Email us with ideas, suggestions, improvements at nefloridamatmen@gmail.com. We STRONGLY encourage statisticians to check scoresheets when teams are competing at dual tournaments.
When & where: Monday at Mainland. Local teams in the field: In addition to the host Lady Buccaneers, we have schedule commits from Baker County, Keystone Heights, Lake Mary, Seminole, Stanton & Wekiva (NOTE: This list may need to be updated; we have not heard of additional local teams attending or any that have dropped this event). Synopsis: Mainland held itself outside of the weekend’s action in part to prepare for hosting duties on Monday (I have a 9:30 weighin start, a projected 10 a.m. wrestle start). The Buccaneers are probably the strongest local team in the field (full field not available at this time), but Lake Mary and perhaps Seminole might have something to say about that. Local state-ranked wrestlers (listed by weight class in ranked order) — 125: Brianna Pena (Seminole, 16th). 135: Jayda Rankin (Seminole, 20th). 145: Jah’Mya Hill (Mainland, 11th). 155: Trinya Tillman (Mainland, 18th). 190: Ramiyah Steele (Wekiva, 10th). 235: Cheyenne Wigley (Mainland, 3rd). All rankings from https://www.kabrawrestling.com/rankings/girls
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FT PIERCE — One Flagler Palm Coast wrestler represented the school and county at Ft Pierce Central’s County girls tournament last Friday.
Competing at 105, the Lady Bulldogs’ Joslyn Johnson (19th at 100) was 3-1 and placed second in her weight class, which was conducted as a five-person roundrobin.
No team scores were kept for the girls tournament.
Johnson recorded falls over three different wrestlers from Lincoln Park Academy (3:39, :38 & :43), taking only a 7-1 loss in round 3 to the hosts’ Mackenzie Allcroft. In that round, Allcroft had takedowns in the first and third periods, turning Johnson for backpoints in the second.
In her pins, Johnson needed just one takedown in rounds 2 and 5 (she had a bye in round 4) and had rolled up a 17-4 lead in round 1 before securing the second-period fall.
Results for the full tournament can be found HERE.
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PACE — Both host Pace and Niceville were 5-0 in last Thursday’s Pace Duals, the final tuneup for five Florida Panhandle teams before Wednesday’s 2A-District 1 duals tournament, also at Pace.
The host Patriots (5-0 for the season) had wins over Alabama teams Spanish Fort (51-28) and Fultondale (71-12) as well as district rivals Crestview (78-6), Milton (78-6) and Choctaw (66-18).
Seven Pace wrestlers were 5-0 on the day, including Joshua Waring (113/120, 2 pins), Tristtahn Duran (113/120, 2 pins & tech), Alexander Mendez (126, 2 pins), Maeson Otwell (138, 3 pins & tech), Ty Morgan (170, 2 pins & tech), Isaac Waters (182/195, 2 pins) & Trenton Goodale (220, 2 pins).
Jessie Baker (106), Grayson Doolittle (152, pin & tech), Brandon Mohring (182/195) and Jacob Wickham (285) each were 4-1 for the Patriots, while Todd Pace (132) was 3-2.
Niceville defeated district rivals Crestview (52-15), Choctaw (45-15) and Milton (60-0), with a 63-12 win over Pace’s B team and a 42-27 win over Fultondale.
Collver Hipp (126, 2 pins), Garrett Jarvis (132, pin) and James Opitz (195, 2 pins) were all 5-0 for the Eagles (12-5 in duals overall).
Ethan Pinto (138, 2 pins) was 4-0, while Andreas Maldonado-Negron (152, 3 pins), Malachi Lewis (170, major) and Asa Adams (285) were each 4-1. Matthew Martinez (120, 2 pins) and Ayden Davis (145, 2 pins & decision) were both 3-0, while Jordan Rayno (106, 2 pins) was 3-2.
