By MATMEN, Saturday, 5:40 p.m.
FT WALTON BEACH — Seven teams took their best shot at Huntsville (AL) in the two-day Beast of the Beach duals tournament Thursday and Friday at Ft Walton Beach HS.
All of them went home with double-digit losses against the Panthers, last year’s Alabama-7A (big schools) 4th-place finishing team. Huntsville compiled an average margin of victory of 42.1 points per dual, with wins in the semis over Middleburg and Suwannee.
The two north Florida teams, though, came home with team trophies, as the Bulldogs were second and Broncos third. Neither team took a loss otherwise in either seven or eight duals during the tournament.
Below follows a summary of all area teams in the tournament.
2. Suwannee (6-1 tournament, 20-2 overall) —
Wins: Mosley (53-15), North Bay Haven (63-18), Wewahitchka (75-0), Crestview (72-9), Harris County GA (39-36) & Smiths Station AL (37-27).
Loss not otherwise noted: Huntsville AL (50-15).
MVP: Brody Boehm (9th at 1A-132). Competing in his second tournament at 126, Boehm controlled the weight class, with five pins (Mosley, North Bay Haven, Wewahitchka, Crestview and Smiths Station), plus one of three majors the Bulldogs collected in the Huntsville loss, and a 4-2 win over a multiple-time Harris County state qualifier.
Hidden in the box scores: Austin McKinney (7th at 1A-152) was dominant once again for the Bulldogs, going 7-0 and bonus-pointing through the tournament, with pins over Crestview, Harris County and Smiths Station, a tech-fall win over North Bay’s Bear Siegal (11th at 1A-145) and a major over Huntsville.
3. Middleburg (7-1 tournament, 9-2 overall) —
Wins: Ft Walton Beach-B (66-12), Wakulla (42-30), Choctaw (63-0), Niceville (48-24), Collierville TN (46-24), Wakulla (57-12) & Smiths Station AL (37-33).
Loss not noted above: Huntsville AL (45-18).
MVP: Grady Woodard (11th at 2A-120). After an 8-7 loss midweek at Creekside, Woodard was the Broncos’ only unbeaten wrestler Friday, going 8-0 with three pins (Wakulla, Choctaw & Niceville), a tech fall over Collierville, a key major decision over Smiths Station and decisions against Huntsville & Wakulla.
Hidden in the box scores: On a team where every competing wrestler had a .500 or better record going back to Clay County, freshman Bryan Davis’ performance particularly stood out. Aside from a loss to Huntsville, Davis was 7-0 with seven pins. No other area wrestler on any team in the tournament had seven.
T-5. Wakulla (5-3 tournament & overall) —
Wins: Choctaw (83-0), Niceville (51-27), Ft Walton Beach (67-12), Harris County GA (42-33), Ft Walton Beach (52-33).
Losses not noted above: Archbishop Shaw LA (44-27).
MVP: Nate Jacobs (152). Was on track for an 8-0 weekend before a loss in the final round against Middleburg. Jacobs had 7 victories instead, including five pins (Choctaw, Niceville, Ft Walton Beach, Harris County & Ft Walton beach) and a decision over Middleburg on Thursday.
Hidden in the box scores: Like his teammate the next weight up, Jae T Thaxton (8th at 1A-145) was 7-1 on the weekend, going through the first six rounds with techs (3) and decisions (3) in equal measure before a 9-5 loss to the hosts’ Steven Banfield (9th at 2A-145). Thaxton then finished with a pin over Middleburg, the War Eagles’ only contested win in the consi semis.
T-5. Gulf Breeze (3-5 tournament & overall) —
Wins: Tate (72-6), Archbishop Shaw LA (40-39, criteria) & Collierville TN (45-33).
Losses not noted above: Smiths Station AL (37-31), Archbishop Shaw LA (47-25), Collierville TN (49-22), Harris County GA (45-31) & Smiths Station AL (45-26).
