By MATMEN, Tuesday, 1:20 a.m.
JACKSONVILLE — It’s been a season of some pretty big ups and a few downs as well for Oakleaf.
Count last Thursday as one of the biggest ups, even bigger than the Clay County Knights’ dual victory over county rival Clay in December. Oakleaf was the only team in the 10-team event to move a double-digit number of region qualifiers, as the Knights pushed past the rest of the field to win the 2A-District 3 IBT title, staged at Westside HS.
The Knights will take 11 wrestlers as automatic qualifiers to Chiles on Friday, with two champs, four runners-up, four 3rds and one 4th; that was enough for Oakleaf to push past Ridgeview’s biggest day, perhaps, of the season as well, as the Knights had 212.5 points to the Panthers’ 196.
Ridgeview and fellow Clay County rival Middleburg each will take eight wrestlers to regions, with the Panthers advancing three champs, one runnerup, three 3rds and one 4th. The Broncos, third with 166 points, got seven into the finals, with four champs and three runners-up along with one 4th.
Host Westside was fourth with 158 points, qualifying seven wrestlers on one champ, three runners-up, one 3rd and two 4ths. Terry Parker pushed past Gateway Conference rival Riverside, 108-106, for fifth and sixth places, respectively. The Braves moved five to regions, with one runnerup, two 3rds and two 4ths, while the Generals advanced six out, on two champs, one 3rd and three 4ths.
Ponte Vedra was seventh at 89 points, with Orange Park eighth with 86. The Sharks got four wrestlers to regions, with one runnerup and three 4ths, while the Raiders advanced two — one runnerup and one 3rd. Ed White was ninth, with 73 points and three qualifiers (one champ and two 3rds), while Englewood was 10th on 50 points (one runnerup & one 4th).
A brief summary of each weight class follows.
106
Final: Ridgeview’s Jason Barrett (18th as ranked by Matmen-endorsed state ranker KabraWrestling.com) had two victories for his first district title, with an 8-2 win over Oakleaf prior to pinning Westside’s Jacob Jackson in 1:12 to win in the final. Jackson had first takedown, but Barrett was able to get out and get a takedown of his own en route to securing the pin. Jackson reached the title round after a decision victory over Ponte Vedra.
3rd: After falling to Barrett in the semis, Oakleaf’s Connor Barnes had two bonus-point wins in the consis, with a fall in the semis and 15-3 major for third over Ponte Vedra’s Baxley Hines. Hines (front-side pin over Terry Parker) advanced to the medal round with a bye in the consi semis.
113
Final: Terry Parker’s Shamar Jones (15th) pinned his way through the bracket for his first district title, with falls in the semis (2:32) over Ridgeview, and a pin over Orange Park’s Elijah Grant in 1:47. Jones needed just one takedown 20 seconds in, getting the turn and fall a minute later. Grant had two bonus-point wins to get to Jones, with a quarterfinal pin over Ponte Vedra and major over Westside.
3rd: After his semifinal loss to Jones, Ridgeview’s Daniel Nguyen (front-side pin over Englewood) racked up two pins in the consis, with falls over Ponte Vedra in the semis and then a 4-minute pin over Westside’s Jayden Joseph for third. Joseph punched his Chiles ticket with a blood-round pin over Englewood.
120
Final: Middleburg’s Grady Woodard (18th) won his first district title, with a semifinal pin (:42) over Terry Parker and a 9-6 decision over Oakleaf’s Ion Hortinela (20th) in the championship match. Woodard built a 6-0 lead late in the second, and had a takedown in the third, but Hortinela did rally with a late reversal and turn to make it close. Hortinela had two bonus-point wins to get to the final, with a major over Riverside and pin over Ridgeview.
3rd: After losing by fall to Woodard in the semis, Terry Parker’s Curnard Juluke (front-side pin over Westside) max-pointed in the consi rounds with a blood-round pin over Riverside and a forfeit over Ridgeview’s Sean Davis for third. Davis (front-side pin over Englewood) earned his region space with a fall over Westside in the consi semis.
126
Final: After a stint out of the lineup, Oakleaf’s Sebastian Bonochea (10th) won his first district title behind a semifinal pin (1:02) over Terry Parker and a 9-2 championship-match decision over Middleburg’s Dylan Johns. Bonochea had takedowns in each period, with two in the third period, allowing Johns only escapes after those third-period scores. Johns advanced to the final with a quarterfinal decision over Orange Park and semifinal pin over Ponte Vedra.
