By MATMEN, Wednesday, 1:55 p.m.
NICEVILLE — After two weeks of IBT competition, Niceville turned its attention to crosstown rival Rocky Bayou Christian’s Rocky Rumble last Saturday.
The Eagles dominated the scene in four dual victories, with an average margin of victory of 47.3 points per dual.
Nine teams, all within the coverage area, competed on Saturday. A summary follows:
1. Niceville (4-0 tournament & overall) —
Wins: Marianna (75-6), Bozeman (66-18), Choctaw (72-12) & Arnold (48-36).
MVP: Asa Adams (285). Adams anchored the Eagle lineup up top, with four pins over all of his opponents and was one of three Niceville max-pointers in the tournament.
Hidden in the box scores: After being promo’d, earlier in the season, to be in the mix to go over 100 career victories, Ethan Pinto (2A-20th at 132, competing at 138) made it happen in his season debut with the Rumble, with his round 2 pin over Bozeman putting him at 100 career wins. Earlier, Pinto had pinned Marianna and closed out with a fall over Arnold to put his currend career-win mark at 101.
2. Arnold (4-1 tournament & overall) —
Wins: Destin (66-12), Freeport (60-18), Pace (54-30) & Rocky Bayou Christian (54-24).
MVP: David Crilly (120/126). Crilly not only was the Marlins’ only unbeaten wrestler (with more than two matches) and not only the team’s only max-pointer, but had four pins on the day, falling wrestlers from Freeport, Pace, Rocky Bayou Christian and Niceville.
Hidden in the box scores: Though he took a loss by fall to a senior and three-time region qualifier in the final round, Alexander Neisler’s performance prior to was sparkling, as Neisler racked up four pins (Destin, Freeport, Pace & Rocky Bayou).
3. Bozeman (3-1 tournament, 3-3 overall) —
Wins: Choctaw (46-24), Marianna (57-12) & Pace (48-30).
MVP: Asher Burris (220). Burris pinned his way through the day, with pins over Choctaw, Marianna, Niceville and Pace, and was the Bucks’ only 4-0 competitor in the tournament.
Hidden in the box scores: Two Bozeman wrestlers were 3-1 on the day, with identical performances in each dual, so we’ll note the three-win efforts of both Isaac Parrish (106) and Zachary Rosalis (195), both of whomo took their first losses against Pace in the crossover round.
4. Pace (3-2 tournament & overall) —
Wins: Freeport (60-18), Rocky Bayou Christian (48-34) & Destin (54-15). This was the Patriots’ JV group but competing in a varsity event.
MVP: Jessie Baker (106). Baker was a 5-0 max-pointer, the Patriots’ only one on Saturday; after a forfeit in the first dual, Baker took pins over wrestlers from Arnold, Rocky Bayou, Destin and Bozeman.
Hidden in the box scores: Gage Weir (160) didn’t wrestle in the crossover round, but otherwise dominated his four opponents, pinning wrestlers from Freeport, Arnold, Rocky Bayou Christian and Destin. Another note here: Pace sent out 20 different kids for at least one match.
5. Choctaw (2-2 tournament & overall) —
Wins: Marianna (42-24) & Rocky Bayou Christian (42-30).
MVP: Bradack Carroll (145). Carroll was the Indians’ lone max-pointer in the tournament, taking pins over Bozeman, Niceville and the host Knights (he was just one of two Choctaw wrestlers to score in the loss to Niceville).
Hidden in the box scores: At 285, Roman Jackson was the only other wrestler besides Carroll to go above .500 on the day, with a pin over Bozeman en route to a 3-1 tournament.
6. Rocky Bayou Christian (2-3 tournament, 3-5 overall) —
Wins: Destin (42-30) & Freeport (54-24).
MVP: Thomas Pluhar (113/120). Pluhar pinned his way through the tournament for the hosts, with pins in succession over Destin, Freeport, Pace, Arnold and Choctaw.
Hidden in the box scores: Although he didn’t wrestle in the Freeport dual due to another wrestler getting mat time, Clay Nelson (132/138) bonus-pointed through the day otherwise, with pins over Destin, Arnold and Choctaw, plus a 15-2 major over Pace.
7. Destin (2-3 tournament, overall record unknown due to missing result*) —
Wins: Freeport (48-12) & Marianna (30-24).
MVP: Patrick Casey (145). While Casey didn’t wrestle in the crossover round, his performance prior to that round earned him the designation, as Casey was 4-0 with pins over opponents from Arnold, Rocky Bayou Christian, Freeport and Pace.
Hidden in the box scores: After an opening-round loss by fall to Arnold, Matheus Barcelos (152) max-pointed through the rest of the day, with pins over Freeport, Pace and Marianna.
8. Marianna (0-4 tournament & season) —
MVP: Marquis Rhodes (182). Rhodes was the only Bulldog wrestler to collect more than two wins, going 4-0 with pins over Niceville (Marianna’s only points) and over Bozeman.
Hidden in the box scores: It’s always a good thing when we can highlight first career victories — and Bulldog wrestlers Andrew Litts (138) and David Miller (220) both achieved those on Saturday, via pins in the loss to Choctaw; Miller would go 2-2 on the day.
9. Freeport (0-4 tournament, overall record unknown due to missing result*) —
MVP: Lewis Adams (285). Was the Bulldogs’ lone 4-0 wrestler on Saturday. Adams max-pointed through the day, with pins over Pace and Arnold.
Hidden in the box scores: Freshman Chase Justice (145) was on track for a 4-0 day until the final round of competition, but still finished with pins in each of his first three matches, against opponents from Pace, Arnold and the host Knights.
*–We are missing the Destin v Freeport dual from December 7.
Rankings are per https://kabrawrestling.com/rankings
Results from Saturday’s tournament can be found HERE.
North Florida Matmen 