By MATMEN, Tuesday, 9:05 p.m.
WEWAHITCHKA — Five years ago, when Bay last won a district wrestling title of any sort, it was a bit of a surprise when everything clicked together for one tournament-long moment.
Fast foward to 2023, and the Tornadoes now seem poised to, quite possibly, make the excellence of last Thursday’s 1A-District 1 IBT win a part of annual expectations.
Bay advanced 10 wrestlers to Friday’s Region 1 tournament at Wewahitchka, with four champs, one runnerup, three 3rds and two 4ths, and that contingent was enough for the Tornadoes to hold off District 1 duals champ North Bay Haven, 201-184, to win the team title.
North Bay Haven duplicated the Tornadoes’ number of automatic qualifiers, with three champs, one runnerup, four 3rds and two 4ths on the day.
Rutherford pushed past South Walton, 161-146, for third place. The Rams will take eight automatic qualifiers to regions, on one champion, four runners-up, two 3rds and one 4th, while the Seahawks, last year’s IBT champ, advanced seven, with four of them champions, along with one 3rd and two 4ths.
Host Wewahitchka was fifth on 118 points, and the Gators will advance five to competition (one champion, three runners-up and one 3rd). Bozeman outpointed Rocky Bayou Christian, 99-96, for sixth; the Bucks will move one champion, three runners-up and one 4th to regions, while the Knights advanced six out (one runnerup, three 3rds and two 4ths). Freeport, competing in its first season as a sanctioned program, was eighth with 59 points and will take one runnerup and four 4ths to regions.
A brief summary of each weight class follows.
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Final: South Walton’s Nathan Lyttle (15th statewide in 1A as ranked by Matmen solely-endorsed state ranker KabraWrestling.com) won his first state title with preliminary pins over Wewahitchka (quarters) and over Bay (semis) before pushing past Rutherford’s Dylan Malott (20th), 9-5, in the final for his first district title. Lyttle had three takedowns in the first period, and while Malott closed the gap behind a takedown of his own in the second, Lyttle got an insurance takedown early in the third for the win. Malott reached the final behind a semifinal pin over Rocky Bayou Christian.
3rd: After his semifinal loss by pin to Malott, Rocky Bayou Christian’s Thomas Pluhar (front-side pin over North Bay Haven) took two pins in the consis for third, falling Wewahitchka before pinning Bay’s Treysen Villegas in 2:42 in the medal round. Villegas (front-side pin over Bozeman) punched his Wewahitchka region ticket with a fall over North Bay Haven.
113
Final: Top-ranked Derrick Williams of Bay picked up two pins in winning his second district title, falling South Walton (1:11) in the semis, then pinning North Bay Haven’s Nathan Mercado in 1:16 to win the first of Bay’s four weight-class firsts. Williams picked off a pair of takedowns, with the second leading directly to the fall a few moments later. Mercado bonus-pointed into the final with a fall over Rutherford (quarters) and major over Rocky Bayou Christian (semis).
3rd: After his 12-1 loss to Mercado in the semis, Rocky Bayou’s Wyatt Moore needed just 46 seconds to pin two opponents, with pins over Bozeman in the blood round and in 33 seconds over South Walton’s Dylan Hardin for third. Hardin (front-side pin over Bozeman) secured his region space with a consi-semi pin over Rutherford.
120
Final: The Tornadoes’ David Drake (8th) made it back-to-back titles in winning his first district championship, with pins over Rutherford (2:29, semis) and over Wewahitchka’s Jake Parker in 1:40 to win in the finals. Drake had the match’s only takedown, with a quick turn before a second turn led to the pin. Parker reached the final behind pins over South Walton (quarters) and Rocky Bayou Christian (semis).
3rd: After losing by fall in the semis to Drake, Rutherford’s Michael Lurvey (front-side decision over NBH) added pins in the consis over South Walton (semis) and in 2:47 over Rocky Bayou Christian’s Jeremiah Herron in the medal round. Herron (front-side major) earned his region space with a consi-semi pin over North Bay Haven.