Choctaw (3-12) earned its first lone victory of the day in a 36-0 win over Milton, taking losses to Fultondale (42-24) and Spanish Fort (48-18) as well as those noted above.
Pete Mahawongnan (152) was the Indians’ lone unbeaten, with three pins and a decision. Antonio Daquep (132, 3 pins) and Bradack Carroll (145, 4 pins) each were 4-1 for Choctaw, while Reese Henegar (160, 2 pins) was 3-2.
Matmen received partial sets of results for Crestview, which had a known loss to Fultondale (36-30) in addition to the two losses noted above. The Bulldogs’ other two opponents were not known at time of this story’s publication. Additionally, Milton, which brought only three wrestlers, also was missing two duals against unknown opponents.
Wrestling on Wednesday at Pace is expected to begin around 1:30 p.m., with weighins at noon.
Full results, as best as they could be tracked between submissions from Pace, Niceville and Choctaw coaches, as well as Alabama results available via Trackwrestling, can be found HERE.Matmen will add more “box scores” to these results as received.
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PACE — In Friday’s Pace Roundrobin, two Florida Panhandle girls finished the day with unbeaten records.
Choctaw’s Jayda Berry was 2-0 in the 100-105 weight block and Crestview’s Sigrun Metzger (5th at 110) took first in the 110-120 block in the five-team roundrobin, which included wrestlers from Niceville and the host Lady Patriots.
Berry took a 12-10 win over Niceville’s Isabella Wall and won by pin over a Fultondale (AL) wrestler to finish first in her group.
Wall also won by pin over Fultondale to place second.
At 110-120, Metzger had a bye in round 1 and then pinned her way through the rest of the block, with pins over two Pace wrestlers (Alyssa Garcia & Morgan Johnson), Niceville’s Charlotte Mardis and then Choctaw’s Mary McKinney in the effective “championship match.”
McKinney was 3-1, with pins over Johnson, Mardis and Garcia; Johnson was third, pinning her Pace teammate in the final round for a 2-2 day.
In the 125-140 block, Pace’s Evelyn Pulskamp was 3-1 to place second, with a loss only in round 2 to Fultondale. Pulskamp had pins over Choctaw’s Alexa Lawson and Crestview’s duo of Hannah Christmas & Laila Archer.
Lawson was third, with pins over both Lady Bulldogs, including Archer in round 2 for the decisive third-place match.
Results from the girls competition can be found HERE.
Boys duals: We have received only the host’s individual dual results at this time. We have asked the other Florida competing teams (Choctaw, Crestview, Milton and Niceville) to submit copies of their scorebook. Our ability to write a recap is conditional upon receipt by Monday at 6 p.m., our usual deadline for weekend events.
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Make a Knockout-level of intensity across the board. Make it girls-only. So, in essence, you’re taking some of the best of Florida’s boys Knockout and girls’ Let Freedom Ring, and maybe amp it up with some quite cold Midwestern weather.
That’s The Wonder Woman, a 64-team tournament hosted by Battle HS in Columbia, home of the University of Missouri. Nearly 700 girls wrestlers competed in the two-day IBT, with representation from Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Illinois.
And Florida, as Matanzas went out there, finishing fourth in the event with 131 points. Only three Missouri teams finished ahead of the Lady Pirates, including nationally-ranked #7 Lebanon, the tournament champion. The next-highest out-of-state team, Bixby (Oklahoma) was a distant 15th.
Four Lady Pirates finished fourth in their respective weight classes.
First of those was Christina Borgmann (3rd at 120). Borgmann was a quarterfinalist, with three victories (2 pins & 4-1 win on the front) before a loss by fall to the eventual champion and top seed from North Point. Borgmann then won three matches in the consis to get to the third-place medal match, falling by a 3-2 count.
Next was Tiana Fries’ fourth at 125. Fries (1st) was the 2 seed, reaching the semifinals behind four pins, but she then lost by fall to the third seed and eventual champion from Festus in that round. In the consi semis, Fries pitched a 4-0 shutout to get to the third-place match, taking a 2-1 loss there.
