and Arnold (42-41), with out-of-area losses to Veteran’s (65-18) and Auburn (48-36). The day was tough on Tate, though, as five wrestlers that started Friday didn’t come over to Saturday, and that resulted in three contested losses before the Aggies left the tournament, with an out-of-area loss in the 9th-place quarters to Auburn (48-30). Chad Luckey (160, 5 pins) was Tate’s top wrestler, with a 6-2 tournament. Ashtyn Allen (195, 2 pins) was 4-3 and both Daniel McGaha (120, 3 pins) and Gabriel McKinley (220, 3 pins) were 4-4 during the weekend for the Aggies. In regular but not exclusive starting roles, Marcus Virgin (126, 3 pins), Ethan Loenichen (170/182) and Landen George (285) were all 3-2 as well for Tate.

Gulf Breeze (17th and 3-4 overall; BOTR 1st, 1-4 in 8AM-A pool): It was a tough Friday for the Dolphins, who took only one pool win, over Milton (70-12), with losses to Carrollton (46-31), Collierville TN (63-18), Arab (66-14) and Archbishop Shaw (57-24). Gulf Breeze rallied in Best of the Rest; after a quarterfinal bye, the Dolphins hammered Tallassee (51-30) and won the group with a 43-30 victory over Arnold to close out the weekend. In a regular but not exclusive starting role, Ian Daily (126/132, 3 pins) was 4-0 for the Dolphins. Nate Weber (106, pin/tech/decision) was 5-1 and Logan Merritt (120, 3 pins) 5-2 for Gulf Breeze, while both Colson Elliott (126, 3 pins & decision) and Wyatt Sise (145, 2 pins/tech/major) were 4-3. Kelly Scanlon (132, 2 pins) was 3-1 and Julian McCully (195, 2 pins) 3-3 in regular but not exclusive starting positions.

Arnold (18th and 3-4 overall; BOTR 2nd, 2-3 in 2PM-A pool): The Marlins had pool victories over Marianna (42-36) and Wakulla #2 (42-36), with losses in pool to Veteran’s (61-12) and Auburn (46-27). In Best of the Rest, Arnold had a bye into the semis, where it took down Niceville, 39-34, reaching the final. Will Ashby (120, 5 pins) and Nick Kendrick (152, 3 pins) each were 6-1 for the Marlins, while Lucas Biddle (113, 3 pins) had a 5-2 weekend. Max Gaylord (160, pin) and Justin Harry (220, pin & decision) each were 4-3 for the Marlins during the tournament.

Niceville (20th and 2-6 overall; BOTR 4th, 1-4 in 8AM-B pool): The Eagles found a pool victory, taking down Brusly (37-36, most first-points criterion), with losses in pool to Ada (42-27), Pigeon Forge (78-6) and Tallassee (49-30). In Best of the Rest, Niceville knocked off Choctaw (45-21) in the quarters, falling to Tallassee, 42-39, in the third-place match. Martin Black (170, 5 pins) and Ramsey Kidder (220/285, 6 pins & decision) were both 7-1 for the Eagles, wile Keane Creager (145/152, 4 pins) was 6-2. Noah Tritz (120, 3 pins & 2 decisions) and Jayden Pinto (132, 3 pins & decision) were both 5-3 and Ty Hawkins (138, 2 pins & major) and Bryce Travis (182, 2 pins) both were 4-4 for Niceville during the tournament.

Wakulla #2 (21st and 1-6 overall; BOTR 5th, 0-5 in 2PM-A pool): The second War Eagles unit did struggle against five starting groups in pool; in addition to the losses noted above, Wakulla #2 fell to Auburn (66-18) and Veteran’s (66-10). In Best of the Rest, the War Eagles fell to Tallassee, 65-12, but closed out the day with a 36-34 fifth-place win over Choctaw. Hayden Reeves (195, 4 pins) led the way individually with a 5-2 weekend, while Caleb Orr (106, pin), Bradley Martin (126, 3 pins) and Daniel Brattain (182, pin) all were 4-3. In a regular but not exclusive starting role, Dylan Harvey (160, 2 pins) was 2-2 for Wakulla.

Choctaw (22nd and 1-6 overall; BOTR 6th, 1-4 in 2PM-B pool): The Indians did find a pool victory over Auburn #2 (33-27), with an out-of-state pool loss to St Amant (66-9). David Tambula (113, major & decision) and Samuel Santos (182, 3 pins & decision) each were 5-2 during the weekend for Choctaw.

Milton (T-23rd and 0-5 overall; no BOTR duals, 0-5 in 8AM-A pool): The Panthers struggled in Friday-only wrestling. Other than the loss noted above, Milton also fell to Arab (73-6), Carrollton (78-6), Archbishop Shaw (78-6) and Collierville (66-12). Still, though, Daniel McDonal (170, 4 pins) max-pointed his Beast experience, with a 5-0 day.

Match-by-match results for every dual contested in the tournament (around 100 of them or so) can be found HERE.

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North Florida Matmen staff report

YULEE — Georgia’s Ware County has been to the state duals tournament in Macon a few times. Yulee is still trying to get there.

And that experience advantage served the visiting Gators well this past weekend, as Ware entered the tournament for the first time and survived the gauntlet that was the two-day Yulee Duals.

After going 7-0 on the weekend, Ware then defeated Suwannee (48-23) and host Yulee, 40-36, in the final dual of the tournament, in a dual that had momentum swings, loud parents and engaged kids, but ultimately only one team winner.

