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Bulldogs Rule The Mats By Unseating Four-Time Champion Clay High

By TONY CASTRO SPORTS EDITOR

Hernando Today

Published: January 11, 2008

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – In a predominately Class 1A field, Hernando High fared slightly better this season than last winter following this past weekend's 9th annual, 18-team Rotary Invitational Wrestling Tournament at Clay High.
Class 1A-2's Live Oak-Suwannee Bulldogs, who lost by eight points last year, won this time going away.
The 'Dawgs, paced by a meet-high 10 placers, collected 211 points to easily out distance second-place Class 1A-4's Jacksonville-Bolles School by 66 points.
Suwannee's win also snapped Clay's four-year domination of this event. The host Blue Devils had toted home the top team prize six of the previous eight tourneys.
Rounding out the top half of the standings, Class 1A-2 Crawfordville-Wakulla edged Class 1A-4 Clay for third place, 139-130.
Class 2A-2's Tallahassee-Lincoln nipped Class 1A-5 Hernando for fourth place, 130-127.5.

Better returns

Last season, Hernando High placed eighth overall and did not get a grappler into the tourney finals. In fact, only three medaled.
This time, first-year Head Coach Joe McLain's crew had eight medalists, highlighted by two champions.
Seniors Jesse Graham at 140 pounds and Taylor Rotunda at 215 each went 4-0 to collect gold medals.
Sophomore Daniel Pritz at 125 placed third while senior Fernando Gomez, who was filling in for junior James Davidson (out of state), finished fourth at 171.
Junior Max Morrill placed fifth at 135 while seniors Chris Bishop at 130, Tim Ball at 152 and Nick Pauliot at 189 placed sixth.
Pauliot, who placed third here last winter, could have duplicated his achievements.
Pauliot, a 2007 state qualifier and weight division's No. 2 seed, received an opening-round bye. He then pinned his first opponent, JAX-Forrest's Andre Filson in 2:35.
In the tourney semifinals, Pauliot led 4-3 after four minutes and still led with less than 10 seconds left in his match against Palatka's muscular junior Ruben Wright.
But Wright never gave up and pinned Pauliot with one second left.
Visibly upset with the outcome, Pauliot uttered something that Hall of Fame referee Pat Fairfax overheard and translated into unsportsmanlike behavior. In fact, Fairfax proceeded to eject Pauliot from the tourney and Hernando High lost two team points.
As a result, Pauliot was automatically disqualified from the remainder of the meet and by Florida High School Athletic Association guidelines will additionally be forced to sit out this week's Springstead Invitational.
Had Pauliot finished the final 10 seconds ahead, HHS would most likely have either finished second or possibly third overall.
"It's unfortunate," commented McLain of Pauliot's ejection. "Things happen. But there's no place for that behavior. He's a senior. He knows the rules. It was a tough match. Now, we have to go into Springstead without one of our top guns. It hurts."

Graham garners gold

After losing in four overtimes in the finals of the Land O'Lakes Invitational in Dec. 22 to Palm Coast-Matanzas' Justin Swilling at 145 pounds, Graham decided his best chance to win the Class 1A State Championship in Lakeland would be at 140 pounds.
At Clay, Swilling remained at 145 and captured gold improving to 23-0.
Meanwhile, Graham dropped weight for the first time in three seasons. He pinned two opponents and crushed a third foe, 20-2, to reach the finals.
This time he faced another Matanzas foe, unbeaten junior Mike Bizzozzaro.
Bizzozzaro, a 2007 state qualifier, came in 20-0.
After regulation, the match was knotted at 2-all. Each grappler secured a one-point escape and received one penalty point for stalling. Through three overtimes it remained tied.
In the fourth overtime, Graham chose the bottom position and extracted a 1-point escape with six seconds left to win, 3-2. (See Graham sidebar).
With the win, Graham climbed to a team-best 24-1 slate.
"I have to admit, I was pretty tired going in from cutting weight," expressed the 17-year-old Graham, who is attempting to become a three-time state qualifier this winter. "I'm going 140 for states, so this was a huge match for seeds."
How frustrating was it against an opponent who never shot?
"He was hard to take down," he countered. "Hard to set up. He didn't do much. I thought I worked the whole match. My best thing I do is takedowns and everybody knows that so they stay away.
"In the end (fourth overtime), I pushed off, rolled off and made it. It was great."