Brielle Bibla (1st at 130) was next to claim fourth. Like Borgmann, 3rd-seed Bibla reached the quarters with three pins in 1:59, but then took a 3-2 loss in the semis to Jefferson City in the semis. That would be the only wrestler who would defeat Bibla, doing so again by a 3-1 count in the medal round after Bibla earned her fourth pin in the consi semis, in 43 seconds.
Lastly, Kendall Bibla (3rd at 140) would place fourth. Like her sophomore classmate Fries before her, Bibla would reach the semis after three pins, including a quarterfinal pin over the 2 seed, but then lost by fall in the semis to Edwardsville (IL), a wrestler who pinned her way through the bracket. After a fourth pin to reach the third-place match, Bibla lost by fall to the wrestler she’d pinned on Thursday.
In addition to the quartet of Lady Pirate 4ths, Mariah Mills (3rd at 110) also placed in the top 8, taking 8th at 110.
You can view full results from both days of the tournament HERE.
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GULF SHORES, AL — North Bay Haven junior David Mercado was the only Florida wrestler to win a Gulf Shores Scuffle title on Friday.
Mercado’s championship at 195 led the Buccaneers to a 15th-place team showing in the 22-team varsity two-day tournament, with 41 points.
Alabama’s Mortimer Jordan held off St Pauls’ School of Louisiana for the team title, with 252.5 points to the Louisiana side’s 240. Most of the teams were from Alabama, but teams from Mississippi, Tennessee and Oklahoma also competed, in addition to North Bay Haven.
The top seed at 195, Mercado (#3-1A at 195) had a bye into the round of 16, with Thursday pins over Baker (AL) and Mortimer Jordan, both in the second period.
On Friday, Mercado opened with a first-period fall in the semis over Vancleave (MS), to get to the final against unseeded Arab (AL)’s Conner Knighten. As he did in the semi, Mercado needed just one takedown to secure control, and it wouldn’t be too long after his two scored 19 seconds in, as he got the turn and fall in 1:22 to win the title, his second win at Gulf Shores.
Mercado was the only one of four Buccaneer varsity competitors to place on Friday (though several regular starters did compete for NBH in the junior-high classification).
Former Dolphin reaches final: Baker (AL) senior Dalton Kovacs, who spent his first two high school seasons wrestling at Mosley, reached the Scuffle final at 170.
Kovacs, the second seed in the bracket, pinned his way into the final, with falls over Arab (AL), Bartlett (TN), Bayside Academy (AL) and Ada (OK), but couldn’t stop unbeaten St Pauls (LA) top seed Landry Barker in the final.
Barker had takedowns in each period, allowing Kovacs only a penalty point early in the third period out of the neutral stance. Kovacs had a 34-35 career record with the Dolphins and was a Saturday qualifier at 2A-Region 1 in 2021, competing then as now at 170.
Junior high results: Among teams competing at the junior high level, only host Gulf Shores (149 points) outpointed North Bay Haven’s 112 points, as the Buccaneer middle-schoolers were 2nd as a team.
Nathan Mercado (112), Caleb Fuster (130) and Zander Stillgess (135) — all regular starters with the Buccaneer varsity group in most events — were weight-class champions for North Bay Haven in the junior high brackets.
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MELBOURNE — In a tournament replete with pirate imagery — including the hosts — it was Georgia’s Camden County that did the most looting Thursday and Friday at the Palm Bay Ships.
The visiting Wildcats left with eight weight-class titles over the two-day event, with an additional five runners-up.
The 17-team field did not keep team scores. When it was done, wrestlers in the coverage area found titles only at the bookends of the tournament, as Clay’s Jacob Bucci (106) and Timber Creek’s Peter Nesheiwat (285) were victorious in the double-elimination Friday brackets.
An additional four wrestlers reached the finals on Friday, three of them falling to Camden wrestlers.