The Hornets (22-2 in duals for the season) had leads twice during the course of the dual with Ware, but the Gators were equal to the challenge on both occasions, getting needed bonus points in the final match for the win.

“I was a little surprised by how far we went. Had four kids out of the regular lineup, so we had to rely on a couple of younger guys and JV guys. They wrestled tough all weekend, won some tough matches and lost some tough matches,” Yulee coach Brandon Crowder said.

“We needed to get knocked in the head a bit, needed to take one on the chin. Learn from our mistakes and go from there. We’ve come a long way, but still a long way to go. I’m proud of the kids, but I’m glad we have a break for a while. We’ll get rested up, healed up and go back to work.”

Yulee was 7-0 to win Pool A, with dual victories over Union (66-12), Paxon (78-0), Sandalwood (72-12), Ed White (72-4), Wayne County GA (58-24), First Coast (63-10) and Coral Gables (57-24). The Hornets had a non-pool and non-crossover dual with Camden County (which made an appearance on Saturday only), falling, 72-6, as well as the loss to Ware.

Senior captain Aston Ricks was 9-0 on the weekend, pinning his way through the tournament (he was the only wrestler over the two days to do that).

Trevor Gladson (120/126, 2 pins & decision) was 8-0 for the Hornets, while Dietrich Woods (138, 4 pins) was 5-0 on Friday.

Dylan Johns (132, 5 pins/major/decision) was 8-1, while Tristan Martinez (120/126, 2 pins), Jesse Johnson (145/152, 5 pins) and Bradley Durrance (220, 4 pins) all were 7-2 for the Hornets.

Darquill Brown (285, 3 pins & decision) was 6-3 and Jacob Proffit (106/113, 2 pins) was 5-4 on the weekend for Yulee.

Below follows summaries of the remainder of the area teams in the tournament:

Suwannee (6-1 and 3rd overall, 6-0-1st in Pool B): Despite just 10 kids in the lineup at tournament start and nine at its end, the Bulldogs took Pool B with wins over Bartram Trail (42-36), Steinbrenner (47-24), Bolles (39-24), Charlton County GA (58-18), University Christian (42-12) and Fernandina Beach (45-12); like Yulee, the Bulldogs fell to Ware, 48-23, in crossover competition. The trio of Timothy Jolicoeur (126, 4 pins & 2 decisions), Jaxon Sansouci (132, 2 pins, major & 2 decisions) and Tyson Musgrove (138, 3 pins & major) all were 7-0 for Suwannee, while Xander Kirkland (120, 4 pins) and Caleb Parsons (145/152, 2 pins/tech/decision) each were 6-1. Brody Boehm (106/113, pin/injury default/tech) was 4-2 and Foster Swain (106/113, 2 pins), Austin Howard (152/160, pin) and Jim King (170, pin) all were 4-3 for Suwannee during the tournament.

Bartram Trail (5-2 and 5th overall, 5-1-2nd in Pool B): The Bears lost only to Suwannee in pool, with victories over University Christian (54-21), Fernandina Beach (58-12), Charlton (57-18), Bolles (60-12) and Steinbrenner (45-33); in Bartram’s lone crossover dual, the Bears fell to Coral Gables by a 45-33 count. Ryan Piersza (285, 3 pins) max-pointed the weekend for Bartram at 7-0, while John McNames (160/170, 3 pins/major/decision) also was 7-0. Ethan Vugman (106, 3 pins & injury-default), Ralph Hamilton (182, 3 pins) and Clarke Hamilton (195, 3 pins) each were 6-1 for the Bears, while Maxwell Geller (132/138, 2 pins) and Dominick Grubb (160/170, pin) each were 5-2. Gregory Memory (132/138, 3 pins) and Matthew Tayloe (145, 2 decisions) were both 4-3, and Preston Pena (126, 2 pins) was 3-2 in a regular but not exclusive starting role for the Bears during the tournament.

Fletcher (6-1 and 6th overall, 6-1-2nd in Pool C): The Senators lost only to Ware (54-22) in the pool, with wins over Baker Cty (59-18), Episcopal (59-22), Oakleaf (42-29), Bishop Kenny (38-34), Mandarin (44-29) and a team forfeit win over West Nassau; they did not engage in crossover competition. Tyson Petrie (145/152, pin/major/2 decisions) was 6-0 and Joel Rodriguez (152/160, 3 pins & decision) 5-0 in regular but not exclusive starting roles for Fletcher, which started 21 different kids in mix-and-match roles. Ana Bradshaw (106, 3 pins), Gabe Daltro (126, 3 pins/tech/major), Ryan Klein (170/182, 3 pins & decision) and Michael Strong (195, 2 pins & tech) each were 6-1, while Stone Rockhill (182, 4 pins) was 5-1 and Tyler Dalldorf (160/170, 2 pins & major) 5-2 for Fletcher. In a regular role, Josh Daltro (132/138, decision) had a 3-3 weekend for the Senators.

