By MATMEN, Thursday, 10:45 p.m.
KISSIMMEE — The goal is survive and advance, or at least survive.
After the first day of competition in the FHSAA 2A state wrestling tournament at Silver Spurs Arena, Fleming Island hasn’t lost anyone just yet.
All 13 Golden Eagle wrestlers won once Thursday, and the result was a first-day tie with Lake Gibson — the team that knocked off Fleming in the 2A state duals final in mid-January — as both the Golden Eagles and Braves finished the day with 36.5 points.
Charlotte, with 33 points, stands third, followed by Tampa Jesuit (18) and Brandon (17.5).
Lincoln’s in a three-way tie with Manatee and Winter Springs at 14 points for seventh, while Clay and Middleburg are T-10th with 13 points each.
New Smyrna Beach is tied for 12th with 12 points, while Oakleaf is one of four teams tied for 18th at eight.
Quarterfinal wrestling begins at 9:15 a.m. on Friday, with consi round 2 at approximately 11:45, semis at approximately 1:30 p.m. and consi quarters at approximately 4 p.m.
106
On to the quarters: Jacob Bucci (Clay); Matthew Newman (Fleming Island); Timothy McLean (Matanzas). In the top half of the bracket, Bucci (3rd) pinned Lecanto’s Lorenzo Macatol in 1:18 to stage a Friday quarterfinal with Charlotte’s Matthew Schuler. In the bottom, Newman (5th) also had a quick first-round pin, falling Lake Gibson’s Jeffrey Messner in 1:10; he’ll wrestle Braden River’s Matthew Ireland (7th) in the quarters, while McLean (8th) took a 10-3 win over Cypress Creek-WC’s Francesco Alagna, sending McLean into the quarters against Merritt Island’s second-ranked Landon Quiroga.
Heading home: Gulf Breeze’s Garrett Ferguson (9th) lost by fall (3:22) in the first round to top-ranked Roberto Rodriguez of Brandon, and then injury-defaulted in the consis to Immokalee’s Maynor Herrera (10th).
113
On to the quarters: Vaniel Caceres (Lincoln). Caceres (6th) was the only area quarterfinalist in the weight class, pushing past #8 Hernando Pinto of Countryside, 2-0, in the first round. Caceres will wrestle 10th-ranked Erick Vargas of Lakeland in the quarters.
Alive in consis: Shane Duhaylungsod (Fleming Island). After a loss by pin (3:20) on the front side to 2nd-ranked Roman Lermer of Tampa Jesuit, Duhaylungsod (7th) came back with a 16-4 major over Springstead’s Vincenzo Lee.
Heading home: Clay’s Drew Holmquist and Ft Walton Beach’s Santiago Mayic each took two losses. Holmquist lost by fall to top-ranked Camren French (1:11) on the front side of the bracket, and then lost to Miramar’s Dully Brutus (1:14) in the wrestlebacks, while Mayic took losses by pin on both sides as well, falling to Cape Coral’s Robert Albert (4th) in 1:20 in the front half and to Miami Norland’s Rahsaan Robinson in 1:34 in the consis.
120
On to the quarters: Coby Shields (Gulf Breeze); Grady Woodard (Middleburg); Jashawn Washington (Lincoln). Shields (9th) advanced with a third-period fall (5:32) over Miramar’s Kylan Butler, and will next face sixth-ranked Richard Albert of Cape Coral in round 2. In the bottom half of the bracket, Woodard (10th) pinned Archbishop McCarthy’s Amari Lewis in 5:56 to get to the quarterfinal round and top-ranked Christian Fretwell of Lake Gibson, while Washington pinned Heritage’s Aiden Baker (8th) in 1:22, and will wrestle Charlotte’s Kaiden Ballinger (2nd) in the quarters.
Heading home: Oakleaf’s Ion Hortinela had a pair of losses by pin to top-five wrestlers, losing by fall on the front (1:18) to Satellite’s Alexander McMiller (5th) and in the consis by pin (3:06) to third-ranked Luke Williams of Brandon.
126
On to the quarters: Laird Duhaylungsod (Fleming Island); Brady Glavin (Clay); Sebastian Bonochea (Oakleaf). Duhaylungsod (4th) began the tournament with a first-period pin (1:27) over Okeechobee’s Falco Frank, setting up a quarterfinal match with Countryside’s Landon Bates (6th). In the bottom half, Glavin (9th) majored Sebastian River’s Kaden Wheeler, 14-1, to get to the quarterfinals and 2nd-ranked Colt Brown of Lake Gibson, while Bonochea (10th) pinned #8 Alexander Wisdom of Am Heritage-Plantation in 2:27. Bonochea will wrestle Mariner’s top-ranked Maximus Brady in the quarters.
Heading home: Lincoln’s Zakary Jurado was 0-2 Thursday, with a 9-8 loss in the opening round to third-ranked Gregory Mendez of Mater Academy; Jurado then lost by fall (4:57) to fifth-ranked Eric Clary of Charlotte in the wrestleback round.