Below follows a summary of the tournament:
Defending the #1: Bucci (1st-2A at 106) rolled through three matches on Thursday, but it was the fourth win, a 3-1 decision he had over Zephyrhills Christian’s Reid Yakes (4th in 1A) that was a difficult push to get through. That was in the afternoon “Pillagers” pool.
On Friday, Bucci needed just 89 seconds to fall two opponents from Camden and Viera’s Alex Giglietti (14th-3A at 113) to get a rematch with Yakes in the IBT final.
This time, it would not be quite as tight a final, as Bucci was able to open up a bit more in taking an 8-1 win over Yakes for first place.
Taking the big-man title: Nesheiwat (5th-3A at 285) would not see his finals opponent on Thursday, but bonus-pointed through the day nevertheless, with three pins and a major, two of those four wins against the same program — Camden — that he would face in the final on Friday.
Where Bucci rolled through Friday’s preliminaries quickly, Nesheiwat took the full 12 minutes in earning decisions over Eau Gallie’s Chavez Thompson (#7-2A, 2-1 in quarters) and over Rockledge’s Howard Craft (#19-2A, 6-3 in semis) before facing Camden’s top heavy, Jesse Batten, in the final.
In a battle of 1 vs 3 seed, Nesheiwat would prevail from the top of the bracket, earning his fourth pin of the tournament and fifth bonus-point win with a fall in 2:20 over Batten.
Bobcats fall to Camden: Buchholz had a pair of finalist efforts from Jedidiah Brown (126) and Cavarius Liddie (138).
Brown (#17-3A at 126) was 3-0 in Pool B of the Pillagers portion of the day Thursday (including a 1-0 win over 9th-2A Brady Glavin of Clay), but lost by fall to Camden’s Hunter Prosen in the Pillager “final”. On Friday, Brown would see Prosen again after two pins and a 7-4 win over Blaze Holly of Satellite (#19-2A) in the semis; he avoided the fall, but couldn’t stop the turns, as Prosen won by technical fall.
Liddie (#4-3A at 132) was 4-1 in the Pillagers’ B pool at 138, with only a 2-0 loss to Camden’s ace, Anthony Santos, marring Thursday. Friday, Liddie would take a tech and pin, followed by a 3-2 semifinal win over the hosts’ Ronald Theilacker (#2-1A at 138), and would have another tight battle with Santos in the final, going overtime before sustaining a 5-2 loss.
Forsberg, Wilbourn earn 2nds: Oviedo’s Luke “Gunner” Forsberg (152) and Clay’s Kedtric Wilbourn (220) also were finalists on Friday.
Forsberg competed in the “Marauders” morning flight Thursday, going 5-0 with four pins and only going past the first period once. As the 2 seed on Friday, Forsberg added two more falls over Lake Buena Vista and Camden, with a 10-0 major over a second Camden competitor before seeing the top-seeded third Wildcat of the day; this time it would be Camden’s Ryan Banister who would win by fall, in 3:01.
Wilbourn (4th-2A) took 3 pins, a forfeit and 11-4 win over Camden in the Pillagers pool at 220 on Thursday, and added three more bonus-point wins on Friday, with a 10-1 major and two pins, but would sustain his first loss of the season in the final against Zephyrhills Christian’s Elijah Austin (8th-1A at 220), as Austin found a takedown in sudden victory for an 8-6 decision.
Top 4s: Eight additional area wrestlers would place in the top 4 of the A brackets after reaching Friday’s semifinal rounds.
Taking thirds were Timber Creek’s Marlo Clark (#15-3A at 120, competing at 113), Clay’s Glavin (126), Oviedo’s Clayton Mitchell (145) & Nick Rynearson (195), along with Buchholz’s Max Szabo (#13-3A at 160, competing at 170).
Clay’s Drew Holmquist (113) and Jadon Bell (220), along with Oviedo’s James Chiaradio (182), each were 4th.
You can view full results from both days of the tournament HERE.