Oakleaf (6-2 and 8th overall, 5-2-3rd in Pool C): The Clay County Knights had pool victories over West Nassau (56-24), Episcopal (43-33), Bishop Kenny (42-39), Baker Cty (46-36) and Mandarin (40-24), with their lone crossover dual resulting in a 42-36 win over First Coast. In addition to a loss noted earlier, Oakleaf also fell to Ware (48-20) in pool competition. In a regular but not exclusive starting role, David Parkes (152/160, 5 pins) was 7-0 and Oakleaf’s lone unbeaten wrestler. Marcus McGee (120/126, 4 pins & 2 decision) and Jason Mitchell (220, 3 pins & tech) were both 7-1 for the Knigts, while Trevor Owens (132/138, 3 pins/major/decision) and James McClintic (160/170, 3 pins) were both 6-2. Jason Stewart (126/132, pin & 2 majors and Dean Dahlem (145/152, 4 pins) were both 4-4 for the Knights; Jordan Mitchell (285, pin) was 3-2 in a regular but not exclusive role.

First Coast (5-4 and 9th overall, 5-2-3rd in Pool A): The Buccaneers took down Paxon (63-0), Ed White (54-9), Wayne (40-36), Sandalwood (60-18) and Union (45-24); in addition to losses noted elsewhere, First Coast fell to Coral Gables (57-18) in pool competition and to Steinbrenner (57-21) in crossover rounds. Josiah Mossor (145, 5 pins, major & 2 decisions) and Hakeem Culberson (220, 5 pins & major) were both 9-0 for First Coast, while Ian Leschinskey (113, 2 pins & decision) was 8-1 and Cleon Johnson (195, 3 pins) 5-4 for the Buccaneers. In regular but not exclusive roles, Dylan Lampkin (285, 2 pins) was 5-2 and Jace Austin (132, 2 pins & decision) had a 4-4 tournament for First Coast.

Bishop Kenny (4-4 and 10th overall, 3-4-4th in Pool C): The Crusaders won pool duals over Baker Cty (40-36), Mandarin (42-36) and had a team forfeit win over West Nassau. In crossover competition, Bishop Kenny hammered Charlton, 63-16; in addition to pool losses noted elsewhere, the Crusaders fell to Ware (57-13). Four Bishop Kenny wrestlers — Ryan Mayer (113, 4 pins & decision), Sebastian Deara (126, 4 pins & decision), Brock Hinson (132, pin, 2 majors & decision) and Roberto Cuartero (138/145, 4 pins & decision) — each were 7-1 on the weekend, while Curtis Leggett (285, 3 pins & decision) was 6-2 and Kevin Thallemer (220, pin & decision) 5-3 for the Crusaders. An addition four Kenny wrestlers — Allan Bustos (106, pin), Jack Raynor (120, pin & injury-default), Collin Heekin (145, 2 pins & decision) and Carter Wood (160/170, pin) — were all 4-4 on the weekend.

Union (4-5 and 13th overall, 3-4-5th in Pool A): The Tigers made their competitive program debut and impressed with their numbers on and off the mat, recording some wins as well, with pool victories over Ed White (49-18), Paxon (60-3) and Sandalwood (42-30), with a crossover win over University Christian (42-18). In addition to losses noted earlier, Union fell to Coral Gables (78-6) and Wayne (54-18) in pool, with a non-pool loss to Camden (82-0). Kale Waters (106) was 5-4 for the Tigers, while Christian Simmons (113) had a 4-1 record on Friday. Ethan Shea (132, pin) and James Rogers (138) each were 3-3 in regular, but not exclusive, starting roles for the Tigers.

University Christian (2-6 and 14th overall, 2-4-5th in Pool B): Even with just four wrestlers that started the tournament and three that finished it, the Christians nearly finished in the top half of the tournament, with dual wins over Bolles (24-18) and Fernandina Beach (25-24, criteria I); in addition to the losses noted elsewhere, University Christian took out-of-area losses to Charlton (54-6) and Steinbrenner (54-18). Jayce Paridon (106, 6 pins & decision) and Egan Gustilo (113/120, 5 pins) both were 8-0, with Gustilo max-pointing through the weekend. Tamarcus Amaker (220, 2 pins) was 5-3 for the Christians as well.

Episcopal (3-4 and 15th overall, 3-4-5th in Pool C): The Eagles won in pool competition over West Nassau (42-27), Baker Cty (48-28) and Bishop Kenny (42-36), with an out-of-area loss, other than those noted elsewhere, to Ware (58-18); Episcopal did not compete in crossover competition. Noah Meyer (132/138) max-pointed through the weekend, going 7-0 with six pins. Christian Ryan (113, 3 pins & major) and Reid Hampton (152/160, 4 pins) were both 5-2 for Episcopal; in regular but not exclusive starting roles, Scott Bucey (106, 3 pins) was 3-2 and Robert Jackson (145, 2 pins) and John Fernandez (170/182, pin) each were 3-3 for the Eagles.

Mandarin (4-4 and 16th overall, 3-4-6th in Pool C): The Mustangs took pool victories over West Nassau (48-21), Episcopal (48-36) and Baker Cty (35-33) and won their lone crossover dual over Bolles, 30-23. In addition to losses noted elsewhere, the Mustangs also fell to Ware (59-24). Nathan Bremer (106, 5 pins) was 5-0 on Friday; among wrestlers that competed both days, Tony Carter (182/195, 5 pins & decision) and Nick Wilbur (285, 4 pins) were both 7-1. Royal Felton-Norman (220, pin) was 5-3 for Mandarin, while Devin Foster (113, 2 pins & decision), Ethan Harvey (120, 2 pins), Xaine Evans (145/152, 4 pins) and John Willis (160, 2 pins) were all 4-4 for the Mustangs. In regular but not exclusive starting roles, Jaelen Simmons (195, 2 pins) was 3-2 and Frank Kershaw (138, pin & injury-default) was 3-3 for Mandarin.

