BRANDON — Wakulla was the lone Region 1 team trekking south of Tampa this weekend, competing in this weekend’s Tony Ippolito Memorial, hosted by Brandon.
While no team in the 28-team field could hang with the host Eagles and their 272.5-point team title, the War Eagles were in the mix with the other leaders, placing fifth with 162.5 points, just a half-point out of fourth-place Heritage, five back of third-place First Baptist (Naples) and within shouting distance of runnerup Treasure Coast and its 181.5 points.
All of the other teams in the field, with one exception, were Tampa-area, Southwest Gulf, or South Florida-based.
Wakulla had three runner-ups in the event, which concluded on Saturday.
At 106, Julian Harvey took an 11-5 loss to First Baptist (Naples)’ Jonathan Moder. Prior to the final, Harvey had Friday wins over Berkeley Prep (28-13, rd of 32), Barron Collier (fall in 2:35) and a 6-2 quarterfinal win over Heritage, coming back on Saturday with a 10-4 win over a second Heritage wrestler.
Hayden Reeves (145) also reached the championship round, taking an 8-0 loss to Sarasota’s Reese Hibbard. Before that, Reeves had max-pointed through the tournament, with Friday pins over Palmetto’s Jack Baty (:42, rd of 32), Berkeley Prep’s Robert Muldrow (:30, rd of 16) and a forfeit in the quarters, adding a third pin in the semis over First Baptist (Naples)’ Gavin Patton.
After a bye into the round of 16, Jae T Thaxton powered through three 6-minute matches, with Friday wins over Booker’s Michael Arthur (12-2 in the round of 16) and over Leesburg’s Dominic Delgado (9-8, quarters), with an 8-2 semifinal win over George Jenkins’ Timothy Peoples, but Thaxton fell short in the championship match against Treasure Coast’s Lucas Moreno, falling by a 7-5 count.
At 132, Isaiah Wilson was a semifinalist (2 front-side pins), falling by a 2-1 score in the semis to the eventual runnerup from Brandon. Wilson then majored Barron Collier, 12-4, for third.
Conner Brown (113) and Tyler Edenfield (182) each were sixth in their weight classes. Brown (front-side) pin lost by fall to the eventual 4th from Riveview (Sarasota), with a second loss in the fifth-place match to Treasure Coast. Edenfield (front-side pin) lost by fall to the eventual runnerup from Barron Collier, taking a loss in the fifth-place match to Newsome.
Complete brackets from Saturday’s tournament can be found HERE.
North Florida Matmen 