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GULF SHORES, AL — Three area girls wrestlers won titles in Thursday’s Girls’ Gulf Shores Scuffle, being contested on the same day as the first-day of boys’ competition in that same event.
Gulf Breeze’s Helena Alcantar (114), North Bay Haven’s Katherine Lundgren (126) and Milton’s Aireaana Gavere (132) all were victorious in leading their teams in the one-day IBT girls’ event.
Team-wise, Gulf Breeze had the top finish, as all three Lady Dolphins in competition made the finals, taking sixth in the 20-team standings with 68 points. Milton (42 points) was 10th and North Bay Haven (35) was 11th.
Alcantar (6th at 110) pinned her way through the 114 bracket as the top seed; after a bye into the quarters, she had falls over Enterprise (AL), Central-Phenix City (AL) and Gulf Shores wrestlers, winning by fall in 1:18 over the hosts’ Kayden Kelly, in a battle of Lady Dolphins from different states, to take the title.
Alcantar’s Lady Dolphin teammates, Camdyn Elliott (11th at 100) and Lily Powell (10th at 115, competing at 120) both pinned their way into the finals of their respective weights, with Elliott racking up three first-period pins before a loss by fall to an Ada (Oklahoma) wrestler and Powell posting two pins before a loss by fall to Enterprise in the championship match.
Lundgren also had a bye into the quarters at 126; after a pin over Ocean Springs (MS), she falled the top-seeded Gulf Shores wrestler, a 27-match winner, in the semis, then added a second pin (5:44) in the final over Montgomery Catholic (AL)’s Olivia Parker. Lundgren was the Lady Buccaneers’ only placer.
Gavere (6th at 135), the third seed in the bracket, rolled through three 1st-period pins in a combined mat time of 2:08, with falls over Southside Gadsden (AL), Central-Phenix City and Bartlett TN’s Emily Upshaw in the title round, 22 seconds for that pin.
The Lady Panthers’ Alexis Brown (107) bounced back from a semifinal loss to the eventual champ with two pins in the consis to take third.
Boys side: We had three teams we thought were contesting, but only one of those, North Bay Haven, is wrestling this weekend. We’ll follow along as things develop on Friday.
Results from Thursday’s tournament can be found HERE.
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When & where: Thursday at Pace. Teams in the field: In addition to the host Patriots, Choctaw, Crestview, Milton, Niceville and Tate will represent the Panhandle, with neighboring Fultondale & Spanish Fort (AL) crossing the state line (NOTE: Milton & Spanish Fort were added post-publication). Returning team champion: Pace. Last year’s event was a tri-meet with the Patriots winning against Niceville and Ocean Springs (MS). Synopsis: With the Patriots’ varsity group in place for this one, I would expect Pace to win this once again, but there will be decent-enough scraps in several duals. I would not be surprised to see a second Pace group; while that group would probably not finish that close to second (Niceville would be too strong, and possibly Fultondale and Crestview are as well), the Five (six?) teams in the field should get a decent day’s worth of matches and a tuneup for next week’s 2A-District 1 duals tournament, which Pace will also host.
State-ranked wrestlers (listed by weight class in ranked order) — 126: Hazen Esary (Pace, 20th). 132: Ethan Pinto (Niceville, 20th). 138: Maeson Otwell (Pace, 10th). 145: JJ Martinez (Niceville, 7th). 160: Jordan Baxter (Pace, 16th). 170: Ty Morgan (Pace, 7th). 182: Isaac Waters (Pace, 9th). All boys rankings from https://www.kabrawrestling.com/rankings/class-2a
Girls’ state-ranked wrestlers (listed by their IBT weight class in ranked order) — 110: Sigrun Metzger (Crestview, 5th). 120: Lahela Grady (Tate, 10th). All girls rankings from https://www.kabrawrestling.com/rankings/girls
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Suwannee wrestlers and coaches celebrate the top Florida finish, 2nd place, at Ft Walton Beach’s Beast of the Beach Friday (Photo submitted by suwannee.wrestling via Instagram).