Sandalwood (3-5 and 17th overall, 2-5-6th in Pool A): The Saints took pool wins over Ed White (42-24) and Paxon (36-6) and won their lone crossover dual, 30-29, over Bolles; they had, in addition to losses noted elsewhere, out-of-area losses to Coral Gables (60-8) and Wayne (42-21). Sandalwood’s Josh Brown was 7-1 over the weekend, with four pins and a decision, while Michael Torres (170, 3 pins) had a 6-2 weekend for Sandalwood. In regular, but not exclusive roles, Santiago Amesty (126) and Khyle Ponds (182, pin & decision) each were 4-2 for the Saints.

Bolles (1-7 and 18th overall, 1-5-6th in Pool B): With a maximum of six wrestlers during the weekend, dual victories were difficult for the Bulldogs, but they found one in pool, defeating Fernandina Beach (24-21), with out-of-area losses to Steinbrenner (57-14) and Charlton (36-30). Every Bolles wrestler had a .500 record or better, with Julian Morris (145, pin & two decisions) going 5-0 on Friday. Tyson Riley (152, 2 pins & tech) was 7-1 on the weekend, while Jacob Witt (106, 4 pins & tech) had a 6-2 record over the weekend and Denny Vohs (126, 3 pins and tech) was 5-3. In regular but not exclusive starting roles, Dalton Posick (132, pin & decision) was 4-1 and Ethan Asbury (195, 2 pins) 3-3 for Bolles.

Baker Cty (3-6 and 19th overall, 1-6-7th in Pool C): The Wildcats defeated West Nassau (48-30) in pool, but after the pool, seemed to right the ship, with dominant crossover wins over Ed White (66-12) and University Christian (54-18). In addition to losses noted earlier, Baker County had one out-of-area loss, to Ware (69-12) in pool competition. Jaqrez Elliott (285) ran through the weekend undefeated at 9-0, with three pins and a decision. Shane Bullard (120, 3 pins & injury-default), Toby Kinghorn (182/195, 4 pins) and Conner South (195, 4 pins) all were 6-3, while Pierce Kirkland (220, 3 pins) was 5-3 and David Jackson (126, 2 pins & major) contributed a 5-4 weekend for the Wildcats.

Ed White (1-7 and 20th overall, 1-6-7th in Pool A): Ed White had its lone victory in pool competition with a 30-24 win over Paxon; in addition to the losses noted earlier, the Commanders fell in pool competition to Coral Gables (66-12) and Wayne (42-18). Sebastian Gonzalez (138, 4 pins) was 6-2 for Ed White, while Salvador Rodriguez (285, 2 pins, major & decision) was 5-1 in a regular but not exclusive starting role. Alex Rosario (145, pin) was 4-4 for the Commanders, with Larry McCurdy (220) going 3-2 in a regular but not exclusive role.

Fernandina Beach (1-6 and 21st overall, 0-6-7th in Pool B): In addition to the losses noted above, the Pirates took out-of-area losses in pool competition to Charlton (42-24) and Steinbrenner (48-23), and then won their lone crossover dual over Paxon, 30-6, to close out the tournament. Jeremy Mahoney (126, 5 pins), Jeremiah Giedrys (170/182, 3 pins & major) and Kolby Kidd (182/195, pin/major/decision) were all 6-1 for Fernandina Beach, while Caden Kubatzke (120, pin & major) was 4-3 for the Pirates.

Paxon (0-8 and 22nd overall, 0-7-8th in Pool A): The Golden Eagles struggled in most competitions; in addition to the losses noted above, Paxon fell to Coral Gables (78-0) and Wayne (48-12) as only one wrestler, David Kang (126/132, 3-1 on Saturday, 2 pins) had more than one contested win during the tournament for Paxon.

West Nassau (0-7 and 23rd overall, 0-7-8th in Pool C): The Warriors wrestled five contested duals Friday, then moved their short-handed group over to the JV side of the tournament, taking an out-of-area loss to Ware (72-3) along with the ones noted above. Bradley Hulett (138, 4 pins & decision) was 5-0 in the varsity side, while Brendan Ferenchik (126, 3 pins & decision) was 4-0. Blayden Tharpe (106, 3 pins) and Conner Nobles (182, 3 pins) were each 3-2 for West Nassau.

Match-by-match results for every dual contested in the tournament (around 100 of them or so) can be found HERE.

JOIN us on Facebook at North Florida Matmen (you can also friend me on my personal page) or on Twitter at @NorthFLAMatmen.

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North Florida Matmen staff report

OVIEDO — With all of the tournaments going on around the state this past weekend, a few duals tournaments asserted pre-eminence thanks to their size.

Of those, probably none had more juice to it, from a statewide-impact standpoint, than Hagerty’s Johnny Rouse Duals, which was strictly a duals tournament this season after previously having both duals and IBT components in prior years.

Two of the top teams in Class 3A, Southwest Miami and the host Huskies (both of which could end up at Osceola on the first Friday of dual states), wound up squaring off in the finals, with Southwest Miami taking a 48-14 win. Somerset Academy, one of the top teams chasing Lake Highland Prep in 1A, was third, defeating 3A’s Palm Harbor University, 52-24.

