Category: WEEKEND TOURNAMENTS

By MATMEN, Wednesday, 12:25 a.m.

THE VILLAGES — In the final regular-season duals tournament of 2022-23, Forest was 2-3 and South Lake was 0-5 in the T D Talbott Legion Duals tournament Saturday at Villages HS.

The Wildcats (11-11 in duals for the season) took their first dual win over the Eagles (3-16), 36-18, with a later win over Leesburg, 42-30. Forest had losses against McKeel Academy (48-24), Villages (60-23) and Tavares (48-29).

Forest had just eight wrestlers in the lineup, but five of them finished with better-than-.500 records on the day. Scott Smith (106, 3 pins) and Cane Fernandez (285, 3 pins) were both 5-0 max-pointers.

Additionally, the WIldcats got 4-1 days from Brent Ryals (126/132, 3 pins & tech) and Ellis Lawson (195, 2 pins), while Skyler Hackl (145/152, 2 pins) was 3-2.

South Lake had only five wrestlers on hand Saturday. Aden Pierce (113) and Jaydius Bognar (152) were both 5-0 on the day; in the first three rounds of competition, Pierce had three pins, while Bognar had one.

Chontre Weathersby turned in a 3-2 day for the Eagles as well.

Both teams now have district competitions in play. Forest will be at Lake Mary on Wednesday for the 3A-District 2 IBT, while South Lake will be at the 3A-District 4 IBT at Ocoee on Saturday.

Results for both teams can be found HERE.

By MATMEN, Saturday, 11:15 p.m.

OCOEE — The final regular-season IBT of 2022-23 in the Matmen coverage area closed out on Saturday, as Ocoee staged its 6th Annual Ocoee Mat Classic.

Out-of-area teams crowded the top five in the event, as North Ft Myers held off Vero Beach by a single point, 155-154, for first place. Locally, West Port was the top coverage-area team, taking sixth with 91 points.

West Orange tied for eighth, with 83 points, while the host Knights were T-10th with 82. West Nassau (12th, 74 points), Evans (13th, 65), Wekiva (T-15th, 53), Apopka (17th, 41), Horizon (19th, 38), Winter Park (20th, 24) and Bolles (21st, 22) rounded out the local participation in the 22-team field.

Four area wrestlers won titles, as the hosts’ Keniel Carrasquillo (220) and Deandre Scott (285), West Port’s Mathew Pishotta (106) and West Nassau’s Nolan McKelvy (182) all went home with gold hardware.

Pishotta pinned his way through the 106 draw out of the second-seed position, with falls over Wekiva (2:42, quarters) and Ocoee (5:00, semis) to face Vero Beach top seed Gregori Rodriguez in the final, where he won by fall in 3:28.

McKelvy (7th-1A at 182) was the next local champion later in the final round. He pinned his way into the final, with falls over Ocoee (1:33, rd of 16), Horizon (:51, quarters) and over Jones (2:33, semis) before shutting down the offense of Tohopekaliga’s Luis Rosario (13th-3A) in a 6-0 decision.

That left the pair of Knight bigs at 220 and 285, starting with Carrasquillo (15th-3A). He pinned his way into the final, with falls over Wekiva (6:00, rd of 16), Evans (1:30, quarters) and Jones (3:32, semis) before facing previously-unbeaten Frank Cornelison (16th-2A) of North Ft Myers in the final, pushing through a 5-4 win.

Scott (7th-3A at 285) bookended a 6-0 quarterfinal win over Jones with pins over North Ft Myers (3:24, rd of 16) and Gateway’s Elijah Abreu (3rd-2A, fall time 1:59) in the semis before taking on region rival Jermael Paul of Evans, who’d knocked off state-ranked Jaquan Jean of Vero Beach (18th-3A) by a 3-2 count in the quarters, in the final. Scott then earned his third pin of the day with a fall over Paul in 5:29.

Local wrestlers reaching the final were West Orange’s Giordanny Perez (120) and Raymond Cavey (126), West Port’s Jhusthino Miranda (138) and David Hill (160), as well as Evans’ Tyran Schanck (145) along with Paul.

Perez pinned his way into the 120 final, with falls over Apopka (rd of 16), Sebastian River (quarters) and Celebration (semis) before falling to former University Christian state placer Egan Gustilo (5th-3A at 113), now at Tohopekaliga, in a 19-6 finals loss. Cavey (14th-3A at 126) opened with a 4-3 win over West Nassau’s Blayden Tharpe (9th-1A) and then took pins over Dunbar (quarters) and Sebastian River (semis), but couldn’t get out against Lake Highland’s Clinton Plotner, falling by a 1-0 decision.