3rd: After a 9-5 loss to Johns in the quarters, Orange Park’s Jonathan Garland pinned his way through the back, with falls over Riverside and Terry Parker before falling Ponte Vedra’s Aiden Taylor in 3:16 for third. Taylor (front-side pin over Riverside) punched his Chiles ticket with a consi-semi pin over Ed White.
132
Final: Middleburg’s Wyatt Leduc (4th) bagged two first-period pins over Orange Park (1:21, quarters) and over Ponte Vedra (1:15, semis) before winning by forfeit in the championship round over Oakleaf’s Keon Barrientos (19th) for his first district title. Barrientos advanced to the final after a pin over Ed White and decision over Ridgeview.
3rd: After falling, 7-6, to Barrientos in the semi, Ridgeview’s Kaiden Tibbetts (front-side pin over Terry Parker) won by fall twice in the consis, taking pins over Westside (semis) and in 3:39 over Ponte Vedra’s Daniel De Almeida for third place. De Almeida (front-side decision over Westside) earned his region spot with a blood-round pin over Terry Parker.
138
Final: Ridgeview’s Christian Garcia won his first district championship after a quarterfinal pin over Ponte Vedra and decisions over Westside (10-7, semis) and in the finals over Middleburg’s Joseph Forte by an 8-7 count. Garcia trailed twice against Forte after the Bronco had takedowns in the first and second period, but Garcia would rally for takedowns of his own down the stretch for the win. Forte reached the final behind decisions over Orange Park and Oakleaf to get to Garcia.
3rd: After a 7-0 loss in the semis to Forte, Oakleaf’s Caleb Pope (front-side pin over Terry Parker) pinned his way to third with falls in the consis over Ponte Vedra (semis) and in 52 seconds over Westside’s Olleon Hickmon for third. Hickmon (front-side pin over Ed White) falled Orange Park in the blood round to qualify out for Chiles.
145
Final: Middleburg’s Logan Moore (8th) earned his first district title, bookending a 5-2 semifinal win over Terry Parker with pins in the quarters over Ponte Vedra and in the championship round (4:36) over Westside’s Gha-is Cooper (19th). Moore scored in each period, with three takedowns, two reversals and a pair of turns before securing the fall. Cooper got to the final behind pins over Orange Park and Ridgeview.
3rd: After his 5-2 loss to Moore in the semis, Terry Parker’s Ben Helton (front-side decision over Oakleaf) had pins in the wrestlebacks over Orange Park (semis) and in 57 seconds over Oakleaf’s Anthony Dees in a medal-round rematch of the quarters. Dees won twice in the consis to secure his space as well, with a tech fall over Ponte Vedra and decision in the consi semis over Ridgeview.
152
Final: Westside’s Nathan Williams (10th) won the hosts’ lone district title and his first district championship, bookending a semifinal pin (4:00) over Ridgeview with decisions over Riverside (6-2, quarters) and over Middleburg’s Daniel Raines by a 4-3 count in the title match. Raines scored first, but Williams’ ability to get out — and get a takedown of his own and ride — was the difference in the match. Raines advanced to the final behind decision victories over Oakleaf (quarters) and Englewood (semis).
3rd: After losing in either double-OT or UTB in the quarters to Raines, Oakleaf’s Jerimiah Baker had three bonus-point consi wins for third, with a pin over Ed White and majors over Ridgeview (blood round) and a 13-3 second major over Riverside’s Orion Barnhardt. Barnhardt (front-side pin over Orange Park) took two pins to advance out, over Ponte Vedra and Englewood.
160
Final: Ed White’s Benny Lewis (17th) took preliminary pins over Terry Parker and Westside before downing Oakleaf’s Roman Polinsky, 8-1, in the final match for Lewis’ first district championship. Lewis had takedowns in the first and second period, plus a 3-point turn in the second, to establish control of the match. Polinsky successfully advanced to the final behind pins over Ponte Vedra (quarters) and Orange Park (semis).