Locally, seven area teams competed in the field, with three — Flagler Palm Coast, Matanzas and Buchholz — all bowing out in the second round of the consi side of the championship bracket, one match short of a top-eight team finish.

Below follows a brief summary of each area team’s tournaments:’

Flagler Palm Coast (T-9th overall, 4-3 overall, 2nd in Pool A): The Bulldogs had the best local pool finish, with wins over Windermere (61-18), Dr Phillips (69-6) and Buchholz (45-36, in a potential preview of next month’s 3A-District 2 dual team tournament), falling only to Hagerty (56-22). In the round of 16 in the championship bracket, Flagler fell to Jensen Beach, 48-27, but then came back with a 57-18 win over Apopka in the first round of consis. The Bulldogs’ most interesting match might have been the last one, as they faced off against former coach Tommy Bartolotta and Brunswick GA (which eventually placed fifth), falling to the Pirates, 45-25. AJ Cinelli (285, 2 pins & 3 decisions) was FPCHS’ lone unbeaten wrestler at 7-0 for the tournament, while Andrew Dance (132, 6 pins) and Kyle Peacock (138, 3 pins & 2 decisions) were both 6-1. Joseph Rizzo (113, 2 decisions), Timothy King (145, 4 pins & major) and Blane DeFord (152, 4 pins & major) were all 5-2 for the Bulldogs, while Kole Hannant (106, 3 pins), John Hald (120, 3 pins & major), Marcelo Gonzalez (160, 3 pins) and Jayden Austin (182, 2 pins & decision) all were 4-3 for Flagler Palm Coast.

Matanzas (T-9th overall, 3-4 overall, 3rd in Pool B): The Pirates were 2-2 in the pool, taking dual wins over Seminole (48-33) and Oviedo (54-20), with pool losses to Mater Lakes (40-31) and Winter Springs (51-19). In the championship bracket, Matanzas lost in the round of 16 to Palm Harbor University (51-23), but then came back in consi round 1 to defeat West Orange, 46-32. The Pirates then were matched up with Winter Springs a second time, falling by a 48=33 count. Shaun Culbreth (126, 6 pins & major) and Quenteen Robinson (170/182, 4 pins & 2 majors) bonus-pointed through the tournament, while Ethan Goodman (120, 3 pins & decision) was 6-1 on the weekend. Sam Russo (138, 3 pins & major) and Drew Castanheira (170/182, 2 pins & decision) were both 5-2 for Matanzas, while Logan Mayer (132, 3 pins & major) and Pete Grimm (220, 4 pins) were 4-3 for the Pirates.

Buchholz (T-9th overall, 3-4 overall, 3rd in Pool A): The Bobcats were 2-2 in the pool with wins over Dr Phillips (79-0) and Windermere (54-30), falling to Hagerty, 39-36, as well as losses noted above. In the championship bracket, Buchholz lost in the round of 16 to Somerset Academy, 55-12, but came back with a 66-12 win over Celebration in the first round of consis. Jensen Beach, which went on to place sixth, knocked the Bobcats out of the tournament with a 48-33 win. Armando Acosta (182, 3 pins & 2 forfeits) was 7-0 on the tournament for Buchholz, while Venumadhava Mirel (120, 3 pins, injury-default & 2 decisions) was 6-1. Aiden Moore (126, 5 pins) had a 5-2 tournament for the Bobcats. In a regular but not exclusive starting role, Nevan Burney (220, 3 pins & decision) was 4-0, while Kason Nichols (132, 3 pins & decision) and Jacob Robinson (285, 2 pins) were both 4-3 for Buchholz.

University-Orange City (18th overall, 3-5 overall, 4th in Pool C): The Titans took their lone pool victory over Lake Howell (52-30), with two wins in the crossover pool over Oviedo (42-39) and Mosley (54-30). University-Orange City had out-of-area losses to Somerset Academy (65-9), Jensen Beach (76-6) and West Orange (45-34) in the pool, falling to Winter Park (47-30) and Windermere (60-16) in the crossover pool. Christian Kennick (285, 5 pins) had a 6-1 tournament for the Titans, while Jonathan Justice (126, 3 pins & 2 majors) was 5-3 and both Grady Bryant (106, decision) and Patrick King (113, 2 pins) 4-4 for UOC. In regular but not exclusive starting roles, Ethan Lasher (195, 3 pins) was 3-2 and both Aaron Liberti (182, 2 pins) and Blake Sheridan (220, 2 pins) were both 3-3.

Mosley (19th overall, 2-6 record, 4th in Pool D): The Dolphins defeated Pine Ridge, 54-30, in their third dual in pool competition, and took a 42-33 victory over Oviedo in their first round of the 16th-20th crossover pool, with out-of-area losses to Palm Harbor University (66-17), Apopka (45-34) and Brunswick (60-16) in pool, plus losses to Winter Park (54-30) and Windermere (51-28) in the crossover pool. Nick Hejke (132, 6 pins, tech and major) was Mosley’s lone unbeaten wrestler on the weekend, while Logan Gall (145, 4 pins & decision) was 7-1. Kaydon Lester (152/160, pin/2 majors/decision) had a 5-3 weekend for the Dolphins, while Jonathan Griffin (152/160) was 4-2 and both Noe Pena (182, 4 pins) and Logan Strickland (220, 2 pins) were 4-4. In a regular starting role, Tobi Blount (113/120) was 3-2.

