By MATMEN, Sunday, 4:05 p.m.
WINTER PARK — Timber Creek battled defending champion Freedom to a virtual standstill in the weekend’s two-day Metro Conference boys IBT.
In the end, though, the Patriots found a couple more bonus points at one or two points during the tournament, and that was enough to hold off the Wolfpack, 231.5-228.5, and win the team title on Saturday.
Winter Park was third, with 151 points, with East River fourth (135) and Jones fifth (134).
Among area teams in the rest of the 21-team field, Olympia was sixth (122.5), Ocoee ninth (111), West Orange 10th (98.5), Evans 11th (87.5), Apopka 13th (80), Dr Phillips 15th (66.5), Wekiva 16th (58), Horizon 19th (40), Windermere 20th (29).
The coverage area had five champions in all.
Timber Creek had one of them, along with five runners-up, during the weekend. Wolfpack senior Peter Nesheiwat (3A-4th at 285) pinned his way through the bracket, never going past the second period. After Friday pins over Horizon and Boone in a combined mat time of 1:10, Nesheiwat falled Evans in the Saturday semis before pinning Freedom’s Zachary Derilus (2:08) in the title round. After a 3-point move late in the first period, Nesheiwat reversed out from bottom and got the pin.
Winter Park led the coverage area, with two titlists in Jacob Rothman (106) and Joseph Parker (152). Rothman (3A-20th) never had to go past the first period, with a Friday pin over Olympia, and pins on Saturday over Ocoee (semis) and in 1:46 over Windermere’s Egehan Yilhan. Rothman had to fight off a turn by Yilhan late in the first, and did so with a reversal and fall in 1:46.
At 152, Parker (3A-6th) had three Friday pins in 2:35 combined mat time, with an 11-2 major in the semis. Against Timber Creek’s Andrew Wittenberg (3A-11th), Parker led 4-0 early and reversed a takedown, putting Wittenberg to back for a 3-point turn and winning by injury default late in the second period.
West Orange’s Raymond Cavey (126) and Ocoee’s Keniel Carrasquillo (220) were solo champions for their respective programs.
Cavey (3A-14th at 126) teched or pinned his way to the final, with third-period pins in the quarters and semis, but had to go a full six minutes to turn back Lake Nona’s Christian Reinhardt, 9-4. Cavey had takedowns in each period, with four in all, allowing only four escapes.
At 220, Carrasquillo (3A-15th) won by fall in the quarters and then edged Jones by a point in the semis to get to top-seeded Liam Glassmeyer of Winter Park (3A-11th). After both wrestlers were able to get out from bottom but no other points were scored, it appeared that overtime was imminent, but Carrasquillo was able to grab a takedown in the final second for a 3-1 win.
Area wrestlers who lost to out-of-area competitors in the finals were Timber Creek’s Marlo Clark (113), Keegan Clark (120), William Muniz (160) and Micah Wittenberg (170); Apopka’s Tamarion Kendrick (138); and Evans’ Tyran Schanck (145).
Marlo Clark (3A-8th) had a pin and 21-12 to reach the 113 final, but then took a 5-1 loss in that round to East River’s Pedro Sifuentes (2A-6th), while Keegan Clark dominated the bottom half of the 120 bracket (15-0 TF, pin & 6-0 win) before losing by fall (3:43) to Freedom’s Jesten Conty (3A-15th).
Muniz pinned his way into the 160 final, three falls in all, without going past the second period, but couldn’t convert a late turn and wound up taking an 11-9 loss to Edgewater’s Rafael Rodriguez in the championship match, while Micah Wittenberg (3A-9th at 160) also pinned his way to the final at 170, but trailed throughout the match against Cypress Creek’s Kenneth Dean (3A-12th) before taking a loss by DQ.
Kendrick (3A-7th) racked up a pin and 14-5 major en route to the 138 final, but ran into a buzzsaw in Freedom’s Eric Aja (3A-5th), losing by fall in 38 seconds. At 145, Schanck (3A-14th at 152) grabbed two pins and had a 7-3 semifinal win to reach that final, but gave up a late takedown in the final seconds to drop a 3-1 loss to Freedom’s Tremaine Chester.
Brackets from the weekend can be found HERE.
North Florida Matmen 