As for the West Port finalists, Miranda took pins over Gateway (quarters) and Dunbar (semis) at 138, but couldn’t push past Tohopekaliga’s Jayson Ortiz (11th-3A), falling by 4-3 decision. At 160, Hill took pins over West Nassau (rd of 16) and Colonial (quarters), winning by first-period injury default over Vero Beach’s David Benjamin (16th-3A) before a loss by fall (:51) in the title match against Lake Highland’s Marrion Nelson.

Schanck (14th-3A at 152) powered through decisions over North Ft Myers (rd of 16), Tohopekaliga (quarters) and Wekiva’s Seth Galvin (14th-3A at 145, 6-2 win) before falling to Lake Highland’s Jack Desena, 4-2.

Results for this tournament can be found HERE.

By MATMEN, Saturday, 10:10 p.m.

ENGLEWOOD — Suwannee made the long trek from Live Oak to Charlotte County and the Sunshine Coast, finishing third in the 21-team Bidwell Memorial tournament, which had a mixed format, with some weights in IBT and others in roundrobin.

The Bulldogs finished with 190.5 points on the day, 8.5 behind 1A state duals runnerup Zephyrhills Christian in second. Host Lemon Bay’s 232.5 points were plenty to win the tournament, with Palm Bay (156.5) and Sarasota (101) rounding out the top five teams.

Suwannee also went back with three individual titles, with Brody Boehm (126), Marshall White (145) and Austin McKinney (152) all taking firsts.

Boehm (6th-1A at 126) pinned or teched his way into the final, with first-period falls over Palm Bay (rd of 16) and Riverview (Sarasota) (quarters), with a semifinal tech fall (16-1 in 5:02) over Zephyrhills Christian’s Kyle Gallo (18th-1A). In the final against Lemon Bay’s Brycen Warren (3rd-1A), Boehm gave up first takedown, but after that it was all his offense, with a reversal late in the first and a takedown in the second, riding Warren throughout the third for a 5-2 win.

White (13th-1A at 145) rolled through three first-period falls in reaching the final, with pins over Admiral Farragut (rd of 16), North Port (quarters) and Palm Bay (semis) to get to top seed Aiden Hutchins of Zephyrhills Christian. White scored in each period, with takedowns in the first and third, plus a reversal from bottom in the second, shutting down Hutchins’ offense for a 6-1 decision.

McKinney (4th-1A at 152) had to win Pool B at his weight to reach the title, with four pins over wrestlers from Palm Bay, Estero, Tampa Prep and Zephyrhills Christian’s Javier Lopez (7th-1A, fall time 4 minutes). In the final against Pool A champ Liam Brown of Admiral Farragut, McKinney worked a 3-point nearfall to go up 5-0, needing just one more takedown to take the fall in 2:58.

Eli Jolicoeur (106) and Justin Contreras (113) both reached the finals of their respective weight classes.

Jolicoeur (4th-1A) had three first-period pins in the first period to get to the final, but couldn’t solve Zephyrhills Christian’s Reed Yakes (6th-1A) in the final, falling by a 5-0 count.

Contreras (5th-1A) won Pool B with pins over Bonita Springs and Zephyrhills Christian, adding a third pin in the crossover semis over another Zephyrhills Christian competitor, but couldn’t overcome two first-period nearfalls against Lemon Bay’s Jack Oliver (8th-1A) in the final, dropping a 9-4 decision.

Results for this tournament can be found HERE.

Here’s a list of finals matches and area placers from this weekend’s JV state tournament at Osceola. Team scores and brackets can be found in the PDF below:

106: Adrian Day (Cocoa Beach) p. Zarian Chaves (Winter Springs), 1:59.
113: Ethan Warchol (Jensen Beach) d. Talyn Fisk (Osceola), 6-2.
120: Ehab Shalaby (Osceola) d. Roberto DeJesus (Lake Gibson), 8-5.
126: Jacob Fetzner (Hernando) p. Cristian Rodriguez (Harmony), 5:01.
132: Bricyn Kennedy (Wakulla) p. Vitaliy Boyer (Hernando), 4:55.
138: Chancellor Haber (Jesuit) p. Andrew Garcia (Jesuit), 1:02.
145: Dennis Cox (Charlotte) p. Aiden Neal (DeLand), 2:28.
152: Preston Lewis (Oakleaf) d. Elliot Courtney (Charlotte), 9-8.
160: Deacon Warren (McKeel Academy) p. David Hall (Middleburg), 1:12.
170: Keensdee Roseme (Middleburg) p. Rex Graff (Yulee), 1:15.
182: Pheonix Barbour-Yerka (Yulee) md. Henry McDuffy (Fernandina Beach), 12-2.
195: Aaron Stacey (Clay) p. James Carver (Yulee), 1:32.
220: Micah Thorpe (Oviedo) p. Case Roberts (Harmony), 1:00.
285: Jaxon Newton (Charlotte) p. Jesse Barker (South Lake), :54.

Additional Area Top 4 Placers —
113: 3. Drew Holmquist (Clay).
120: 3. Jeremiah Garcia (DeLand). 4. Gabriel Brown (Buchholz).
126: 3. Ajax Sgro (Middleburg). 4. Jackson Hemphill (Oakleaf).
138: 4. Chris Graham (St Johns Classical).
145: 3. Thomas Stokes (Middleburg). 4. Sean Blouin (Middleburg).
152: 4. Tayshawn Tate (Clay).
160: 4. Joseph Heredia (Lake Mary).
170: 3. Luis Rosario (University-Orange City).
195: 3. Ezekiel Rosario (University-Orange City).
285: 3. Daquan Beachham (Oakleaf). 4. Hardley Germain (Oakleaf).

TEAM SCORES & BRACKETS HERE (also on our Local IBTs page): JV STATE

By MATMEN, Friday, 6:15 p.m.

Ocoee Mat Classic

When & where: Saturday at Ocoee.
Teams in the field: In addition to the host Knights, the 2022-23 coverage area will be represented by Apopka, Bolles, Evans, Horizon, Wekiva, West Nassau, West Orange, West Port & Winter Park. From outside the coverage area, Celebration, Colonial, Dunbar, East River, Gateway, Jones, Lake Buena Vista, Lake Highland Prep, North Ft Myers, Sebastian River, Tohopekaliga and Vero Beach will be in attendance.
Defending team champion: Gateway.
Returning individual champions: Meison Broche (Gateway); Nolan McKelvy (West Nassau); Aidan Cooper (Gateway).
Synopsis: The tournament is the last regular-season event in the coverage area for 2022-23. The final opportunity against other competition before teams dive back into their respective districts for competition next week. Last year was a good fight between Gateway and Windermere for first, and so with Windermere not returning, I’d project Gateway to defend — they do have two returning champs — but I’d guess Vero Beach is going to be a strong contneder.
State-ranked wrestlers (listed by weight class in ranked order) —
106: Jacob Rothman (Winter Park), 3A-20th).
113: Egan Gustilo (Tohopekaliga, 3A-5th); Pedro Sifuentes (East River, 2A-8th).
120: Landon Higginbotham (West Nassau, 1A-7th).
126: Blayden Tharpe (West Nassau, 1A-9th); Raymond Cavey (West Orange, 3A-14th).
132: James Gonzalez (Winter Park, 3A-12th); Nathan Barrett (Tohopekaliga, 3A-15th); Michael Dupuy (East River, 2A-15th).
138: Tamarion Kendrick (Apopka, 3A-7th); Jayson Ortiz (Tohopekaliga, 3A-11th); Kevin Benjamin (Vero Beach, 3A-17th); Jovan Vukajlovic (East River, 2A-19th).
145: Seth Galvin (Wekiva, 3A-14th).
152: Joey Parker (Winter Park, 3A-6th); Tyran Schanck (Evans, 3A-14th); Reggie Cuesta (Tohopekaliga, 3A-18th).
160: Niko Huff (Sebastian River, 2A-12th); David Benjamin (Vero Beach, 3A-16th).
170: Cooper Patton (Vero Beach, 3A-9th); Aiden Sanchez (Dunbar, 2A-10th); Chase McBroom (Celebration, 3A-11th); Jacob Noid (Tohopekaliga, 3A-17th).
182: Nolan McKelvy (West Nassau, 1A-7th); Luis Rosario (Tohopekaliga, 3A-13th).
195: Johnathon Roberts (Vero Beach, 3A-13th); Jonathan Tumblin (Sebastian River, 2A-13th); Chris Luyanda (Tohopekaliga, 3A-17th).
220: Liam Glassmeyer (Winter Park, 3A-11th); Keniel Carrasquillo (Ocoee, 3A-15th); Jaquan Jean (Vero Beach, 3A-18th).
285: Deandre Scott (Ocoee, 3A-7th); Holley Saintmelus (Wekiva, 3A-9th);
All rankings from https://www.kabrawrestling.com/rankings

By MATMEN, Monday, 12:20 a.m.