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Final: Bozeman’s Justin Johnson, in his seventh season and second stint with the Bucks, won his first district title with a quarterfinal tech (21-5 in 4 minutes) over Wewahitchka, and pins over Freeport (:44, semis) and in 2:52 in the final over Bay’s Leonardo Sanchez. Sanchez opened the match with a takedown and turn, but Johnson came back with a takedown and two turns to close out the first period, plus a reversal that led to the fall in the second. Sanchez got to the final behind a semifinal decision over North Bay Haven.
3rd: After falling by 9-2 decison to Sanchez, North Bay Haven’s Caleb Fuster had two pins in the wrestlebacks, falling Wewahitchka in the semis and then pinning Freeport’s Michael Summers in 47 seconds for third. Summers, who had byes on the front and back, became Freeport’s first region qualifier in program history.
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Final: South Walton’s Gibson Moore (16th) pinned his way through the bracket, racking up falls over Freeport (:13, quarters), Rutherford (2:45, semis) and over Rocky Bayou Christian’s Clay Nelson in 2:43 for the championship. While Nelson had first takedown, Moore rallied to go up 6-2 early, behind a 3-point move, and added another takedown in the second period. Nelson reached the final behind pins over Bay and North Bay Haven.
3rd: After his semifinal loss by pin to Nelson, North Bay Haven’s Zander Stillgess (front-side pin over Bozeman) added two more falls in the consis, with pins over Wewahitchka in the semis and in 2:59 over Rutherford’s Augustine Lurvey for third. Lurvey (front-side pin over Wewahitchka) punched his Wewahitchka region ticket with a pin over Bay.
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Final: After runnerup efforts in each of the last three years, Bay’s Elijah Stillgess (15th) broke through for his first district title, pinning his way through the draw on falls over South Walton (1:12, quarters), Freeport (2:58, semis) and in 1:02 in the championship round over Bozeman’s Jeremy Tavernier. Stillgess got a takedown 10 seconds in, with a pair of nearfalls before his third turn turned into the pin. Tavernier reached the final behind a semifinal pin over North Bay Haven.
3rd: After his loss by fall to Tavernier, North Bay Haven’s Will Lundgren pinned his way through the consis, with pins over South Walton (semis) and in 1:14 in the final over Freeport’s Chase Justice. Justice had byes in both halves of the bracket in reaching the region round.
145
Final: North Bay Haven’s Bear Siegal (9th) won the Buccaneers’ first title of the day and his first district title, thanks to a semifinal pin over Freeport and a 7-6 win over #11 Romero Black of Rutherford in the final round. Black ran out to a 6-1 lead after a 3-point nearfall in the first period, but Siegal hit a 5-point move late in the second to tie the match up, going ahead on a second stall warning called on Black and penalty point for Siegal. Black got to the final behind a semifinal pin over Bay.
3rd: In a four-person bracket, Bay’s Deven Bradshaw pinned Freeport’s Aiden Hines in 1:44 for third.
152
Final: Bay’s Shaun Sandidge was his team’s fourth champion of the day in winning his first district championship, pinning his way through the bracket with falls over Rutherford (1:24, quarters), Bozeman (4:20, semis) and in 1:44 over the hosts’ Jarrett Spencer for the final. After Sandidge got first takedown, Spencer was able to get a takedown and, a few moments later, a 3-point nearfall, but Sandidge was able to reverse out and get the fall. Spencer got to the final with pins over Freeport (quarters) and Rocky Bayou Christian (semis).
3rd: After a loss by fall to Sandidge in the quarters, Rutherford’s Wyatt Griffin rallied back to third with a win by injury default over Rocky Bayou Christian and fall over Bozeman’s Daniel Pierce in 3:43 for third. Pierce secured his region space with a consi-semi tech fall over North Bay Haven.
