Month: January 2021

NEPTUNE BEACH — The rule of thumb of late in the Gateway Conference two-day IBT seems to be this: Watch out for the team lurking in second place. Particularly the team clad in purple.

After trailing first-day leader Mandarin by a half-point after first-day wrestling on Friday, defending Gateway champion Fletcher poured on the momentum in taking its second straight conference title on Saturday.

The Senators won five weight-class titles and had all but one wrestler, that competed over the weekend, finish in the top four in their respective weight classes, pushing past Mandarin, 222.5-160.5, for a successful defense of “the island” and their 2020 conference title.

“Everyone wrestled pretty well; up to their potentials, a lot of them did. It’s only our second tournament, but people are learning how to get through things and now, hopefully, we can set up for defense of our district title,” Fletcher coach Paul Schloth said, noting that the wrestling win kept the Senators’ hopes in good stead for a conference all-sports top spot.

Mandarin — which had just one dual in December — might have been a surprise to some (note: not to us) in holding second, with a 44.5-point cushion over a team that was a surprise to us in third, as First Coast emerged third with 116 points.

The Mustangs had one champion and saw nine top-four finishes on the weekend, while the Buccaneers placed seven in the top four.

Robert E Lee held off Wolfson and Raines for fourth, with 103.5 points, with the Wolfpack taking fifth (89) and Vikings sixth (83). Lee had two champions and five placers, while Wolfson also had five placers. Raines had four placers, but three of those four won weight-class championships.

Englewood (77 points, 2 champs) was seventh, followed by Westside (66.5, 1 champ), Atlantic Coast (43), Terry Parker (39), Paxon (24.5), Ed White (17) and Ribault (16). Baldwin and Stanton had participants, but no team points. Sandalwood could not compete this year.

Complete team scores and brackets can be found HERE.

THE NOTES
Championship matches
106 — Ana Bradshaw (Fletcher) p. Logan Emanuel (Mandarin), :48.
113 — De’Quon King (Raines) p. Nathan Bremer (Mandarin), 3:39.
120 — Jamal Burkes (Robert E Lee) p. Devin Foster (Mandarin), 1:35.
126 — Ryden Ashmore (Fletcher) p. Andrew Harbin (Wolfson), 2:54.
132 — Jameel Smith (Mandarin) p. Max Lewallen (Wolfson), 3:14.
138 — Lynden North (Englewood) d. Kaden Solomon (Fletcher), 6-3.
145 — Gabe Daltro (Fletcher) p. Myles Nicco (First Coast), 1:16.
152 — Joel Rodriguez (Fletcher) md. Josiah Mossor (First Coast), 11-2.
160 — Ahmahd Denmark (Robert E Lee) p. Christopher Strong (Fletcher), 3:11.
170 — Raynarde Thomas (Raines) p. Michael Dramis (Paxon), 2:34.
182 — Darryl Sam (Englewood) p. Grant Authelet (Wolfson), :41.
195 — Jamari Watson (Raines) p. Jeremy Porter (Robert E Lee), 3:57.
220 — Ethan Hollenbach (Fletcher) d. Craig Harper (Robert E Lee), 9-2.
285 — Ray Bolden (Westside) p. Toby Matson (Fletcher), 3:55.