132
On to the quarters: Jayce Paridon (Fleming Island); Kevin Kerns (Deltona). Paridon shut out Land O’Lakes’ Brandon Austin, 9-0, in the round of 16 and will face sixth-ranked Jayden Bowles of Tampa Jesuit in round 2. Kerns (7th) falled Middleburg’s Wyatt Leduc (4th) in the only all-area boys’-side match in round 1, with a pin time of 1:53. Kerns will face Lely’s McKenley Charelus in the quarters.
Alive in consis: Jonathan Bruner (New Smyrna Beach); Leduc. After a 3-1 loss in the first round to Lake Gibson’s third-ranked Gaetano Tedesco, Bruner (9th) rallied with a fall (4:52) over Miramar’s Famous Nealy in the consis. As for Leduc, he also came back with a pin in the wrestlebacks, pinning 8th-ranked Anthony Dicks of Satellite in 3:32.
Heading home: Oakleaf’s Keon Barrientos did not compete on Thursday.
138
On to the quarters: Garrett Marschka (Chiles); Maeson Otwell (Pace). Marschka (2nd) advanced with a forfeit into the quarters, where he’ll take on Springstead’s Joshua Gallo (7th), while Otwell (9th) shut out Port Charlotte’s Derek Pinedo, 12-0, in the opening round. Otwell will face Lake Gibson’s 8th-ranked Ny’Travious Walker in the quarters.
Alive in consis: Aidan Sutton (New Smyrna Beach). After falling by an 8-2 count in the round of 16 to Barron Collier’s 5th-ranked Lucas Giles, Sutton bounced back with a 9-2 decision in consi rd 1 over Dillard’s Salaahddin Hightower.
Heading home: Gulf Breeze’s Michael Mancuso took a pair of six-minute losses Thursday, with a front-side loss by major (10-0) to top-ranked Draven McCall of Tampa Jesuit, then a 5-4 loss in the wrestlebacks to Archbishop McCarthy’s Luis Rosa.
145
On to the quarters: Kaden Schaefer (Fleming Island); Logan Moore (Middleburg). Schaefer teched Land O’Lakes’ Wyatt Green in 2:34 (16-1) in the opening round, and will face fourth-ranked Michael Farrelly of Hollins in round 2, while Moore (7th) took down Brandon’s 8th-rated Tyler Moore, 4-1. Moore will wrestle Heritage’s Keith Cole (6th) in the quarters.
Heading home: Chiles’ Cooper Hill and Ft Walton Beach’s Steven Banfield were both 0-2 on Thursday, with Hill taking losses by pin on the front to top-ranked Hayden Whidden of Lake Gibson (5:11) and on the back to Miami Norland’s Inson Guerrier (9th) in 2:56. Banfield fell in sudden-victory, 9-4, in round 1 to Winter Springs’ Jonathan Adams, and then fell in the consis over South Fork’s Jacob Mulcahy in a wild 14-11 decision.
152
On to the quarters: Connor Edwards (Lincoln). Edwards (5th) was the only area quarterfinalist in the weight class, with a 14-2 major over #9 Julian Smith of Manatee in round 1. Edwards will take on Gateway’s Meison Broche in the quarters.
Alive in consis: Nathan Williams (Westside); Dylan Parkinson (Matanzas); Matthew Kotler (Fleming Island). After a loss by fall in round 1 to second-ranked Brandon Cody of Tampa Jesuit, Williams advanced with an injury-default victory over Bayside’s William Young. In the bottom half, Parkinson (10th) took a 12-6 loss to 3rd-ranked Tyler Rodriguez of Port Charlotte, but then rallied with a consi-side pin (3:14) over South Fork’s Brayden Hogg, while Kotler (7th) came back from a 15-6 loss to #6 Hansel Pompa-Mauri of Mariner with a 10-3 decision over Gaither’s Gustavo Osorio.
160
On to the quarters: Christopher Chop (Fleming Island); Benny Lewis (Ed White). Chop (4th) falled Miami Northwestern’s Zamir Franck in 1:39 in round 1, and will face sixth-ranked Ransom Randolph of Winter Springs in the quarters. Lewis was able to move on, on the front side, with a 9-3 round-1 decision over North Miami’s Gerson Alette, and will take on #5 Ty Rodriguez of Brandon in round 2.
Heading home: Matanzas’ Landon Wright and Pace’s Jordan Baxter took a pair of losses, with Wright opening with a 12-5 decision loss in the round of 16 to 7th-ranked Kaleb Gabrielsen of Heritage; in the consis, Wright lost by by pin (1:48) to 9th-ranked Nick Iserino of Wesley Chapel. Baxter also lost by decision on the front, 8-5 to 8th-ranked Ryan Beirne of Satellite, with an 8-3 loss in the consis to Pasco’s Vincent Contreras.
