By MATMEN, Monday, 4:50 p.m.
TAMPA — Matanzas took a rare opportunity to travel outside the coverage area on Saturday, as the Pirates went on the interstate to drive over to Tampa and compete in Sickles HS’ Jerry Brisco Challenge.
The Pirates duked it out with Newsome all day long for top honors, ultimately coming up short by just six points, 210.5-204.5, as one of just two teams in the 18-team IBT not from the metropolitan Tampa community.
Land O’Lakes (168.5 points), Robinson (165) and Tampa Freedom (149.5) rounded out the top 5 teams.
Matanzas did come home with, in addition to the team runnerup trophy, five individual weight-class wins from Timothy McLean (3rd-2A at 106), Kaden Golder (13th-2A at 113), Toryion Stallings (10th-2A at 126), Landon Wright (20th-3A at 170, competing at 160), and Jordan Mills (2nd-2A at 182, competing at 170).
McLean bonus-pointed through each round of the tournament, with a tech over Newsome and first-period pins over Lake Region and Sickles, respectively, before facing Tampa Freedom’s Mason Ringate (10th-2A) in the final, where he went on to secure a 13-5 major.
At 113, Golder pinned or teched for his path to the championship, with a tech over Sumner followed by pins over Gaither and Newsome; in the final, against top-seed Nate Varley (7th-1A), Golder didn’t slow down in the slightest, rolling up 18 points before teching Varley (18-2) in 4:15.
Stallings, the 4 seed, rolled to two early wins, with an 18-7 major over East Lake and pin over Robinson, then knocked off top seed Kris Hunter (20th-1A) of Tenoroc, 7-4, in the semis in order to reach the final and Land O’Lakes’ Jet Griffis, where Stallings then set the pace en route to a 9-3 win.
Wright’s closest match in the tournament was his first, a 16-11 round-of-16 decision over Gaither; from there, he pinned his way to the title, with preliminary falls over Tenoroc and Sumner before pinning Tampa Freedom’s Gavin Chung in 1:20.
Mills, in his second tournament of the season, pinned his way into the final, taking falls over Newsome, Sickles and Durant, in succession. In the final, against Newsome’s Randy Trowbridge, he once again set the tempo, shutting down Trowbridge in a 10-0 major.
The Pirates had two additional finalists Saturday, as Carter Wilder (132) and Dylan Parkinson (10th-2A at 152) both placed second.
Wilder pinned his way into the 132 final, with three pins in all, before taking a loss to Land O’Lakes’ Brandon Austin (7th-2A), 11-2, while Parkinson 1bonus-pointed into the 152 final (2 techs in rd of 16 and quarters, 11-2 major in semis) before losing by fall (3:23) to Tampa Freedom’s Bashir Rostami.
Results from the tournament can be found HERE.
North Florida Matmen 