THE GATEWAY ACES
106 — Bradshaw had one pin on Friday and one Saturday in taking her second Gateway title (she was fourth at 106 in 2018), with first-period falls over wrestlers from Raines and Mandarin, as well as a second-day forfeit.
113 — King pinned his way through the field, needing 4:55 to collect his third conference title (we’ve sent out an inquiry to find out who the last four-time Gateway champion was and when it happened). King had falls over Westside and Robert E Lee prior to the final.
120 — Burkes won his first title (was the runnerup at 113 last year), teching or pinning through the bracket. Prior to the final, Burkes teched the third-place wrestler from Fletcher (17-1 in 4:11) and had a 52-second fall over Terry Parker in the semis.
126 — Ashmore won his first title (was 0-2 a year ago) with three max-point wins. In addition to his pin in the finals, Ashmore won by injury-default over a teammate in the semis and won by pin over Mandarin in the quarters.
132 — Smith won his first title in first Gateway appearance, with four pins on the weekend. Prior to the finals, Smith won by fall over wrestlers from Englewood, Robert E Lee and then Fletcher in the semifinals.
138 — North reached the final for the third time, winning his second title (won at 132 last year, 2nd at 138 in 2019) and had three pins prior to his decision in the title match. North won by fall on Friday over Mandarin and Terry Parker wrestlers, with a third-period semifinal pin over First Coast on Saturday.
145 — Daltro became a four-time placer on Saturday, taking his second title (3rd at 113 in 2018, 4th at 129 in 2019, won last year at 126). Before his fall in the title round, Daltro had a bye into the quarters, then took pins over Robert E Lee and Englewood wrestlers.
152 — Rodriguez became a three-time placer (3rd at 170 in 2019) and two-time champ in knocking off a fellow 2020 conference champ in the final. Before the final, Rodriguez had a bye into the quarters, then had a tech fall (18-3 in 2:51) over the third-place Atlantic Coast finisher and a fall over the fourth-place Mandarin wrestler.
160 — Denmark pinned his way through the tournament in winning a Gateway title for the third time. Prior to the championship round, Denmark had pins over wrestlers from Baldwin and Atlantic Coast to get to the final.
170 — In competing at 170 in conference for the fourth time, Thomas reached the final for the third time and won for the second time, pinning his way through the draw. Thomas had first-period pins over wrestlers from Ribault and Wolfson prior to the finals round.
182 — Sam won his first Gateway title and second place finish (was 3rd last year), also pinning his way through the bracket. Sam had pins over wrestlers from Stanton and Westside prior to the championship match.
195 — Watson won his second conference bracket after finishing a match short of a top-four finish in 2019, with three pins in three rounds. Before the finals, Watson had a bye into the quarters and then falls over wrestlers from Paxon and Fletcher.
220 — Hollenbach became a Gateway 3xer in three trips on Saturday for the Senators. Before his decision victory in the final, Hollenbach had a bye into the semis, then won by fall in 26 seconds over Mandarin in that round.
285 — In his fourth Gateway attempt, Bolden won his first title after not placing in 2018 and taking second in both 2019 and 2020. Prior to the final, Bolden had a bye into the quarters, then pinned wrestlers from Terry Parker and Ribault to reach the championship match.

ORLANDO — As the regular season winds down, late-season events feel the crunch as host teams limit Covid exposure and everyone feels the need to try to both find mat time and also keep kids healthy for the stretch run in 3-4 weeks.

One such event affected by the pandemic — one of dozens, to be sure — was Saturday’s Wolfpack Invitational at Timber Creek, which lost nearly two-thirds of its size from last year to this (17 teams to six).

Two of those six were New Smyrna Beach and Atlantic, which placed second and fifth, respectively, in Saturday’s roundrobin event. The Barracudas, in their first tournament since their 2A state semis appearance the previous weekend, had 187.5 points, only outpointed by the hosts at 202.

New Smyrna Beach had five champions on the day, with three additional runners-up.

Atlantic had one champion and one runnerup in scoring 65 points and placing fifth.

Not all individual performances could be highlighted due to missing results. Roundrobin results for all teams can be found HERE.

THE ACE OF THE DAY
New Smyrna Beach: After missing state duals the previous weekend, Avante Chamble (152) made up for lost time with five pins in 6:46 of mat time, with wins over wrestlers from Olympia, Evans, Timber Creek, East River and a Barracudas teammate.

LAKE CITY — In the 10-team Tiger Duals on Saturday, it was the one team well outside the Matmen coverage area that set the pace.

Bloomingdale, located due east of Brandon in Hillsborough County, made the I-75 drive worthwhile, with four double-digit dual wins, including a 51-21 victory over the host Tigers in the championship match.