Rotunda remains unbeaten

Like Graham, Rotunda also pinned two of his first three opponents en route to a gold medal.
Rotunda, a 2007 state qualifier, opened the meet with a 49-second pasting of Suwannee's Joe McMillan.
Next, Rotunda stuffed Clay High's Tracey Young in 60 seconds resulting in his 15th pin of the season.
In the semifinals against JAX-Forrest senior Frank Krazit, Rotunda never trailed. He led 2-1 after two minutes and led 4-1 after two periods before etching a 7-5 decision.
In the finals Rotunda tangled with Palatka senior Ben Cromer.
Cromer, a 2007 state qualifier, came into the match 20-1 overall.
But Rotunda followed his earlier blueprint. He led 2-1 after one period and extended the lead to 7-3 after two periods. He eventually won 11-5 to improve to 20-0 overall. His previous longest winning skein was 16 wins following a 5-2 setback to Pasco's Eric Stroud at the Springstead Inv. last year.
It was also sweet revenge for Rotunda.
Last winter, Rotunda went 2-2 at Clay and was flattened in the second round by Cromer in 4:47.
How did 4-0 taste?
"My hardest match was the semifinal against the Forrest kid," indicated the 17-year-old Rotunda, who climbed to 55-10 lifetime. "He's the toughest kid I've faced all year. He was good. Of course, not working out much during Christmas break kinda hurt me today."
What's the goal now?
"Springstead is huge," replied Rotunda. "And I want to stay undefeated. The goal's the same -- to reach states. This was the toughest tournament I've been at so far."

Pritz third, Gomez fourth

The second-year Pritz reached the consolation finals where he placed third behind a 4-1 record.
Pritz opened the tourney with his eighth pin of the season in 4:34 over Palatka's Jay Bridges.
Next, Pritz decisioned Suwannee's Michael Burrus, 10-3.
But in the semifinals, JAX-Bartram Trail's senior Brett O'Connor pinned Pritz in 5:59.
O'Connor eventually won the weight division and received one of the meet's two Outstanding Wrestler Awards.
Dropped into the loser's bracket, Pritz again faced Burrus and this time folded him into a 12-3 major decision.
In his final bout, Pritz rallied from a 3-2 deficit after two periods for a 7-3 win and third place over JAX-University Christian's Angel Bosque.
Pritz was pleased that he improved following his 2-2 performance last year at Clay.
"I did better than I expected," explained Pritz. "I didn't place here last year. It seemed this year was just as hard as last year."
What happened in the semifinal setback?
"I made one mistake and the guy caught me in a head throw," shrugged Pritz, who improved to 23-6 overall.
One pleasant surprise was Gomez.
Gomez was filling in for Davidson, who finished 2-2 at 171 last year.
Gomez did not compete last year and had never placed as high as he did at Clay.
He went 2-2 overall, defeating Tallahassee-Chile's Patrick Chastain twice, pinning him in 2:18 and then producing an 8-4 decision.
"This was my first tournament at 171," shared the 18-year-old Gomez. "I felt weak coming in but I thought I did all right. Man, I worked out hard with Nick (Pauliot) and Taylor (Rotunda) so I thought I was ready."
Is he satisfied?
"Not at all," replied Gomez. "I want to keep it going and climbing the ladder. I just wish I would have wrestled last year."

9th annual Green Cove Springs Rotary Invitational Team Standings
PL Team CLASS PTS
1. Live Oak-Suwannee (SUW) 1A-2 211.0
2. Jacksonville-Bolles (BOL) 1A-4 145.0
3. Crawfordville-Wakulla (WAK) 1A-2 139.5
4. Green Cove Springs-Clay (CLA) 1A-4 130.0
5. Tallahassee-Lincoln (LIN) 2A-2 127.5
6. Brooksville-Hernando (HER) 1A-5 125.0
7. Palm Coast-Mantanzas (MAT) 1A-4 124.5
8. Orange Park-Ridgeview (RDV) 2A-2 116.5
9. JAX-Forrest (FOR) 3A-3 109.0
10. Tallahassee-Chiles (CHI) 2A-2 96.0
11. JAX-University Christian (UC) 1A-4 92.0
12. Middleburg (MID) 2A-2 82.0
13. Palatka (PAL) 2A-4 72.5
14. Port Orange-Atlantic (ATL) 1A-7 66.0
15. JAX-Bartram Trail (BART) 3A-1 63.0
16. Fernandina Beach (FERN) 1A-3 60.0
17. Providence (PROV) 1A-4 12.0
18. St. Augustine-St. Joseph (STJ)1A-4 0.0

Clay Rotary Invitational Individual Finals Results
103 - Burris (SUW) dec. Forbes (WAK), 7-5.
112 - Laxton (SUW) dec. Agustin (FOR), 6-3.
119 - Joseph (CLA) dec. Pressley (ATL), 12-6.
125 - O'Connor (BART) maj. dec. Trotter (MAN), 12-0.
130 - Soileau (CLA) dec. Cone (SUW), 4-3.
135 - Day (BOL) maj. Dec. Johnson (WAK), 11-2.
140 - Graham (HER) dec. Bizzozzaro (MANT), 3-2 (4 OTs).
145 - Swilling (MANT) dec. Ruzzo (UNIV), 10-5.
152 - Carnes (MID) dec. Oetting (MANT), 2-1.
160 - McGurrin (BOL) maj. dec. Podhaney (MID), 10-2.
171 - Minich (CLA) pin Hoskins (RDV), 1:02.
189 - Granville (SUW) dec. Wright (PAL), 6-4.
215 - Rotunda (HER) dec. Cromer (PAL), 11-5.
275 - Dixon (RDV) pin Moore (BOL), 4:32.