By MATMEN, Saturday, 5:40 p.m.
FT WALTON BEACH — Seven teams took their best shot at Huntsville (AL) in the two-day Beast of the Beach duals tournament Thursday and Friday at Ft Walton Beach HS.
All of them went home with double-digit losses against the Panthers, last year’s Alabama-7A (big schools) 4th-place finishing team. Huntsville compiled an average margin of victory of 42.1 points per dual, with wins in the semis over Middleburg and Suwannee.
The two north Florida teams, though, came home with team trophies, as the Bulldogs were second and Broncos third. Neither team took a loss otherwise in either seven or eight duals during the tournament.
Below follows a summary of all area teams in the tournament.
2. Suwannee (6-1 tournament, 20-2 overall) — Wins: Mosley (53-15), North Bay Haven (63-18), Wewahitchka (75-0), Crestview (72-9), Harris County GA (39-36) & Smiths Station AL (37-27). Loss not otherwise noted: Huntsville AL (50-15). MVP: Brody Boehm (9th at 1A-132). Competing in his second tournament at 126, Boehm controlled the weight class, with five pins (Mosley, North Bay Haven, Wewahitchka, Crestview and Smiths Station), plus one of three majors the Bulldogs collected in the Huntsville loss, and a 4-2 win over a multiple-time Harris County state qualifier. Hidden in the box scores: Austin McKinney (7th at 1A-152) was dominant once again for the Bulldogs, going 7-0 and bonus-pointing through the tournament, with pins over Crestview, Harris County and Smiths Station, a tech-fall win over North Bay’s Bear Siegal (11th at 1A-145) and a major over Huntsville.
Middleburg wrestlers and coaches celebrate a team trophy for 3rd place at Ft Walton Beach’s Beast of the Beach Friday afternoon (Photo submitted by _mhswrestling via Instagram).
3. Middleburg (7-1 tournament, 9-2 overall) — Wins: Ft Walton Beach-B (66-12), Wakulla (42-30), Choctaw (63-0), Niceville (48-24), Collierville TN (46-24), Wakulla (57-12) & Smiths Station AL (37-33). Loss not noted above: Huntsville AL (45-18). MVP: Grady Woodard (11th at 2A-120). After an 8-7 loss midweek at Creekside, Woodard was the Broncos’ only unbeaten wrestler Friday, going 8-0 with three pins (Wakulla, Choctaw & Niceville), a tech fall over Collierville, a key major decision over Smiths Station and decisions against Huntsville & Wakulla. Hidden in the box scores: On a team where every competing wrestler had a .500 or better record going back to Clay County, freshman Bryan Davis’ performance particularly stood out. Aside from a loss to Huntsville, Davis was 7-0 with seven pins. No other area wrestler on any team in the tournament had seven.
T-5. Wakulla (5-3 tournament & overall) — Wins: Choctaw (83-0), Niceville (51-27), Ft Walton Beach (67-12), Harris County GA (42-33), Ft Walton Beach (52-33). Losses not noted above: Archbishop Shaw LA (44-27). MVP: Nate Jacobs (152). Was on track for an 8-0 weekend before a loss in the final round against Middleburg. Jacobs had 7 victories instead, including five pins (Choctaw, Niceville, Ft Walton Beach, Harris County & Ft Walton beach) and a decision over Middleburg on Thursday. Hidden in the box scores: Like his teammate the next weight up, Jae T Thaxton (8th at 1A-145) was 7-1 on the weekend, going through the first six rounds with techs (3) and decisions (3) in equal measure before a 9-5 loss to the hosts’ Steven Banfield (9th at 2A-145). Thaxton then finished with a pin over Middleburg, the War Eagles’ only contested win in the consi semis.