Columbia (15-6) in duals for the season won Pool A, with victories over Union Cty (47-33), a combined team made up of wrestlers from University Christian & Gainesville (35-21), Forest (51-30) and Westside (48-30).

Like the Tigers, Buchholz (11-3) had its only loss to Bloomingdale, a 51-29 Pool B loss in round 2 of pool play. The Bobcats took wins over Suwannnee (46-25), St Augustine (43-33) and Ridgeview (58-19) in pool, then added a fourth dual win with a 60-23 victory over Forest in the third-place match.

Union Cty (6-10, third in Pool A) was fifth, St Augustine (8-10, third in B) sixth, Suwannee (21-8, fourth in B) seventh, with the combined UC/Gainesville team taking eighth. Ridgeview (15-14) and Westside (4-6) were 0-4 in pool competitions and did not cross over.

Not all area teams could have team or individual accomplishments noted in this story, due to prior missing results. Full duals for all 10 teams in the tournament can be found HERE.

THE NOTES
Championship: Bloomingdale 51, Columbia 21.
3rd: Buchholz 60, Forest 23
5th: Union Cty 36, St Augustine 34
7th: Suwannee 45, UC/Gainesville 24
Pool A: Columbia 4-0, Forest 3-1, Union Cty 2-2, UC/Gainesville 1-3, Westside 0-4.
Pool B: Bloomingdale 4-0, Buchholz 3-1, St Augustine 2-2, Suwannee 1-3, Ridgeview 0-4.

THE ACES OF THE DAY
Columbia: Shawn Raggins (182/195) was one of two 5-0 max-pointers for the runnerup Tigers. Raggins collected three pins on the day, with falls over UC/Gainesville and Forest in Pool A competition, plus a third pin in the loss to Bloomingdale.
Buchholz: Jason Martin (195/220) was a 5-0 max-pointer for the Bobcats, one of two Buchholz wrestlers to run the table with wins in all five matches. After a forfeit victory in the opening dual, Martin had pins over Bloomingdale, St Augustine, Ridgeview and Forest.
Union Cty: Caleb Crawford (160) was the only Tiger to go 5-0; Crawford also was a max-pointer, with four pins. Crawford tolk falls against Columbia, Forest, UC/Gainesville and St Augustine.
St Augustine: Connor Spossey (170) was a 5-0 max-pointer, collecting four pins in all. Spossey was one of four Yellow Jackets to go 5-0. He had falls over Ridgeview, Suwannee, Buchholz and Bloomingdale.
Suwannee: Austin McKinney (113) was a 5-0 max-pointer, with three pins on the day as one of three Bulldogs to go 5-0. McKinney had pins over Buchholz, St Augustine and Bloomingdale.
UC/Gainesville: Jayce Paridon (106/113) pinned his way through five opponents, and was the only member of the combined group to go undefeated in the tournament. Paridon had pins over Westside, Columbia, Union Cty, Forest and Suwannee.
Ridgeview: Matthew Rodriquez (132) was 4-0, all by pins, and in so doing eclipsed the 200-wins career mark. Rodriquez had falls over St Augustine, Bloomingdale, Suwannee and Buchholz.
Westside: Olleon Hickmon (132/138) was a 4-0 max-pointer, one of two for the Wolverines in the tournament. Hickmon had pins over Union Cty, Forest and Columbia in assembling his unbeaten record.

PANAMA CITY — With all the stories — and they’re accurate — about Florida being an emerging power in the sport, it’s easy to forget, sometimes, how much history the sport actually has here.

With the 2nd annual George Mulligan Invitational at Bay, a celebration of both past and present is just as much a fundamental part of the weekend as the grappling that takes place on the mat.

A tournament designed to honor the name of the man who started the first program in Bay County back in 1960 at Bay HS — he also helped start the Mosley and Rutherford programs to boot — got a solid upgrade in talent, both individually and collectively. Just one returner from last year’s slate of 14 champions was able to repeat as champion in 2021.