Seminole (21st overall, 4-4 record, 5th in Pool B): The Noles swept the field in the 21st-25th crossover pool, with wins over Dr Phillips (57-17), Lake Howell (54-18), Pine Ridge (54-30) and Tohopekaliga (60-24). In Pool B on Friday, Seminole had out-of-area losses to Winter Springs (62-15), Oviedo (53-28) and Mater Lakes (66-12), as well as the loss noted above in this summary. Jordan Smith (220, 4 pins & decision) was 8-0 for the Noles, while Curtis Ruff (285, 5 pins & injury-default) was 7-0 on the weekend. Gabriel Lacrosse (160, 3 pins & decision) and Parker James (195, 2 pins) were both 6-2 for the Noles, while Darian Raines (113, 2 pins), Ethan Gorospe (126/132, 3 pins/major/decision) and Benjamin Bohring (145/152, 3 pins) were each 5-3. Carrolino Reyes (120, pin) contributed a 4-4 weekend for Seminole.

Pine Ridge (24th overall, 1-7 record, 5th in Pool D): The Panthers had their lone win in the 21st-25th crossover pool wrestled on Saturday, with a 42-24 win over Dr Phillips. Pine Ridge had out-of-area losses to Brunswick (79-0), Apopka (54-18) and Palm Harbor University (78-0) in pool, falling to Tohopekaliga (42-36) and Lake Howell (42-30) in the crossover pool, as well as losses noted above. Jonathan Waugh (182/195) led the Panthers with a 6-2 tournament that included three pins. Devon Heil (106, 2 pins) was 5-3 on the weekend, while Dylan Oglesby (170, 3 pins) was 4-2 in a regular, but not exclusive role.

Match-by-match results for every dual contested in the tournament (around 100 of them or so) can be found HERE.

JOIN us on Facebook at North Florida Matmen (you can also friend me on my personal page) or on Twitter at @NorthFLAMatmen.

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North Florida Matmen staff report

VALDOSTA, GA — South Georgia is on the move as an area for wrestling success above and beyond just Camden.

And several of the teams most immediately lined up behind Camden in terms of power-program status were trying to battle each other for top honors at the Allstate Wildcat Invitational last weekend.

But when the smoke cleared on what was a very evenly-matched tournament — just 9.5 points separated third from sixth and 49.5 separated the leader from sixth — it was Clay, with its 10 placewinners, that emerged victorious.

The Blue Devils held off Coffee County, a Georgia 6A top-10 fixture, 219-202, for the team title, with Valdosta city rivals Lowndes (179) and Valdosta (173.5) third and fourth, respectively, with Colquitt County (171) fifth.

Clay had one champion, two runners-up, and one third, with three fourths and three fifths.

Lincoln, with 130.5 points and five placewinners (one champion), was eighth in the 25-team tournament, while Columbia was 11th with 99.5 and three placers. Westside was 17th (37 points), with one placewinner, and Florida High 19th (29 points with one placewinner), with Bay 24th at 13.

We will have a Georgia-specific story on the tournament on the South Georgia website as well. Below follows a Florida-specific summary of the tournament:

106 — Clay’s Tazz Hampton reached the final, where he took his first loss of the year, falling to Lowndes’ Dominic DiTomasso, 11-4. Hampton had a bye in the round of 32, then pinned Bainbridge’s Malcom Spann (:39, round of 16) and Lee’s Riley Brewer (1:42, quarters) before decisioning Lincoln’s Elijah Hendley, 10-4, in the semi. Hendley had a pin and decision before falling in the semis; on the back side, he lost by a 7-0 count to Lowndes’ Hunter McCullough, then decisioned Coffee’s Kawanzi Baker, 9-3, for fifth. Florida High’s William Curry was 2-2 and Columbia’s Brett Millard 1-2 in the tournament; both were knocked out of the tournament in consi round 4.

113 — Lincoln’s Jimmy Martin was the top Florida wrestler, taking fifth. Martin had a bye and forfeit into the quarters, where he lost by fall to Tift County’s Sergio Martinez (4:56). Martin then won twice in the consis to secure a podium space, with a forfeit win and 9-4 decision over Clay’s Maverick Rainwater. Martin then lost by fall (2:44) in the consi semis to Lowndes’ Tyson McCullough, but rallied to pin Colquitt County’s Jayson Brown in 3:29 for fifth. Rainwater was 2-2 in the tournament and finished one match short of placing.

120 — Clay’s Dalton Huckelberry was the top Florida wrestler, placing fifth. Huckelberry had a bye and then majored Cairo GA’s Miguel Bastida, 16-3, to reach the quarters, where he lost by tech to eventual champion Kaleb Davis of Valdosta (16-1 in 5:34). Huckelberry pinned Wiregrass Ranch’s Elhadj Ndaiye (2:03) and Turner County GA’s Jaevon Jordan (1:14) to make podium, with a loss by fall to Lowndes’ Dominik Iverson-Medina (2:50) in the consi sems. Huckelberry bounced back for a 5-1 fifth-place win over Lee County’s Conner Bruner. Clay’s Leo Garcia and Lincoln’s Wesley Suta were both 1-2 in the tournament; Garcia lost to Bruner in consi round 4, while Suta lost to Bastida in consi round 3.