GREEN COVE SPRINGS — For the first time in the Matmen 2022-23 tournament season, there’s been a tie for an IBT tournament title.

That it came in one of the, if not the, biggest IBTs in the regular season — so close on to the post-season just a week and a half away — added more drama as well. As it turned out, Clay needed every point it could muster to forge a tie with Hernando atop the standings of the Clay Rotary on Saturday, as the Blue Devils and Foxes both finished with 199 points.

Area teams made up the rest of the top six, as Buchholz was third with 163 points, Middleburg 4th at 158.5, Bartram Trail 5th with 131 and Matanzas sixth with 123.5.

Fletcher (116.5 points, 8th) and Oakleaf (94.5, 9th) also both made the top 10, while Sandalwood was 1.5 points out of 10th with 90. Bay was 12th with 81 points, followed by Baker County (13th, 79), Tocoi Creek (14th, 75), Pedro Menendez & Riverside (T-15th, 73), South Walton (17th, 69) and Bishop Kenny (19th, 66) all made the top 20 in the two-day, 39-team event.

The bottom half, starting with Mosley & Terry Parker in T-21st with 61.5 points, was made up entirely of local teams. Episcopal was 23rd (60), followed by North Bay Haven (56), Mandarin (55), West Nassau (52), St Augustine (49.5), Ponte Vedra (47), Palatka (43), Union County (42), Forest (39), Bishop Snyder (21), Ed White (17), Raines (16.5), Interlachen (11), Atlantic Coast & Baldwin (10 each), Bolles (nine) and University Christian (zero).

Clay and Bartram Trail were the only teams in the tournament with more than one champion, as both the Blue Devils and Bears each had two.

The Blue Devils got on the title board first behind Jacob Bucci’s title at 106. Bucci (2A-1st) pinned his way through Friday’s rounds, with falls over Tocoi Creek, Fletcher and Villages; in Saturday’s semifinal, Bucci added a fourth pin over Mosley to reach the final and Matanzas’ Timothy McLean (2A-3rd). There, Bucci broke open a scoreless match with an early escape and a later takedown in the second period; in the third, Bucci got a penalty point and a quick turn, holding McLean down for a 6-0 decision.

Needing his individual-championship points just for a best chance to tie with Hernando, Clay senior Dominic Martin delivered as so many Blue Devil seniors have before him, winning the 170 title under tight circumstances. Martin (2A-12th) had pinned his way into the final, with Friday pins over Bay, Terry Parker and Ed White to reach the semis, adding a fourth pin there over Sandalwood to face off against McKeel’s Owen McNabb (1A-4th). Martin scored first with a takedown, adding another late in the second to go up 5-1, and then held off McNabb long enough to make that lead stand up, winning by a 5-4 count.

Ethan Vugman (3A-1st) scored the Bears’ first title, pinning his way through the 126 draw. Friday saw Vugman take pins over Baker County’s Jonathon Walker (1A-15th) and Clay, but he hardly slowed down on Saturday, with pins in both the semi and final over ranked wrestlers, falling Matanzas’ Toryion Stallings (2A-10th) in 3:59 at the semifinal round and then Clay’s Brady Glavin (2A-9th) in 1:54 for the bracket win. Vugman needed just one takedown, 20 seconds in, and then rode Glavin for nearly the remainder of the first before getting the turn and pin.

John McNames (3A-8th) picked up Bartram’s other title at 182; after a pin (St Augustine) and 10-2 major (over 1A-#17 Alexander Cortese of Union County) on Friday, NcNames pushed past West Nassau’s Nolan McKelvy (1A-7th) by 8-4 decision to reach the final and Clearwater CC’s Carson Schiavello (1A-3rd). It took McNames just one takedown to assert control, as McNames used it to establish control, getting the pin in 1:20.

Wrestlers from eight different teams were solo champions on Saturday.