And, this year saw the tournament title stay in state, as Ft Walton Beach outpointed an 18-team field to win the team title with 303 points.

Gulf Breeze was second with 258.5 points, a point ahead of last year’s runnerup, Mosley, which repeated as Bay County champion by dint of having the highest tournament finish among the six county teams. Niceville (218.5 points) and South Walton (191) rounded out the top five.

Not all teams could receive individual recognition in this recap due to missing results from earlier in the season. That said, full brackets for each weight class can be found HERE.

THE NOTES
Team scores: 1. Ft Walton Beach 303. 2. Gulf Breeze 258.5. 3. Mosley 257.5. 4. Niceville 218.5. 5. South Walton 191. 6. Rutherford 181.5. 7. Rocky Bayou Christian 144.5. 8. Florida High 126. 9. Choctaw 122.5. 10: Tate 116. 11. North Bay Haven 105.5. 12. Ft Walton Beach B 95.5. 13. Arnold 92.5. 14. Bay 85. 15. Bozeman 79. 16. Marianna 63.5. 17. Wewahitchka 42. 18. Graceville 2.
Championship matches —
106: Derrick Williams (Mosley) d. Valarie Solorio (Arnold), 9-5.
113: Calvin Williams (Mosley) p. Elijah Stillgess (Rutherford), 3:26.
120: Brandon Mallin (Ft Walton Beach) p. Ethan Pinto (Niceville), 1:05.
126: Tyler Reeve (Fla High) p. Darius Mailhot (Mosley), 1:10.
132: Colson Elliott (Gulf Breeze) md. Luke Latham (Rocky Bayou), 10-1.
138: Emil Ganim (Fla High) p. Alexander Davidson (Ft Walton Beach), 1:15.
145: Nick Hejke (Mosley) p. Garret Rudick (Gulf Breeze), 1:49.
152: Ian Daily (Gulf Breeze) p. Marquis Muniz (Ft Walton Beach), 2:00.
160: Caleb Tourgee (Ft Walton Beach) p. Nick Kendrick (Mosley), 3:06.
170: Chase Maddox (South Walton) p. Kaydon Lester (Mosley), 3:56.
182: Hunter Dupont (Gulf Breeze) p. Dalton Kovacs (Mosley), 1:16.
195: David Mercado (North Bay Haven) p. Micah Perdue (Fla High), 5:00.
220: Cedric Fairrow (Ft Walton Beach) d. David Polaski (Niceville), 9-4.
285: Robert Willis (Mosley) p. Spencer Mackenzie (Ft Walton beach), 2:56.

