PANAMA CITY BEACH — Mosley’s criss-crossed all over north Florida to find competition this year.
The Dolphins didn’t have to go quite so far on Monday, with a short hop to former district rival Arnold’s one-day holiday roundrobin on the docket.
The result, though, was much like Saturday’s all the way over in the heart of Jacksonville, as Mosley held off an 10-team field to win the title with 218 points.
The Dolphins had nine wrestlers place in the top four, with champions at five weights in a row — 145, 152, 160, 170 and 182.
Pace, which used a mixture of starters and second-unit kids to keep its stars fresh for Friday’s 2A-Region 1 final at Osceola, was second with 197.5 points, creating a bit of gap between it and third-place Ridgeview, which had 171.5.
The Patriots also had nine in the top four, with seven of them as runners-up, and one champion at 126. Ridgeview had six placers, by comparison, but three of them were champs, at 132, 138 and 285.
Places 4 through 8 were separated by just 15.5 points, with Rocky Bayou Christian holding off North Bay Haven by just a point, 136.5-135.5, for fourth, with Wewahitchka sixth at 127, Rutherford seventh at 123 and the host Marlins eighth at 121. Bay was ninth, with 97 points, while Bozeman was 10th at 64.
The Knights had six top-four placers, while North Bay Haven had five, including a champion at 195. Wewa also bagged five top-four finishes, as did Rutherford, though the Rams did win titles at 113 and 220. Arnold also had two champions, at 106 and 120, with four placers in the top four. Bay also had four in the top four, while Bozeman had two.
Complete results for the roundrobin tournament can be found HERE.
Rocky Bayou Christian is the first team back on the mat, with an away dual at Crestview on Thursday. Most of the tournament’s field’s next appearance is Friday at Bay’s 2nd annual George Mulligan Memorial, with Arnold, Bozeman, Mosley, North Bay Haven, Rutherford and Wewa all in attendance. Pace will be in Kissimmee for the 2A-Region 1 final against New Smyrna Beach on Friday afternoon, while Ridgeview is next scheduled for a home dual against Oakleaf on January 27.
THE NOTES
Standings: 1. Mosley 218. 2. Pace 197.5. 3. Ridgeview 171.5. 4. Rocky Bayou Christian 136.5. 5. North Bay Haven 135.5. 6. Wewahitchka 127. 7. Rutherford 123. 8. Arnold 121. 9. Bay 97. 10. Bozeman 64.
Championship matches —
106: Valorie Soloria (Arnold) d. Jay Brown (Wewahitchka), 5-0.
113: Elijah Stillgess (Rutherford) p. Helena Alcantar, 3:53.
120: Lucas Biddle (Arnold) p. Calvin Williams (Mosley), 1:07.
126: Haze Esary (Pace) tf. Austin Wragg (Pace), 18-1, 3:00.
132: Matthew Rodriquez (Ridgeview) p. Luke Latham (Rocky Bayou), 1:50.
138: Ian Finnorn (Ridgeview) p. Camden Friend (Pace), 2:23.
145: Nick Hejke (Mosley) p. Corban Cherry (Bay), :27.
152: Peyton La Fountain (Mosley) p. Jordan Baxter (Pace), 5:01.
160: Nick Kendrick (Mosley) p. Caleb Pippin (Bay), 1:07.
170: Kaydon Lester (Mosley) p. Grayson Doolittle (Pace), :31.
182: Dalton Kovacs (Mosley) p. Nick Adams (Pace), 4:42.
195: David Mercado (North Bay Haven) p. Tyler Lewis (Arnold), 3:42.
220: Xavier Stillgess (Rutherford) p. Hale Wood (Pace), :45.
285: Derrick Mosley (Ridgeview) p. Robert Heller (Rutherford), :45.
THE ACES OF THE DAY
Mosley: Senior Nick Kendrick (160) returned to his former team’s gym and won the weight class with four pins on the day. Kendrick won Pool A with falls over a Mosley teammate, plus Rocky Bayou Christian and Pace. In the final, Kendrick won by fall over a fellow Ace in the final.
Pace: Freshman Haze Esary (126) won Pool B with three pins over wrestlers from Ridgeview, Bozeman and North Bay Haven, then pinned a fourth wrestler from Rocky Bayou Christian before winning by tech fall in the second period over a teammate in the championship match.
Ridgeview: Sophomore Ian Finnorn (138) was one of the Panthers’ three champs on the day. Finnorn pinned his way through the tournament, with 4 pins in Pool A over wrestlers from Rutherford, Pace, North Bay Haven and Arnold before a fifth fall in the championship match.
Rocky Bayou Christian: Senior Kyle Burden (285) was one of two finalists for the Knights, winning Pool B with two pins in 39 seconds plus a forfeit victory. In the championship round, Burden was 1-1, with a 57-second fall over Rutherford before losing to an unbeaten wrestler to take second.
North Bay Haven: Freshman David Mercado (195) max-pointed through the day with four pins after starting with a forfeit win in pool play. Mercado had pins over Rutherford and Rocky Bayou in Pool A, then came back to collect falls over Ridgeview and Arnold to win the weight class.
Wewahitchka: Eighth grader Jay Brown (106) was the Pool D champion, with pins over North Bay Haven and Ridgeview, then took an 8-6 decision over Mosley in the championship semifinals to reach the final. Brown was the Gators’ only runnerup on the day.
Rutherford: Sophomore Elijah Stillgess (113) was 5-0 with four pins on the day. Stillgess won Pool B with pins over North Bay Haven, Rutherford and Bozeman, with an 11-4 decision over Wewahitchka. Stillgess then added a fourth fall in the championship match.
Arnold: Sophomore Lucas Biddle (120) was 5-0 and had a max-point day. In addition to a pair of forfeit victories, Biddle had pins over wrestlers from Bay, Mosley and Bozeman in taking the weight class.
Bay: Senior Caleb Pippin (160) was 4-0 to win Pool B, with pins over Bozeman, Pace and Rutherford, with a 14-12 decision over a second Bozeman wrestler. Pippin was one of the Tornadoes’ two finalists on the day.
Bozeman: Sophomore Kaleb Daigle (145) had the Bucks’ top finish, with a 3-2 day. Daigle won Pool B with pins over wrestlers from North Bay Haven, Rocky Bayou and Mosley, with both of his losses in the championship pool.
North Florida Matmen 