By MATMEN, Monday, 12:20 p.m.
JACKSONVILLE — There was no team championship to wrestle for Saturday at the North Florida Duals.
But for the pair of unbeaten teams that left Bishop Snyder HS Saturday, both got a chance to accomplish some goals.
Episcopal got a chance to continue making a statement and see how it might fare against a district rival, while Westside got a chance to kick off the season on a good note while traveling just a short hop west on 103rd Street to face a neighbor.
Below follows a summary of each of the seven competing teams’ respective days:
Episcopal (5-0 tournament, 7-0 overall) —
MVP: Brennan Doherty. Might be tough to single out one on a team with eight unbeatens on the day, but the four-pin performance Doherty had at 170 stood out, particularly with a fall over a state qualifier in the final round.
Hidden in the box scores: Just two wrestlers finished the day with five pins. Both were Eagles, with Maddox Davidson’s day showing solid improvement from last season to this, including his bump up to 285 in the final round.
Westside (4-0 tournament & overall) —
MVP: Ponchelo Cadet. On a day where getting maximum numbers of kids mat time was a watchword for the Wolverines, the day that Cadet had at 182 stood out. Cadet was the team’s only 5-0 wrestler, collecting 30 dual points as well behind two pins.
Hidden in the box scores: After part-time appearances in both 2020-21 and last year, senior Elijah Williams had a regular starting position for the Wolverines, going 4-0 with a pair of pins over Bishop Snyder and Bishop Kenny.
Bishop Kenny (4-1 tournament & overall) —
MVP: Christopher Hampton (17th-1A at 138). Hampton started on the business of showing last year’s state appearance was no surprise, kicking off the year with four pins and a decision at 138, that over a returning district champion in the final round.
Hidden in the box scores: There was quite a bit of mix-and-match approach for the Crusaders as well, but Jack Raynor (18th-1A at 145)’s bonus-point day at 145 stood out, with pins over Baldwin and Bishop Snyder, plus a major in the final round.
Baldwin (1-3 tournament & overall) —
MVP: Taylor Davenport. One of the holdover wrestlers from the previous existence of the Indians’ program, Davenport didn’t miss much, with a 3-1 day at 195 that included two pins and a 16-14 overtime loss in his first varsity match in more than a year.
Hidden in the box scores: After opening with two losses, Dominic Canchola finished with a .500 day, with a pin over Westside in closing out his first varsity day. Special mention, also, to Jordan Jordan at 106, for obvious reasons (but also getting his hand raised 3 times).
Stanton (1-3 tournament & overall) —
MVP: Reyniel Obis. Began his varsity career with a 2-2 day — one of three Blue Devils with a .500 tournament competing at 106 and one of five with pins in the competition, his fall came over Episcopal, his team’s only contested victory in that dual.
Hidden in the box scores: At 113, Rhodaisha Norgasse had to wait for the final chance of the day to wrestle against a girl, but made the most of the opportunity, with a fall over Baldwin to build a 2-2 tournament finish.
University Christian (0-5 tournament, 0-6 overall) —
MVP: Blake Bass. Losses to Bishop Kenny & Episcopal hurt, but Bass otherwise picked up three pins, with falls over Westside, Stanton and Baldwin for the Christians’ only better-than-.500 day.
Hidden in the box scores: Brandan Albritton didn’t appear in the Christians’ first dual, and took losses against Bishop Kenny and Episcopal as well, but closed out on an up note with a pair of falls.
Bishop Snyder (0-3 tournament & overall) —
MVP: Joseph Morales. While the Cardinals only got three duals in, and struggled in most of them, Morales was a bright light at 138, taking pins over wrestlers from Episcopal & Westside and nearly reaching the second period before a loss by fall to Hampton.
Results from the tournament can be found HERE.
Rankings courtesy of Matmen-endorsed Kabra Wrestling, https://www.kabrawrestling.com/rankings/class-1A
North Florida Matmen 