By MATMEN, Sunday, 11:20 a.m.
WINTER SPRINGS — Deltona knew moving back up to 2A this year wasn’t going to be easy.
If they’d ever forgotten that this season, the Wolves got a sharp reminder of it last Thursday in the 2A-Region 1 dual quarterfinals, as defending state champion and top-ranked Lake Gibson ended their FHSAA tournament run with a 69-12 defeat.
The Braves got out to a 12-0 start on pins at 195 and 220, but Nathan Hatch (14th at 285) got the Wolves (8-4) on the board with a pin in 73 seconds to make it 12-6.
Lake Gibson would put up another run, this one 24 points on four pions between 106 and 126 to go up 36-6. At that point, Kevin Kerns (2nd at 132) was able to slow the bleeding with a second-period pin (3:55), but he wasn’t able to stop it for long.
Kyle Yasses (138) went toe-to-toe with the #7-ranked wrestler in 2A, taking a 5-4 loss, and that was Deltona’s last best chance for points, as the Braves put on a 33-0 run to close out the dual.
Deltona’s next competition was this weekend at Pinellas Park’s Jerry Mita two-day IBT.
Lake Gibson would go on to qualify out for the FHSAA state 2A dual tournament on Friday at Osceola, where it will face Springstead for the Region 2 championship. The Braves defeated District 8 champ Winter Springs, 51-19, to get back to state duals; the Bears had advanced to the semis with a 65-16 win over Gateway.
You can find full results for this site’s quarterfinal and semifinal rounds HERE.
North Florida Matmen 