Clay Rotary Invitational Individual Consolation Finals Results
103 - Hall (LIN) dec. Wojcik (UNI), 11-6.
112 - Ippolito (ATL) dec. Varnes (PAL), 10-5.
119 - Hill (WAK) dec. Sanders (SUW), 4-3.
125 - D. Pritz (HER) dec. Bosque (UNIV), 7-3.
130 - McCullough (WAK) maj. dec. Lewis (LIN), 9-1.
135 - Austin (CHIL) dec. Gratham (SUW), 7-2.
140 - B. Wainwright (SUW) dec. Calhoun (UNIV), 3-1 (OT).
145 - Qualls (WAK) won by forfeit Eggleton (MID).
152 - Osterbye (LIN) maj. dec. Solhoron (BART), 10-1.
160 - Underwood (CLA) dec. Dennis (MANT), 10-8.
171 - Masline (FOR) dec. Gomez HER), 7-0.
189 - Moore (FERN) maj. Dec. Mashburn (LIN), 8-0.
215 - Krazit (FOR) dec. Dailey (WAK), 6-2.
275 - Snyder (SUW) dec. Foster (FOR), 5-1.

Green Cove Springs Rotary Invitational Awards:
Outstanding Heavyweight Wrestler Award - John Dixon, Ridgeview.
Outstanding Lightweight Wrestler Award - Brett O'Connor, Bartram Trail.

Hernando at Green Cove Springs Rotary Invitational Tourney Results
WGT Name W L Pins Pl
125 Pritz, Daniel 4 1 1 3rd
130 Bishop, Chris 3 3 3 6th
135 Morrill, Max 4 2 2 5th
140 Graham, Jesse 4 0 2 1st
145 Day, Kenny 0 2 0 -
152 Ball, Tim 1 3 0 6th
160 Smith, George 0 2 0 -
171 Gomez, Fernando 2 2 1 4th
189 Pauliot, Nick# 1 1 1 6th
215 Rotunda, Taylor 4 0 2 1st
285 Hostetter, Casey 1 2 1 -
TOTALS 24 18 13
# Denotes disqualified from tourney for unsportsmanlike behavior.

9th annual Green Cove Springs Rotary Invitational Team Standings
PL Team CLASS PTS
1. Suwannee (SUW) 1A-2 211.0
2. Jacksonville-Bolles (BOL) 1A-4 145.0
3. Crawfordville-Wakulla (WAK) 1A-2 139.5
4. Green Cove Springs-Clay (CLA) 1A-4 130.0
5. Tallahassee-Lincoln (LIN) 2A-2 127.5
6. Brooksville-Hernando (HER) 1A-5 125.0
7. Palm Coast-Mantanzas (MAT) 1A-4 124.5
8. Orange Park-Ridgeview (RDV) 2A-2 116.5
9. JAX-Forrest (FOR) 3A-3 109.0
10. Tallahassee-Chiles (CHI) 2A-2 96.0
11. JAX-University Christian (UC) 1A-4 92.0
12. Middleburg (MID) 2A-2 82.0
13. Palatka (PAL) 2A-4 72.5
14. Port Orange-Atlantic (ATL) 1A-7 66.0
15. JAX-Bartram Trail (BART) 3A-1 63.0
16. Fernandina Beach (FERN) 1A-3 60.0
17. Providence (PROV) 1A-4 12.0
18. St. Augustine-St. Joseph (STJ)1A-4 0.0

Green Cove Springs Rotary Invitational Awards:
Outstanding Heavyweight Wrestler Award - John Dixon, Ridgeview.
Outstanding Lightweight Wrestler Award - Brett O'Connor, Bartram Trail.

Hernando at Green Cove Springs Rotary Invitational Tourney Results
WGT Name W L Pins Pl
125 Pritz, Daniel 4 1 1 3rd
130 Bishop, Chris 3 3 3 6th
135 Morrill, Max 4 2 2 5th
140 Graham, Jesse 4 0 2 1st
145 Day, Kenny 0 2 0 -
152 Ball, Tim 1 3 0 6th
160 Smith, George 0 2 0 -
171 Gomez, Fernando 2 2 1 4th
189 Pauliot, Nick# 1 1 1 -
215 Rotunda, Taylor 4 0 2 1st
285 Hostetter, Casey 1 2 1 -
TOTALS 24 18 13
# Denotes disqualified from tourney for unsportsmanlike behavior.

Sports Editor Tony Castro can be reached at (352) 544-5278 or online at acastro@hernandotoday.com

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