170
On to the quarters: Ronan Bozeman (Fleming Island); Dominic Martin (Clay); Ty Morgan (Pace). Bozeman (6th) pinned his way into the quarters and a match with Lake Gibson’s 3rd-ranked Jace Brownlow; in the bottom half of the bracket, Martin (7th) won by injury default over Belen Jesuit’s Lucas Amaya, while Morgan (8th) pinned Heritage’s Stephan Perry in 1:48. Martin will wrestle top-ranked Elijah Penton of Winter Springs in the quarters, while Morgan will take on Bonita Springs’ 2nd-ranked Konner Stuttgen in that round.
Heading home: Riverside’s Anthony Kearney was 0-2 on Thursday, with losses to Atlantic Community’s 5th-ranked August Batson (pin in 4:22) in the championship side and a loss by tech to Dunbar’s Aiden Sanchez (21-4 in 6 minutes).
182
On to the quarters: Joshua Sandoval (Fleming Island); Sawyer VanRider (New Smyrna Beach). Sandoval (3rd) won by third-period fall over Bonita Springs’ Floyd McKenna in round 1, and will next wrestle Belen Jesuit’s Darian Torres (7th) in the quarters. VanRider (9th) turned back Charlotte’s 4th-ranked Jett McCauley, 6-3, in round 1, and will face fifth-ranked Michael McCarthy of Satellite in the next round.
Alive in consis: Connor Roberts (Ft Walton Beach). After a front-side loss by fall (1:12) to 2nd-ranked & unbeaten Jessey Colas of Braden River, Roberts found a takedown in sudden victory over Ft Pierce Westwood’s John Williams for a 7-5 win.
Heading home: Pace’s Isaac Waters (10th) took a pair of losses, with a 12-9 front-side loss to Immokalee’s Mike Tironne (8th); Waters then lost by injury default in the consis to Archbishop McCarthy’s Matthew Rojas.
195
On to the quarters: All four wrestlers from the coverage area — Ft Walton Beach’s Darius Brundidge (3rd), New Smyrna Beach’s Derek King (10th), Oakleaf’s Isaiah Shevchook (5th) and Lincoln’s Jakob Nowak (4th) — won on Thursday. Brundidge decisioned Gateway’s Aidan Cooper, 5-3, and will face #2 Nathaniel Box of Charlotte in the top half of the quarters, while King pinned 6th-ranked Aiden Gatton of Winter Springs (1:46) and will wrestle against Manatee’s Diamontez McDowell. In the bottom half, Shevchook pinned 7th-ranked Tristan Vann of Lake Gibson in 31 seconds and will wrestle top-ranked Brian Burburija of Countryside, while Nowak falled #9 Brody Switzer of Zephyrhills (3:33) and will square off with against 8th-ranked Seven Tornga of Merritt Island on Friday.
220
On to the quarters: Jhoel Robinson (Fleming Island); Thomas Jones (Riverside); Dylon York (New Smyrna Beach). Robinson (1st) opened with a first-period fall (1:55) over Hollins’ Michael Carpenter, while, in the bottom half, Jones (4th) decisioned North Ft Myers’ Frank Cornelison, 5-2, and York (3rd) powered past #6 Gregorio Herrera of Immokalee, 9-3. Robinson will face 9th-ranked Cassidy Grubbs of Pasco, while Jones will take on 7th-ranked Ethan Kent of River Ridge and York will wrestle Miramar’s Maxinot Mondesir (10th), all in the quarters.
Alive in consis: Kedtric Wilbourn (Clay). After a loss by fall (:43) to second-ranked Cael Newton of Charlotte in round 1, Wilbourn (5th) rallied well, with a 9-1 major in the wrestlebacks over Atlantic Community’s Alexavier Wright.
Heading home: Horizon’s Bo Kenney took a 12-4 front-side loss by major to Mondesir, then losing by fall to Herrera (1:32) in the first round of wrestlebacks.
285
On to the quarters: Tucker Cody (Middleburg). Cody was the only area quarterfinalist on Thursday, advancing with a third-period pin (4:42) over eighth-rated Jared Apple of Zephyrhills. Cody will face top-ranked Vincent Chavez of Port Charlotte in the quarters.
Alive in consis: Ethan Hoffstetter (Fleming Island); Ryder Luck (Lincoln). After a 2-1 loss to 10th-ranked J’Shon Scott of Tampa Bay Tech, in double overtime, Hoffstetter (9th) rallied with a consi-side fall over Leto’s Frank Miller (7th) in 5:30. As for Luck, after falling by a 4-1 count to second-ranked Nate Gabriel of Auburndale in the opening round, he pushed past American Senior’s #5 Yul Campbell, 2-1, in consi rd 1.
Heading home: Clay’s Will Kelly was 0-2 on Thursday, with a front-size loss by fall (1:20) to 4th-ranked Garry Gilbert of Land O’Lakes and a pin in the wrestlebacks against Cypress Lake’s Triston White (3:09).
First-day brackets can be found HERE.
North Florida Matmen 