By MATMEN, Monday, 9:20 p.m.
ST JOHNS — Bartram Trail had revenge on its mind in last week’s 3A-District 1 duals tournament.
After taking a dual loss to Creekside at home, on the Bears’ Senior Night, last month, the Bears — behind a fuller lineup — rolled to three wins last Wednesday on, ironically enough, at Creekside’s gym, taking victories over Mandarin (70-6), the host Knights (42-36) and Fletcher (48-30).
The Bears (16-7) qualified for the Region 1 duals round for just the second time (in 2021, Bartram couldn’t compete during the time of Covid), winning their first FHSAA district duals title.
Creekside (18-3) rallied from the semifinal loss with consi-side wins over Sandalwood (51-24) and Nease (78-0 team forfeit win), then turned back Fletcher, 51-27, in the dual for true second to qualify for the region round for the fourth time in the St Johns Knights’ history.
The two St Johns teams will travel to DeLand for Thursday’s Region 1 round. Creekside will take on the host Bulldogs (10-6) in one quarterfinal, while Bartram will face Buchholz (3-2). The quarterfinal winners will then face off for a trip to Osceola and the FHSAA state duals tournament on January 20.
Six Bartram wrestlers were 3-0 last week, with Carmen DiBella (113/120, 2 pins and a critical decision win in the Creekside semi), Ethan Vugman (132, 3 pins), Grady Hutchinson (145, 3 pins), Preston Pena (152, 3 pins), John McNames (182, 3 pins) and Shane Armstrong (220, 3 pins) all going 3-0.
Jacob George (285, pin & decision) was 2-0 for the Bears, while Christain Jones (126, pin) and Jason Merkison (195, major) both were 2-1.
Creekside had two wrestlers in Justin Umali (120/126, 2 pins) and Conner Wright (138, 2 pins & tech) who were 4-0 on the night to lead the Knights.
Stephan Carrion (126) was 3-0, with Alexavier Panganiban (106, pin & major), Chihaya Cook (152, 2 pins), Xavier Grimm (160, 2 pins), Colton Leavell (170, pin & decision) and Tristen Darling (182/195, 2 pins) each going 3-1. Santiago Carrion (113, pin), Joseph Bartels (195) and Eli Pagan (220) each added 2-1 efforts for Creekside.
Fletcher (6-10) reached the winner’s final behind dual wins over Atlantic Coast (60-3) and Nease (48-24) before falling to the Bears and Knights. Elias Twigg (132/138) pinned his way to a 4-0 night with four falls, while Josh Daltro (160, 2 pins & decision), Joseph Kohlhaas (170, 3 pins) and Toby Matson (285, decision) also turned in 4-0 performances.
Additionally, Landon Locantora (106, 3 pins) and Kyle Lonergan (145, 3 pins) were both 3-1 for the Senators.
Nease (5-9) and Sandalwood (1-2) both fell in the consi semis. The St Johns Panthers had a front-side win over Sandalwood (40-36) and consi-side win over Mandarin (44-30), while the Saints had a 63-12 victory in the consis over Atlantic Coast.
Parker Stamschror (138/145, 2 pins & major) was Nease’s only 3-0 competitor in the event; the Panthers got two wins from Jason Choi (120/126, pin, 2-0 night); Wyatt Balger (113, pin), Jaiden Zajni (120, 2 pins), Trysten Oestereicher (138/145, 2 pins), Jacob Lutz (160, 2 pins) and Albio Jakupi (195, decision) were all 2-1.
For the Saints, Justin Robinson (113, 2 pins & decision), Malachi Mista (182, pin) and Duffy Mista (195, 2 pins & tech) each were 3-0, while Qalani Cobb (132, 2 pins), Ricky Hicks (145, pin), Malik Wilson (170, decision), Sharrod Bobo (220) and Thomas Graham (285) all were 2-1.
Atlantic Coast (0-2) and Mandarin (2-11) lost on both sides of the district-dual bracket. The Stingrays had three contested wins, while the Mustangs had four, with no individuals winning twice on the night.
Results of last week’s event, along with all other area district competitions that are mostly or completely reported, can be found HERE.
North Florida Matmen 