MVP: Brennden Nita (160/170). Nita was 8-0 in the tournament, but pinned his way through the second day of competition, all against out-of-state competition. Nita finished the event with six pins and a decision win Thursday over Collierville.
Hidden in the box scores: Although he took a loss on Friday, the four Thursday pins and key decision early Friday that Aiden Macken (113) accumulated helped the team when it struggled early on in the tournament. Macken was 7-1 with five pins, a tech and decision.
7. Ft Walton Beach (4-4 tournament & overall) —
Wins: Pell City AL (58-24), Bay (51-24), North Bay Haven (44-33) & Collierville TN (team FFT).
Losses not noted above: Huntsville AL (55-12), Harris County GA (30-40) & Collierville TN (45-29).
MVP: Alexander Davidson (7th at 2A-152, competing at 160). Was FWB’s lone 8-0 competitor in the tournament. After an 11-5 win over Huntsville to kick off the tournament, Davidson pinned every opponent put in front of him, going 8-0 with six pins.
Hidden in the box scores: After taking a 14-13 loss in the opening round against Huntsville, the Vikings’ Connor Roberts (182) was dominant the rest of the way, going 7-1 in the tournament as a whole, with five pins (Harris County, Pell City, Collierville, North Bay Haven & Wakulla) and a tech fall over Bay.
10. North Bay Haven (5-4 tournament, 9-9 overall) —
Wins: Wewahitchka (60-24), Crestview (50-27), Mosley (48-29), Niceville (48-34) & Harris County GA (team FFT).
Losses not noted above: Smiths Station AL (52-27) & Archbishop Shaw LA (40-36).
MVP: David Mercado (3rd at 1A-195). Competing at both 195 and 220, Mercado rolled up five pins (Suwannee, Mosley, Niceville, Smiths Station & Archbishop Shaw) with a 6-0 win over the hosts’ Daruis Brundidge (20th at 2A-182).
Hidden in the box scores: The Buccaneers’ Logan McAlister (5th at 285) was on track for an unbeaten weekend, at 8-0 with five pins — in a row — over Crestview, Mosley, Niceville, Smiths Station & Ft Walton Beach, but had a loss in the final round to Archbishop Shaw’s 285, who was unbeaten in the tournament as well.
11. Niceville (3-5 tournament, 7-5 overall) —
Wins: Choctaw (51-12), Ft Walton Beach-B (53-30) & Harris County GA (team FFT).
Losses not noted above: Collierville TN (52-25) & Archbishop Shaw LA (53-30).
MVP: Malachi Lewis (170). Lewis was one of two regular starters to go unbeaten and the only one to go 8-0, with five pins (Ft Walton-B, Wakulla, North Bay Haven, Collierville & Archbishop Shaw) plus a decision win over Middleburg.
Hidden in the box scores: Ethan Pinto (20th at 132) competed up a weight during the tournament, going 7-0 and bonus-pointing through each round, with poins over Wakulla, Middleburg, Collierville and Archbishop Shaw, plus a major over North Bay Haven.
14. Crestview (4-3 tournament & overall) —
Wins: Wewahitchka (45-29), Mosley (39-33), Tate (54-24) & Bay (43-42, criteria).
Losses not noted above: Pell City (57-24).
MVP: Daniel Giafaglione (138). Was the Bulldogs’ lone unbeaten in the tournament, going 7-0 with four pins (Mosley, Tate, Bay and Pell City) and a decision over North Bay Haven.
Hidden in the box scores: Lance Sanders (170) was 6-1 with two pins and three decisions, taking a loss only in the final against Pell City. Special mention to the Metzger sisters, who combined to go 4-3 in part-time appearances at 113. Sigrun was 2-2 with two pins (Tate & Bay) and Freydis went 2-1 with a fall (Mosley).