126 — Clay’s Luke Davis was fourth and Columbia’s Ian McGuigan fifth, reaching their podium spots via different paths. McGuigan advanced farthest on the front side, with two pins over Thomas County Central GA’s David Burgess (2:31, rd of 16) and Davis (3:09, quarters), but then lost by an 11-4 count to Georgia 2A two-time state champ Kevin Martin of Fitzgerald, the eventual champion, in the semis. McGuigan then lost to Burgess, 7-3, in the consi semis and then won by forfeit over Lee’s Ethan Dooley in the fifth-place match. Davis teched Cairo’s James Cartwright (17-1 in 5 minutes) in the round of 16; on the back side, Davis had three max-point wins, with pins over Tift’s Quay Goldsborough (4:59), and Valdosta’s Zytezz Victrum (:23) in the consi quarters, plus a forfeit in the consi semi. Davis then fell to Burgess in sudden-victory time, 8-6, in the third-place match. Lincoln’s Adam Barnes was 2-2 and Bay’s Corban Cherry 0-2 in the tournament. Barnes lost by fall to Victrum in consi round 4, knocking out Cherry (10-9) in consi round 2.

132 — Clay’s Abdiert Escobar was third, Columbia’s Alex McGuigan fourth and Florida High’s Tyler Reeve sixth. Escobar had pins over Valdosta’s John Walsh (4:37, round of 16) and Turner’s Jalias Smith (3:09, quarters), but then lost to eventual champ Jordan Hampton of Valdosta, 14-2, in the semis. Escobar then falled Pierce County’s Trevor Thoele (3:25) in the consi semis and held off McGuigan, 3-2 in double-overtime, for third. McGuigan had a decision and pin on the front, but then fell in the quarters to Hampton, 11-2. On the back, McGuigan won three times to get to the third-place match, teching Fitzgerald’s Nic Jordan (21-6 in 4 minutes), decisioning Smith (8-2) and winning by forfeit over Reeve. Reeve reached the semis with two majors (10-0 over Colquitt’s Michael Bledsoe and 17-4 over Thoele) but did not compete on Saturday. Lincoln’s Steven Leger was 2-2 (wins on both sides of the bracket, lost by fall in consi round 3 to Fitzgerald’s Jarrett Young) and Westside’s Donovan White 0-2 (lost by fall in consi round 2 to Leger) in the tournament.

138 — No Florida placers at this weight; Clay’s Luke Boree was one match from placing. Boree reached the quarters behind two pins, where he lost (by fall in 1:47) to two-time Georgia 3A state champ Todd Carter of Pierce. Boree knocked off 2019 Georgia 1A placewinner Roy Wilson of Turner, 7-1, but then lost in the blood round to Lee’s Phin Johnson, 5-2. Columbia’s Christopher Greene was 3-2 (lost to third-place Kason Sellers of Cairo in round of 16, lost 9-4 to eventual fifth-place Alek Rosales of Colquitt in consi round 4) in the tournament, While Bay’s Kyle Roper was 2-1 on Friday, but did not compete in Saturday’s consi rounds.

145 — No Florida placers at this weight; Columbia’s Daveyon Brown was one match from placing. Brown had a pin on the front before losing by fall (5:29) in the round of 16 to eventual runnerup Nolan Smith of Coffee. On the back, Brown had three bonus-point wins before taking a 9-6 loss in the consi quarters to sixth-place Clinton Folsom of Colquitt. Clay’s Dominic Martin (both wins in consis, lost 9-4 in consi round 4 to fifth-place Logan Frost of Lee), Lincoln’s Mason Kirkland (wins on both sides, lost by fall in consi round 3 to Tift’s Davarius Smith) and Trojan teammate Curtis Jones (wins on both sides, lost by fall to Martin in consi round 3) were all 2-2 in the tournament, while Bay’s Trenton Wood (lost by fall to Brown in consi round 2) and Westside’s Steven Millikin (lost by fall to Turner’s Kemorrion Newberry in consi round 2) were both 0-2. Florida High’s Dennis Ganim was 0-1 in Friday competition and did not compete on Saturday.

152 — Clay’s Cale Hoskinson reached the finals at 152, falling by a 5-2 count to Coffee’s Greg Lacoste. Hoskinson pinned Fitzgerald’s Lathan Curry (2:54, round of 16), teched Valdosta’s Cedric Stewart (15-0, quarters) and decisioned Columbia’s Obie Smith, 9-4, in the semi, before getting to Lacoste. Smith was fifth in the tournament, with two pins (:57 over Wiregrass Ranch’s Chaz Diaz and 1:01 over Colquitt’s Joseph Player) before falling to Hoskinson. On the back, Smith fell in the consi semis to Colquitt’s Deontae Edwards, 7-1, but then decisioned Lowndes’ Canyon Hebb, 7-2, for fifth. Lincoln’s Patrick Blanca was one match short of placing, losing in the round of 16 (1:06) to Lacoste, but then won three matches on the back before falling to Stewart (eventual 4th), 5-1, in the blood round. Florida High’s William Hawkes was 0-2 (lost by tech to Blanca in consi round 2) in the tournament.

