ORANGE PARK — It’s been a pretty good week for Creekside.
The St Johns Knights, fresh off a road win at Clay midweek, ran the table Friday night at their Knights counterparts in Clay County, going 5-0 at the Friday Knight Lights.
Creekside (12-1 in duals) took down Orange Park (54-24), host Oakleaf in the effective champonship match (40-36) in round 2, Gainesville (60-18), West Nassau (69-12) and Pedro Menendez (72-6).
“Tonight was about getting the boys some mat time,” Knights coach Rick Marabell said. “Everybody got a match, and everybody got a win, which was nice. We’ve been fortunate to not be hit yet (by Covid).”
Host Oakleaf (8-3 for the season) and Orange Park (8-7) both were 4-1 on the night, facing off against Creekside in the first two rounds; the Clay County rivals did not face each other.
The Knights defeated Gainesville, 72-0; after the loss to Creekside, Oakleaf came back with double-digit wins over Nease (48-21), West Nassau (57-18) and Pedro Menendez (72-6).
Orange Park rattled off four wins after the round-1 loss to Creekside, defeating West Nassau (42-24), Pedro Menendez (60-12), Nease (34-33) and Gainesville (54-18).
Nease kicked off its 2020-21 season Friday night, with a 3-2 duals record that included wins over Pedro Menendez (72-6) in round 1 and Gainesville (60-16) in round 2, plus a night wrapup 66-18 dual victory over West Nassau.
Speaking of the Warriors (2-4 for the season), the Warriors were 1-4, with a round-2 win over Gainesville, 30-22.
Pedro Menendez and Gainesville both started their seasons short of a victory Friday night. The Falcons had wrestlers at just six weights (but had two wrestlers manning each weight but one) in an 0-4 night, while the Hurricanes had just seven wrestlers on the night, manning six weights in going 0-5.
SCORESHEETS from the tournament, for all 17 duals, can be found HERE.
ACES OF THE DAY
Creekside: The Knights had five unbeatens; three of those were “max-pointers,” scoring six team dual points in each dual where the team competed. Each of those three max-pointers had three pins, but only one — senior Nolan Anderson (138/145) — had to bump up a weight, with pins over Orange Park, Oakleaf (at 145) and West Nassau (at 145).
Oakleaf: Senior James McClintic (160) was not only 5-0 and a max-pointer, and was the only wrestler in any of the seven teams with five pins in the tournament, falling Gainesville, Creekside, Nease, West Nassau and Pedro Menendez, in turn.
Orange Park: Senior Davon Bailey (113/120) was a 5-0 max-pointer for the Raiders, with pins over Creekside, West Nassau and Nease. Special mention goes to sophomore Jasmine Hecht, who was 3-2 at 160 with three pins on the night.
Nease: Junior Drew Ryan (152) was the St Johns Panthers’ lone unbeaten, going 4-0 with three pins in the tournament. Ryan won by fall against Gainesville, Oakleaf and West Nassau, with a forfeit against Pedro Menendez.
West Nassau: Junior Christian Daly (182) had a 4-1 night for the Warriors, one of two to do so, with his lone loss by decision against Creekside. Otherwise, Daly had four pins against Orange Park, Gainesville, Oakleaf and Nease.
Pedro Menendez: The tandem of Falcon seniors Dane Litzinger and Jacob Traydon at 195 combined to go 4-0, with the weight class max-pointing for Menendez. Litzinger had pins over Orange Park and Creekside, while Traydon had a fall over Nease.
Gainesville: Senior Will Marshall (160/170) bounced back from a loss to Oakleaf by pinning his way through the rest of the competition, with falls over Nease, West Nassau, Creekside and Orange Park.
North Florida Matmen 