15. Mosley (4-4 tournament, 6-6 overall) —
Wins: Wewahitchka (42-18), Choctaw (54-24), Ft Walton Beach-B (42-35) & Bay (52-30).
Losses not noted above: Pell City AL (66-18).
MVP: Marshall Dixon (16th at 2A-220). In seven appearances, Dixon had five pins (Suwannee, North Bay Haven, Pell City, Ft Walton Beach-B & Bay) and max-pointed in each appearance, closing out the tournaments with three falls in succession.
Hidden in the box scores: While Andre Trice’s first day at 195 was a bit up-and-down (2 losses, just one contested win), Trice rallied on Friday, with a max-point day and pins over Pell City (just one of three for the team), Ft Walton-B and Bay.
16. Bay (2-6 tournament, 5-7 overall) —
Wins: Ft Walton Beach-B (69-12) & Wewahitchka (55-24).
Losses not noted above: Huntsville AL (64-5), Harris County GA (66-16) & Pell City AL (26-52).
MVP: Derrick Williams (1st at 1A-113). Bonus-pointed through the two days, whether at 113 or 120, with three pins, a tech (against champion Huntsville, the Tornadoes’ only points) and major.
Hidden in the box scores: After a tournament-opening loss to Huntsville, Elijah Stillgess (138/145) max-pointed the rest of the way for Bay, going 7-1 with pins over Harris County, Pell City, Ft Walton Beach-B, Crestview & Wewahitchka.
17. Wewahitchka (2-6 tournament, 6-14 overall) —
Wins: Choctaw (36-15) & Ft Walton Beach-B (36-30).
Losses not noted above: Pell City AL (70-12).
MVP: Conner Roberts (14th at 1A-160). Aside from a 4-0 loss to region rival Austin Howard of Suwannee (3rd at 1A-160), Roberts pinned his way through the two days on a team that had just eight wrestlers, going 7-1 with seven pins.
Hidden in the box scores: Jake Parker (13th at 1A-120) had a solid tournament wrestling a weight up, going 6-2 with three pins, a tech and decision. Parker’s only losses were to Suwannee’s Brody Boehm (9th at 1A-132) and Bay’s David Drake (17th at 1A-126).
18. Ft Walton Beach-B (2-6 tournament) —
Wins: Choctaw (48-18) & Tate (48-30).
MVP: Jimmy Singleton (113). Although Singleton started each day with a loss, he’d pin out from there, going 6-2 with six pins (Niceville/Choctaw/Wakulla on Thursday, Tate/Mosley/Wewahitchka on Friday).
Hidden in the box scores: In the first tournament we’ve seen closely for the Vikings’ George Selmeister (126/132), he had five pins over the two days, going 5-3 with pins over Niceville, Choctaw, Wakulla, Tate & Mosley.
T-19. Choctaw (0-6 tournament, 2-8 overall) —
MVP: Bradack Carroll (145). Carroll was the only Indians’ competitor to post a better-than-.500 record, going 4-2 with pins over Ft Walton Beach-B, Mosley and Wewahitchka, plus a decision against Niceville.
Hidden in the box scores: Only one other Choctaw wrestler besides Carroll had more than one contested win in the tournament, as Gavin Henegar (160) had a Thursday pin in pool play over Niceville and a Friday one over Mosley.
T-19. Tate (0-6 tournament & overall) —
Losses not noted above: Smiths Station AL (75-6), Archbishop Shaw LA (65-12), Collierville TN (70-12).
MVP: Landen George (195). Aside from a loss in pool to Smiths Station, George had a solid tournament for the Aggies, going 5-1 with pins over Archbishop Shaw, Collierville, Crestview and Ft Walton’s B side.
Hidden in the box scores: After a rough first day, with three losses, Caiden Stone (152) closed out the tournament on an up note, with pins over both Crestview and Ft Walton Beach-B.
Rankings are per https://kabrawrestling.com/rankings
Results from the two-day tournament can be found HERE.
North Florida Matmen 