Top-ranked Derrick Williams (1A-1st) of Bay bonus-pointed through the weekend, with four pins and a 12-4 major in the semis over Matanzas’ Kaden Golder (2A-4th). Williams had three first-period pins (Clearwater CC, McKeel Academy and St Augustine) on Friday, pinning Clay’s Drew Holmquist in 2:35 in the final. Williams scored a pair of takedowns in the first period, but showed he could get out from bottom in the second, with a reversal that led to the pin.

Grady Woodard (2A-18th) went over the 100-wins mark on Saturday en route to his championship at 120, as he bonus-pointed through the tournament, with pins over Buchholz, Ponte Vedra and Hernando on Friday, with a fourth pin over Forest’s Aydan Ruano (3A-11th) in 3:10 in the semis, followed by a 15-0 tech (4:58) in the championship round over Hernando’s Jordyn Valle (1A-6th). Woodward raced out to a 7-0 first-period lead on a takedown and two nearfalls; after being ridden out in the second, he returned to turns in the third, with three more nearfalls for the tech.

Buchholz’s Cavarius Liddie (3A-6th) rolled through the 132 bracket, with two pins (Sandalwood and North Bay Haven) and a tech fall (Bartram Trail) on Friday. On Saturday, Liddie didn’t give up a point, with a 6-0 semifinal win over Hernando’s Kenneth Pritz (1A-8th), followed by a 12-0 major in the championship over Middleburg’s Wyatt Leduc (2A-3rd). Liddie had takedowns in both the first and second periods, with three nearfall situations as well.

Palatka’s Mikade Harvey (1A-2nd) took care of business in the 138 bracket, with two bonus-point wins on Friday (pin over Oakleaf, 17-4 major over Matanzas), returning Saturday to post a pair of identical 9-5 results in the semis and final, first over Key West’s Jason Flynn (1A-15th) in the semi, then over Hernando’s TJ Rodier (1A-11th) in the title round. Harvey had four takedowns, at least one in each period, in taking the win, giving up one late in the match.

At 152, Matanzas’ Dylan Parkinson made a strong case for getting back into the statewide rankings, wrecking the bracket with two pins in 42 seconds and a second-period shutout tech (16-0 in 2:54) on Friday. He came back Saturday with a 13-2 major in the semis over Hernando, then had his second shutout tech in the final against Bartram Trail’s Preston Pena (3A-12th). Parkinson needed just two takedowns, one in each period, picking up five nearfall situations from there to secure the 16-0 tech fall in 3:02.

Josh Daltro (3A-10th) was Fletcher’s lone champion, winning the 160 bracket. Daltro pinned his way into Saturday, with falls over South Walton, Tocoi Creek and Mosley, then had a walkover forfeit into the final, where he faced off with Villages’ Kevin Coon (1A-5th). After a scoreless first period, Daltro was able to get out in the second, adding a takedown for a 3-0 lead; likewise, Coon got out fairly quickly in the third, but Daltro picked up another takedown and rode Coon out for a 5-1 victory.

At 195, North Bay Haven’s David Mercado (1A-3rd) bonus-pointed his way into the final, with Friday pins over Villages (pinned 1A-17th Nicholas Caudill of Villages), Bishop Snyder and South Walton, and a 12-3 major over 3A-#8 Duffy Mista of Sandalwood in the semis, before facing 3A-3rd Kason Nichols of Buchholz in the final. Nichols’ escape broke a scoreless tie in the second period, but Mercado was able to secure a takedown with 22 seconds left to go up 2-1. Nichols rode Mercado out all third period, but couldn’t work a turn, as Mercado took the victory.

Riverside’s Thomas Jones (2A-10th) controlled the 220 bracket in staying unbeaten (35-0) with two first-period pins over Oakleaf & Bay, then edged Key West’s Ralph Riche (1A-11th), 6-5, in the quarters. On Saturday, Jones added two more wins over ranked opponents, with a 9-3 semifinal win over Clay’s Kedtric Wilbourn (2A-5th) and then a 19-8 major in the championship match against Middleburg’s Tucker Cody (2A-14th). Jones had four takedowns and a reversal in the match, with a pair of 3-point nearfalls as well.

The coverage area had one additional finalist at 145, as Middleburg’s Logan Moore (2A-8th) reached the final behind three pins Friday and a tech fall in the semis, but then lost by fall (2:34) in the championship match to Hernando’s James Gadson (1A-9th).

Brackets from the weekend can be found HERE.