160 — No Florida placers at this weight; Clay’s Luca Fiannca was one match from placing. Fiannca lost by fall in the round of 16 to third-place Nathanial Taylor of Colquitt, but then had three bonus-point wins before losing by fall to sixth-place Zach Williams of Lowndes in the consi quarters. Florida High’s Micah Perdue was 3-2 and Clay’s Tucker Reape 2-2; both reached consi round 4 (Reape decisioned Perdue, 4-0, but didn’t compete after his 3-0 quarterfinal loss to Turner runnerup Yaki Whitsett; Perdue won twice on the back, losing by fall to Taylor in consi round 4). Columbia’s Preston O’Quinn and Bay’s Caleb Pippin were 2-2 and 1-2, respectively, and both lost in consi round 3 (O’Quinn had wins on both sides and lost 4-3 to Williams, Pippin had a 7-6 win on the back over Westside’s Dorian Thomas and lost by tech fall to Lowndes’ Hayden Gilbert), while Thomas and Lincoln’s Evan Taylor were both 1-2 and lost in consi round 2 (Taylor had a pin on the front and lost to placers fourth-place Garrett Kelley of Coffee on the front and Williams on the back; Thomas’ lone win was by forfeit on the front).

170 — Westside’s Angelo Philpot was third and Clay’s Isaiah Clifford fourth in the tournament. Philpot had a pin before falling to Valdosta’s Josh McCutchen, the eventual runnerup, 8-5, in the quarters; in the consis, he had two pins, a 9-7 overtime consi-semi win over Lowndes’ Gareth Chaney, then falled Clifford in 1:34 for third. Clifford had two decisions to get to the semis, where he lost by fall to McCutchen (4:23); he then majored Colquitt’s MarKaybion Spradley, 9-1, in the consi semis. Columbia’s Joseph Rice was one match from placing, losing in the round of 16 (13-2) to McCutchen, but then won twice on the back before losing to fifth-place Spradley, 6-5, in the consi quarters. Lincoln’s Cayden Bevis was 1-2 in the tournament, falling 6-0 to Clifford on the front and by fall to Spradley (1:38) on consi round 4.

182 — Clay’s Jordan Bell was fourth and Lincoln’s Andrew Collins sixth in the tournament. Bell had a forfeit and fall over Collins (1:59) in the quarters before losing by fall (:56) to eventual champ Gerald Coney of Tift. Bell then pinned Coffee’s Jase Rish in 3:49 in the consi semis, but fell in the third-place match to the hosts’ Antione Scott, 9-3. Collins had one pin on the front before losing to Bell; on the back, he took two pins to make podium before losing by fall to Scott (:59) in the consi semis, and didn’t compete in the fifth-place match. Westside’s John Merritt was one match short of placing. Merritt had a forfeit to get to the round of 16, losing by fall to Scott, and then added a pin on the back before losing by fall to fifth-place Rish in the consi quarters. Columbia’s Takiyan Acosta was 1-2 in the tournament, with losses to Collins and Merritt (in consi round 3), while Florida High’s Diego Duprey was 0-2, with a loss by fall to Cairo’s Brandon Green in consi round 2.

195 — Lincoln’s Tanner Washburn was the Trojans’ lone champ. Washburn had byes into the quarters, where he pinned Cook’s Caleb Duggan (1:53); he then pinned Coffee’s Cameron Arvidson (4:35) in the semis, and then took down West Laurens’ Dre Bonner, 6-4, for the championship. Clay’s Joe Grelli was fifth, with a fall on the front before losing by fall (:52) to Tift’s Garrett Westberry in the quarters. Two pins in the consis got him on podium; Grelli then lost by fall to third-place Arvidson (:23) and won by forfeit over Westberry for fifth. Columbia’s Shawn Raggins was one match short of placing; after a pin on the front, he lost by fall to Bonner (1:31) in the quarters. Then, after a pin on the back, Grelli pinned Raggins in 2:17. Florida High’s Shelton Williams was 1-2 (win on the front, losses to Grelli and to Lowndes’ Jordan Tabor in consi round 3) and Westside’s Terrance Alexander (0-2 in the tournament, lost by fall to TCC’s Hunter Ryan in consi round 3).

220 — Clay’s Garrett Tyre was fifth, the only Florida placer. He had two pins on the front, then lost in overtime to runnerup Dequavion Harper of Fitzgerald, 3-1, in the semis. After an 11-7 loss to Lowndes’ third-place Kyle Moore in the consi semis, Tyre won by forfeit for fifth. Lincoln’s Omarion LaRoach was 2-2 in the tournament, with both wins on the front, and losses to fourth-place Gatlin Smith of Coffee in the quarters and Moore (2:04) in consi round 4. Bay’s Dexter Anderson was 0-2, with a loss by fall in consi round 2 to Moore.

285 — Clay’s Derrek Mosley won the title as the Blue Devils’ lone champ. Mosley falled Lowndes’ Alex Cardenas (1:02) in the round of 16, then took a sudden-victory decision over Lincoln’s Tyler Moss (3-1) in the quarters and a 5-1 win over Tift’s Garrett Sumner in the semis. In the final, Mosley rode out Coffee’s Jesus Riano, finding an escape in a 1-0 decision for the title. Moss would come back for third after the quarterfinal loss (had a 1-0 decision in round of 16 over Valdosta’s Dominique Harrell). Moss won three times by pin to get to the third-place match, where he shut out Harrell a second time, by a 3-0 count. Bay’s Jonathan Heller was 1-2 in the tournament, with a forfeit win in the consis, losing to Bainbridge’s Johntavis Pearson by fall (1:17) in consi round 4.

Complete brackets from the tournament can be found HERE.

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