THE ACES OF THE DAY
Ft Walton Beach: Cedric Fairrow (220) was the tournament’s upper-weight OW, staying unbeaten at 26-0 behind a 4-0 weekend that saw falls over wrestlers from Rutherford, Choctaw and Arnold to reach the final, where he decisioned another Ace to win the bracket and OW award.
Gulf Breeze: Hunter Dupont (182) bagged three falls in 3:01 to take the championship, without going past the first period. Before his pin in the title match, Dupont won by fall in the quarters over North Bay Haven and over Niceville in the semis.
Mosley: Nick Hejke (145) had five pins in 6 minutes and 37 seconds’ worth of mat time in winning the lower-weight OW award for the tournament. Hejke had falls over North Bay Haven, Graceville, Bay and Ft Walton Beach before his pin in the championship match.
Niceville: David Polaski (220) was one of two Eagles to achieve runnerup status. Before losing by decision in the finals, Polaski had pins over wrestlers from Bay, Tate and South Walton — all in the first period — before winning by an 11-5 count over Rutherford in the semis.
South Walton: Chase Maddox (170) was 4-0 on the weekend with three pins — including in the championship round — sandwiching a 12-11 nailbiter of a semifinal win over Niceville. Maddox had earlier pins over wrestlers from Choctaw and Tate.
Rutherford: Keaton Schirmer (152) lost early in the tournament to the eventual champ, but rallied for four wins and compiled the Rams’ top team-point number in taking third. Schirmer had consi-side wins over Marianna (fall), Mosley (7-4 decision), Ft Walton Beach B (6-5 win) and a fall over South Walton for third place.
Rocky Bayou: Luke Latham (132) was the Knights’ lone finalist, with a 3-1 tournament. Before his loss in the finals, Latham had a tech fall over Ft Walton Beach B, an 11-2 major over a defending Mulligan champ in the quarters and a 7-4 win over Tate in the semis.
Florida High: Emil Ganim (138) ran the table with pins all weekend. Before his fall in the final over a fellow Ace, Ganim took pins over wrestlers from Choctaw (second round), North Bay Haven (quarters) and Ft Walton Beach (semis).
Choctaw: Eli Devoid (160) was 4-2 and placed fifth for the Indians, with losses only to the third- and fourth-place wrestlers from Gulf Breeze and Bay, respectively. Devoid had a front-side tech fall over Marianna and consi-side pins over Tate and Bozeman wrestlers before his 9-2 fifth-place win over Rutherford.
North Bay Haven: David Mercado (195) pinned his way through the tournament, with falls over Ft Walton Beach B and Rutherford in the quarters and semis, respectively, before his pin in the championship match as noted above.
Ft Walton Beach B: Alexander Davidson (138) made a run to the final, with a 3-1 weekend that saw victories over Niceville (11-2 major), Tate (first-period fall) and a 3-2 semifinal win over South Walton in getting to the championship match.
Arnold: Valarie Solorio (106) reached the finals behind a pair of bonus-point wins prior to her loss by decision in the championship, with a fall over Rutherford in the quarters and 12-2 major over Ft Walton Beach in the semis.
Bay: Corban Cherry (145) was 4-2 and one of two Tornado wrestlers with losses only to the champion and 3rd (Ft Walton Beach). Cherry had a front-side pin over Florida High, and consi-side victories over North Bay Haven and Florida High, plus a forfeit.
Bozeman: Aireous Rocha (285) was sixth in his first tournament with the Bucks, with a 2-3 weekend that saw all of his losses come against wrestlers higher on the podium (runnerup, third and fifth). Rocha had pins in the consi bracket over North Bay Haven and Tate wrestlers en route to his top-six finish.
Marianna: Marquis Patterson-Rhodes (182) was fifth, his team’s highest finish on the weekend, as he was 2-2 with losses to the third- and fourth-place wrestlers from Niceville and Rocky Bayou. Patterson-thodes had consi-side pins over Rocky Bayou and South Walton wrestlers.
Wewahitchka: Jake Parker (106) was fifth, the top finish for the Gators, after a 4-2 tournament, with both losses coming against South Walton. Parker had consi-side pins over wrestlers from North Bay Haven, Rutherford, a Gator teammate and over Rocky Bayou in the fifth-place match.
Graceville: Cayden McQueen (220) had a win by forfeit for his team’s only points, after three earlier losses by fall, for the independent program.

JACKSONVILLE — It wasn’t all that long ago that Creekside, Matanzas and Bartram Trail clashed in head-to-head fashion for the 2A-District 4 title.

That’s no longer the case, with the St Johns Knights and Bears now in 3A, but the three teams invaded Duval County from the south and wreaked a fair share of havoc on Saturday at the inaugural Wolfson Challenge one-day IBT event.

Creekside, split into two squads, saw its Black side put 10 wrestlers into the finals (three winning titles) and total up 224.5 points, 31 ahead of Matanzas and 60 ahead of the third-place Bears.

Matanzas had 11 placers (as did Creekside Black), with four champions. Bartram Trail matched the Pirates’ champion total and had seven placers in the top four, six of those as finalists.

Host Wolfson was the city’s top team in the 13-team field, with 129 points and eight top-four finishes, with one champ and one runnerup. Robert E Lee rounded out the top five, with 74 points, four placers (three finalists) and one champion.

Note: Individual notes for all teams could not be listed due to missing results. Full results for all teams can be found HERE.