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Final: Wewahitchka senior Conner Roberts (8th) earned three victories to claim his second district title, with preliminary pins over Rocky Bayou Christian (:26) and Freeport (1:52) before shutting out Rutherford’s Keaton Schirmer, 5-0, in the title round. Roberts picked up takedowns late in the first and early in the third, with the second takedown all but insuring the win. Schirmer had pins over North Bay Haven and South Walton in reaching the final.
3rd: After his semifinal loss to Schirmer, South Walton’s Kaden Shaw (front-side decision over Bay) won by fall twice on the back, with pins over Rocky Bayou Christian (semis) and in 2 minutes for third over Freeport’s Colby Crompton. Crompton punched his Wewahitchka ticket with a pin over Bay in the blood round.
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Final: North Bay Haven’s Julian Hernandez earned his first district championship with two victories, pinning Rutherford (2:22) in the semis and then overcoming Wewahitchka’s Calvin Carpenter, 15-9, in the final. Each period saw one turn, with Hernandez leading early, only to see Carpenter rally with a late 5-point move in the second period. Hernandez took over the offense from there, scoring the final seven points of the match. Carpenter won twice to get to the final, with a pin over South Walton and decision over Bay.
3rd: After falling by an 11-6 count to Carpenter in the semis, Bay’s Tanner Collins took two consi-side pins for third, falling Freeport in the semis and then pinning South Walton’s Nick Mitchell in 1:52 for third. Mitchell secured his region space by decision in the blood round over Rutherford.
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Final: Rutherford’s Bryson Schirmer (20th) won his team’s only district title, winning his second district championship behind pins in the semis over Rocky Bayou Christian (1:31) and then again in the final over Bozeman’s Zachary Rosalis, in 3:36. Schirmer scored in both the first and second periods, leading by a 4-0 count when he took the pin. Rosalis reached the final behind a semifinal pin over NorthBay Haven.
3rd: After losing by pin to Rosalis, NBH’s Brayden Harper (front-side pin over Freeport) had a bye into the medal round, where he pinned Rocky Bayou’s Parker Sage in 57 seconds. Sage punched his region ticket with a fall over Freeport in the consi semis.
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Final: South Walton’s Cody Johnson needed 88 seconds to earn two pins, with falls in the semis over North Bay Haven, then pinning Rutherford’s Tyler Hall in 53 seconds for his first district title. Johnson got a takedown 17 seconds in, making that stand up for the pin. Hall got to the final with a semifinal pin over Rocky Bayou Christian.
3rd: In a four-person braceket, RBC’s Kaleb Rasmussen pinned North Bay Haven’s Peyton Saluto in 3:56 for third.
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Final: North Bay Haven’s David Mercado (2nd) made his move up in weight count toward his third district championship, with pins in the semis over Bay (:53) and then in 1 minute even over Bozeman’s Asher Burris in the finals round. Mercado needed only one takedown in that match, making it count toward the turn and fall. Burris reached the final with a semifinal pin over Wewahitchka.
3rd: In a four-person bracket, Wewahitchka’s James Hardy pinned Bay’s Garrett Pelt in 1:13 to take third.
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Final: South Walton’s Carlos Sanchez pinned his way to his first district crown, with falls in the semis over Bay (:23) and in the championship over Freeport’s Lewis Adams in 3:43. A scoreless first period saw Sanchez break through first, with a mid-period takedown in the second leading to the pin. Adams also won by fall twice, with pins over Wewahitchka (quarters) and over North Bay Haven (semis).
3rd: After a loss by fall in the semis to Sanchez, Bay’s Garet Zenker (front-side pin over Bozeman) added two more pins in the consis, falling Wewahitchka in the semis and then pinning North Bay Haven’s Tripp Rogers in 1:14 for third. Rogers punched his Chiles ticket with a consi-semi pin over Bozeman.
You can see results from this event and all other 1A districts HERE.
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