T-5. Gulf Breeze (3-5 tournament & overall) — Wins: Tate (72-6), Archbishop Shaw LA (40-39, criteria) & Collierville TN (45-33). Losses not noted above: Smiths Station AL (37-31), Archbishop Shaw LA (47-25), Collierville TN (49-22), Harris County GA (45-31) & Smiths Station AL (45-26). MVP: Brennden Nita (160/170). Nita was 8-0 in the tournament, but pinned his way through the second day of competition, all against out-of-state competition. Nita finished the event with six pins and a decision win Thursday over Collierville. Hidden in the box scores: Although he took a loss on Friday, the four Thursday pins and key decision early Friday that Aiden Macken (113) accumulated helped the team when it struggled early on in the tournament. Macken was 7-1 with five pins, a tech and decision.
7. Ft Walton Beach (4-4 tournament & overall) — Wins: Pell City AL (58-24), Bay (51-24), North Bay Haven (44-33) & Collierville TN (team FFT). Losses not noted above: Huntsville AL (55-12), Harris County GA (30-40) & Collierville TN (45-29). MVP: Alexander Davidson (7th at 2A-152, competing at 160). Was FWB’s lone 8-0 competitor in the tournament. After an 11-5 win over Huntsville to kick off the tournament, Davidson pinned every opponent put in front of him, going 8-0 with six pins. Hidden in the box scores: After taking a 14-13 loss in the opening round against Huntsville, the Vikings’ Connor Roberts (182) was dominant the rest of the way, going 7-1 in the tournament as a whole, with five pins (Harris County, Pell City, Collierville, North Bay Haven & Wakulla) and a tech fall over Bay.
10. North Bay Haven (5-4 tournament, 9-9 overall) — Wins: Wewahitchka (60-24), Crestview (50-27), Mosley (48-29), Niceville (48-34) & Harris County GA (team FFT). Losses not noted above: Smiths Station AL (52-27) & Archbishop Shaw LA (40-36). MVP: David Mercado (3rd at 1A-195). Competing at both 195 and 220, Mercado rolled up five pins (Suwannee, Mosley, Niceville, Smiths Station & Archbishop Shaw) with a 6-0 win over the hosts’ Daruis Brundidge (20th at 2A-182). Hidden in the box scores: The Buccaneers’ Logan McAlister (5th at 285) was on track for an unbeaten weekend, at 8-0 with five pins — in a row — over Crestview, Mosley, Niceville, Smiths Station & Ft Walton Beach, but had a loss in the final round to Archbishop Shaw’s 285, who was unbeaten in the tournament as well.
11. Niceville (3-5 tournament, 7-5 overall) — Wins: Choctaw (51-12), Ft Walton Beach-B (53-30) & Harris County GA (team FFT). Losses not noted above: Collierville TN (52-25) & Archbishop Shaw LA (53-30). MVP: Malachi Lewis (170). Lewis was one of two regular starters to go unbeaten and the only one to go 8-0, with five pins (Ft Walton-B, Wakulla, North Bay Haven, Collierville & Archbishop Shaw) plus a decision win over Middleburg. Hidden in the box scores: Ethan Pinto (20th at 132) competed up a weight during the tournament, going 7-0 and bonus-pointing through each round, with poins over Wakulla, Middleburg, Collierville and Archbishop Shaw, plus a major over North Bay Haven.
14. Crestview (4-3 tournament & overall) — Wins: Wewahitchka (45-29), Mosley (39-33), Tate (54-24) & Bay (43-42, criteria). Losses not noted above: Pell City (57-24). MVP: Daniel Giafaglione (138). Was the Bulldogs’ lone unbeaten in the tournament, going 7-0 with four pins (Mosley, Tate, Bay and Pell City) and a decision over North Bay Haven. Hidden in the box scores: Lance Sanders (170) was 6-1 with two pins and three decisions, taking a loss only in the final against Pell City. Special mention to the Metzger sisters, who combined to go 4-3 in part-time appearances at 113. Sigrun was 2-2 with two pins (Tate & Bay) and Freydis went 2-1 with a fall (Mosley).