THE NOTES
Team scores: 1. Creekside Black 224.5. 2. Matanzas 193.5. 3. Bartram Trail 164.5. 4. Wolfson 129. 5. Robert E Lee 74. 6. Atlantic Coast 59. 7. (tie) Bishop Snyder & Terry Parker 48. 9. Creekside Red 43. 10. Paxon 42. 11. Ribault 24. 12. Stanton 18. 13. Baldwin 10.
Championship matches —
106: Ethan Vugman (BT) p. Andrew Feeks (CrB).
113: Connor Wright (CrB) p. Samual Harris (Wolfson).
120: Mayhem Woolsey (BT) p. Hunter England (CrB).
126: Trevor Tagarelli (BT) p. Christian Villanueva (Sny).
132: Logan Mayer (Mat) d. Cathan Simpson (CrB).
138: Preston Pena (BT) p. Noah Connahey (CrB).
145: Jeff Brown (TP) p. Grady Hutchinson (BT).
152: Tyson Mills (Mat) p. Diego Rivera (CrB).
160: Jordan Mills (Mat) p. Breon Jordon (Rib).
170: Ahmahd Denmark (Lee) p. Hunter Brown (CrB).
182: Grant Authelet (Wolf) p. Oraldo Visha (CrB).
195: Robbie Balke (CrB) p. Zachary Morton (Lee).
220: Vincent Approbato (CrB) p. Craig Harper (Lee).
285: Robert Elder (Mat) p. Ryan Piersza (BT).

THE ACES OF THE DAY
Creekside Black: Robbie Balke (195) pinned his way through the bracket for one of the Black side’s three titles. After a bye into the semis, Balke had a fall over Wolfson before his championship-round pin.
Matanzas: Logan Mayer (132) won three times for his bracket. Prior to his decision victory in the final, Mayer won by fall over Paxon and by technical fall over Wolfson to advance to the championship round.
Bartram Trail: Mayhem Woolsey (120) won by fall twice to take the title, with pins over Creekside Red and Black wrestlers to win his first IBT crown for the Bears.
Wolfson: Grant Authelet (182) pinned his way through the bracket, with a bye into the semis and a fall over a fellow Ace to get to the championship match, where he picked up his second pin.
Robert E Lee: Ahmahd Denmark (170) pinned his way through the tournament, including his finals win in one of the marquee matches of the day. Denmark had prior pins over Ribault and Bartram Trail wrestlers in reaching the championship match.
Atlantic Coast: Nick Shay (145) rallied from a semifinal loss by decision to the eventual runnerup to come back and place third for a 3-1 tournament. Shay had a pin over Creekside Red on the front and consi-side pins over Wolfson and Matanzas to take third.
Bishop Snyder: Christian Villanueva (126) was the Cardinals’ lone finalist after a 1-1 tournament, with a semifinal pin over Terry Parker prior to his loss in the final.
Creekside Red: Joseph Bartels (182) was 2-1 at 182, with his only loss to the eventual champion and a fellow Ace in the semis. Bartels had a pin over Paxon on the front side, and a third-place fall over the same Paxon wrestler in the medal match.
Paxon: Matthew Brunelli (195) took fourth with a 2-2 day, with losses to the eventual runnerup and in the third-place match to Wolfson. Brunelli had pins over wrestlers from Bartram Trail and Terry Parker.
Ribault: Breon Jordan (160) reached the final at his weight class, with a 2-1 tournament for the Trojans. Before falling to a fellow Ace in the final, Jordan had pins over wrestlers from Paxon and Baldwin.
Stanton: Matthew Mock (132) was 1-2 on the day, with a win by fall over Robert E Lee in the pigtail round, and losses to two eventual placers (to third-place Wolfson wrestler in the quarters and fourth-place Matanzas wrestler in the consis).
Baldwin: Taylor Davenport (160) was 1-2 in the tournament and one match from placing in his bracket, with a fall over Paxon and losses by fall to the eventual runnerup and fourth-place wrestlers from Ribault and Creekside, respectively.