3rd: After losing by fall in the semis to Lewis, Westside’s Jamell Robinson (front-side pin over Middleburg) added two more in the wrestlebacks, falling Ponte Vedra in the semi and then pinning Terry Parker’s Justin Rangeloff in 59 seconds for third. Rangeloff, who lost by fall to Lewis in the quarters, had pins over Middleburg and Orange Park to secure his Chiles space.
170
Final: Riverside’s Anthony Kearney powered through three decisions for his first district title, with decisions over Terry Parker (11-6, quarters), Ridgeview (10-9 in double OT, semis) and another extra-time win in the championship over Ponte Vedra’s Talan Babin, 8-4 in double-OT. After a 3-all tie, Kearney had takedowns in both halves of the double-OT period. Babin wasn’t scored upon prior to the final, with a shutout major in the quarters over Westside and a decision over Oakleaf in the semis.
3rd: After falling in double-OT to Kearney, Ridgeview’s Tanner Tague (front-side pin over Middleburg) had two wins in the consis, with a decision over Westside and third-period fall (5:43) over Terry Parker’s Damion Stoller. Stoller, who’d fallen by an 11-6 count to Kearney in the quarters, pinned Middleburg and won by forfeit over Taylor to secure his region space.
182
Final: Ridgeview’s James Laycock opened the road to his first district title with a quarterfinal pin over Ed White (2:56), followed by decisions (8-5) over Englewood in the semis and over Oakleaf’s Jacob Dewald, 5-2, for the final. Laycock seized early momentum behind a takedown and turn in the first period, never trailing afterward. Dewald had two bonus-point wins to get to Laycock, with a major decision over Westside and pin over Orange Park.
3rd: After losing by sudden victory in the quarters to Englewood’s Noah Ray, Riverside’s Donald Reed max-pointed through the consis, with pins over Ed White and Orange Park before winning by forfeit over Ray for third. Ray, who’d lost to Laycock in the semis, punched his Chiles ticket with a decision win over Westside in the blood round.
195
Final: Oakleaf’s Isaiah Shevchook (4th) won twice for his first district title with a semifinal pin (4:41) over Ridgeview and an 11-5 decision in the championship match over Westside’s Elijah Williams. Shevchook hit a 5-point sequence late in the first and that plus two takedowns down the stretch were enough for the decision win. Williams won by fall over Englewood (1:42, quarters) and Ed White (4:11, semis) to get to Shevchook.
3rd: After a loss by pin to Williams in the semis, Ed White’s Jordan Jackson (front-side major over Orange Park) had two pins on the back, with falls over Ponte Vedra in the semis and pin in 3:04 over Ridgeview’s Rayhn Hutchinson for third. Hutchinson (front-side pin over Ponte Vedra) earned his region space with a pin in the consi semis over Orange Park.
220
Final: Riverside’s Thomas Jones (4th) bonus-pointed through the tournament for his second district championship, with pins in the quarters and semis over Oakleaf (:47) and Ponte Vedra (1:22), respectively, before majoring Ridgeview’s Raymond Goforth, 20-10, in the final. Jones hit 10 scoring moves (eight takedowns, two reversals) to take the major, cutting Goforth after each. Goforth advanced to the final after a quarterfinal pin over Terry Parker and semifinal decision over Englewood.
3rd: After his quarterfinal loss by pin to Jones, Oakleaf’s Evan Brown (front-side pin over Ed White) took three pins in the consis, falling Westside and Englewood before pinning Middleburg’s Bryce Meldrum in 1:49. Meldrum advanced to regions behind pins over Ed White and Ponte Vedra.
285
Final: Middleburg’s Tucker Cody (18th) won his first district title behind first-period pins over Ridgeview (1:20, quarters) and Ed White (1 minute, semis) before pushing past Englewood’s Keith Forbes, 4-2, for the title. Cody had two takedowns in the first period and made them hold up, allowing only a pair of escapes for the victory. Forbes advanced to the final after a semifinal major over Riverside.
3rd: After losing by fall in the semis to Cody, Ed White’s Alex Benitez (front-side pin over Orange Park) had two pins on the back, falling Oakleaf in the consi semis and pin in 5:16 over Riverside’s Demontra Burnett. Burnett (front-side pin over Oakleaf) secured his region spot with a consi-semis pin over Ridgeview.
You can see results from this event and all other 2A districts HERE.
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