15. Mosley (4-4 tournament, 6-6 overall) — Wins: Wewahitchka (42-18), Choctaw (54-24), Ft Walton Beach-B (42-35) & Bay (52-30). Losses not noted above: Pell City AL (66-18). MVP: Marshall Dixon (16th at 2A-220). In seven appearances, Dixon had five pins (Suwannee, North Bay Haven, Pell City, Ft Walton Beach-B & Bay) and max-pointed in each appearance, closing out the tournaments with three falls in succession. Hidden in the box scores: While Andre Trice’s first day at 195 was a bit up-and-down (2 losses, just one contested win), Trice rallied on Friday, with a max-point day and pins over Pell City (just one of three for the team), Ft Walton-B and Bay.
16. Bay (2-6 tournament, 5-7 overall) — Wins: Ft Walton Beach-B (69-12) & Wewahitchka (55-24). Losses not noted above: Huntsville AL (64-5), Harris County GA (66-16) & Pell City AL (26-52). MVP: Derrick Williams (1st at 1A-113). Bonus-pointed through the two days, whether at 113 or 120, with three pins, a tech (against champion Huntsville, the Tornadoes’ only points) and major. Hidden in the box scores: After a tournament-opening loss to Huntsville, Elijah Stillgess (138/145) max-pointed the rest of the way for Bay, going 7-1 with pins over Harris County, Pell City, Ft Walton Beach-B, Crestview & Wewahitchka.
17. Wewahitchka (2-6 tournament, 6-14 overall) — Wins: Choctaw (36-15) & Ft Walton Beach-B (36-30). Losses not noted above: Pell City AL (70-12). MVP: Conner Roberts (14th at 1A-160). Aside from a 4-0 loss to region rival Austin Howard of Suwannee (3rd at 1A-160), Roberts pinned his way through the two days on a team that had just eight wrestlers, going 7-1 with seven pins. Hidden in the box scores: Jake Parker (13th at 1A-120) had a solid tournament wrestling a weight up, going 6-2 with three pins, a tech and decision. Parker’s only losses were to Suwannee’s Brody Boehm (9th at 1A-132) and Bay’s David Drake (17th at 1A-126).
18. Ft Walton Beach-B (2-6 tournament) — Wins: Choctaw (48-18) & Tate (48-30). MVP: Jimmy Singleton (113). Although Singleton started each day with a loss, he’d pin out from there, going 6-2 with six pins (Niceville/Choctaw/Wakulla on Thursday, Tate/Mosley/Wewahitchka on Friday). Hidden in the box scores: In the first tournament we’ve seen closely for the Vikings’ George Selmeister (126/132), he had five pins over the two days, going 5-3 with pins over Niceville, Choctaw, Wakulla, Tate & Mosley.
T-19. Choctaw (0-6 tournament, 2-8 overall) — MVP: Bradack Carroll (145). Carroll was the only Indians’ competitor to post a better-than-.500 record, going 4-2 with pins over Ft Walton Beach-B, Mosley and Wewahitchka, plus a decision against Niceville. Hidden in the box scores: Only one other Choctaw wrestler besides Carroll had more than one contested win in the tournament, as Gavin Henegar (160) had a Thursday pin in pool play over Niceville and a Friday one over Mosley.
T-19. Tate (0-6 tournament & overall) — Losses not noted above: Smiths Station AL (75-6), Archbishop Shaw LA (65-12), Collierville TN (70-12). MVP: Landen George (195). Aside from a loss in pool to Smiths Station, George had a solid tournament for the Aggies, going 5-1 with pins over Archbishop Shaw, Collierville, Crestview and Ft Walton’s B side. Hidden in the box scores: After a rough first day, with three losses, Caiden Stone (152) closed out the tournament on an up note, with pins over both Crestview and Ft Walton Beach-B.
Results from the two-day tournament can be found HERE.
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