By MATMEN, Tuesday, 4:45 p.m.
ST JOHNS — In the inaugural St Johns Super 8 Duals on Saturday, Creekside dominated affairs in the Knights’ home gym, with five double-digit victories.
In their wins, the St Johns Knights rolled up an average margin of victory of 40.4 points per dual, doubling up their closest opponent.
Episcopal, Bishop Kenny and Nease rounded out the top four teams in the eight-team field, which was split into two four-team pools, followed by championship and consolation pools.
Baker County and Bartram Trail both won one match in their respective pools; the Bears, Pedro Menendez and Tocoi Creek all won once in the consi pool.
A summary of the tournament follows:
Creekside (5-0 tournament, 14-2 overall) —
Wins: Tocoi Creek (63-13), Baker County (64-15), Episcopal (49-24), Nease (54-21) and Bishop Kenny (63-18).
MVP: Tristen Darling (182). On a team that had six unbeaten wrestlers (five of them bonus-pointing through and four of them max-pointers), only Darling recorded five pins on the day, four of them in the first period (combined fall time 4:07).
Hidden in the box scores: Chihaya Cook (152) put up a stellar day in going 5-0 for the Knights, with five contested bonus-point wins, including pins over Tocoi, Episcopal, Nease and Bishop Kenny, plus a 17-4 major over Baker County.
Episcopal (4-1 tournament, 14-3 overall) —
Wins: Baker County (51-30), Tocoi Creek (43-36), Bishop Kenny (51-27) & Nease (48-31).
MVP: Baylor Maurer (145/152). Maurer pinned his way through the bracket with falls at 145 over Baker County, Creekside and Nease, and at 152 over Tocoi Creek and Bishop Kenny. Total fall time was 3:41 before the final round against the Panthers.
Hidden in the box scores: While Scott Busey (126/132, 1A-14th at 126) didn’t compete against Tocoi Creek, he otherwise had a strong day, going 4-0 with 4 pins, with wins over Baker, Bishop Kenny and Nease.
Bishop Kenny (3-2 tournament, 10-5 overall) —
Wins: Pedro Menendez (42-30), Bartram Trail (42-36) & Nease (47-30).
MVP: Roberto Cuartero (160; 2nd-1A at 152). After not wrestling the previous evening at Fletcher, Cuartero returned on Saturday and was a big table-setter for the Crusaders, pinning all five of the opponents put in front of him.
Hidden in the box scores: Jack Raynor (145/152). Like Cuartero, Raynor was a 5-0 max-pointer, with five pins as well on Saturday. Another interesting point: The Crusaders got 24 wrestlers into the lineup, with just four besides Cuartero and Raynor going in all five rounds.
Nease (2-3 tournament, 3-7 overall) —
Wins: Bartram Trail (48-34) & Pedro Menendez (54-30).
MVP: Alan Rivera (170). Rivera was the St Johns Panthers’ only 5-0 competitor on the day, with all the matches contested. Rivera had pins in each of the first 4 rounds (Bartram Trail, Pedro Menendez, Bishop Kenny & Creekside, plus a 6-2 decision over Episcopal.
Hidden in the box scores: Although he took a loss against Episcopal in the final round, Parker Stamschror (138/145) otherwise had a solid day, with pins over Bartram Trail, Pedro Menendez and Creekside, plus he found a takedown in sudden-victory over state-ranked Christopher Hampton of Bishop Kenny (17th-1A).
Baker County (2-3 tournament, 13-5 overall) —
Wins: Tocoi Creek (51-27) & Bartram Trail (42-39).
MVP: Jareb Lauramore (113; 14th-1A). Lauramore was the Wildcats’ only unbeaten wrestler, going 5-0 on the day. He had contested victories in the initial round of pool competition, with pins over Episcopal and Tocoi Creek, plus a 10-6 win over Creekside, one of just three Baker wins.
Hidden in the box scores: After struggling some in the Wildcats’ first couple of tournaments, freshman Taz Kinghorn (120) put forth a solid day. Kinghorn had a 4-1 tournament Saturday, with pins over Episcopal, Tocoi Creek and Pedro Menendez, with his only loss to Creekside.
Bartram Trail (1-4 tournament, 13-7 overall) —
Wins: Pedro Menendez (48-24).
MVP: Jacob George (285). In a lineup that gave up four forfeits on Saturday, George was one of four max-pointers for the Bears; after a forfeit in round 1 against Nease, George ripped off four straight pins over Bishop Kenny, Pedro Menendez, Tocoi Creek and Baker County.
Hidden in the box scores: George’s lower-end bookend, Jacob Becker (106), also was a 5-0 max-pointer with a fall over Nease in pool play; Becker also had pins in both of the consi rounds, falling Tocoi Creek and Baker County.
Pedro Menendez (1-3 tournament, 6-4 overall) —
Wins: Baker County (42-41). The Falcons did not dual against Tocoi Creek in the consi pool; the teams had wrestled previously in a Week 2 midweek dual.
MVP: Tyshaun Thames (220). Was Menendez’s lone unbeaten wrestler that appeared in more than two matches, with a 4-0 max-point day that included pins over Bishop Kenny and Baker County, the latter one kicking off that dual on a good note for the Falcons.
Hidden in the box scores: Aside from a loss to top-ranked (3A) 132 Ethan Vugman of Bartram Trail, Mark Thorn (132) had a solid day in the middle for the Falcons, with pins over Bishop Kenny, Nease and Baker County.
Tocoi Creek (1-3 tournament, 1-4 overall) —
Wins: Bartram Trail (39-36). As noted above, the Toros did not dual against Pedro Menendez in the consi pool.
MVP: Jeremiah Malarkey (145). Malarkey was one of three Toros to go 3-1 on the day, but had Tocoi’s only pin over Creekside and a key fall against Episcopal. His 16-10 decision victory in the win over Bartram Trail loomed large.
Hidden in the box scores: After a loss by major to state-ranked Lawson Perry (9th-1A), Michael Soffian (195) rallied in the next two rounds with a decision win over Baker County and fall over Bartram Trail, plus a major decision win over Creekside, one of just two bonus-point wins over the Knights.
Rankings are per https://kabrawrestling.com/rankings
Results from Saturday’s tournament can be found HERE.
North Florida Matmen 