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Title Quest Begins
1A-5, 2A-5 WRESTLING
Photo by JOE DiCRISTOFALO
FUTURE CHAMP? – Springstead High sophomore Richie Bliss, shown here during the Springstead Invitational finals, is a heavy favorite to earn his first blue ribbon in Saturday’s Class 2A, District 5 Tournament at Dunedin High School.
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Published: February 5, 2009
The coveted second season for prep wrestling begins Saturday for Hernando County's four mat programs.
The main focus is the 45th annual State Wrestling Championships in Lakeland, scheduled for Feb. 19-21.
But to attain Polk County, the initial steps begin this weekend.
Here's a breakdown.
Eagles: 'One for the Thumb'
During the Steel Curtain days of the Pittsburgh Steelers, they coined the phrase 'One for the Thumb' as they sought their fifth Super Bowl championship.
On Saturday, the North Suncoast's most decorated program, Spring Hill-Springstead, is expected to venture to Pinellas County's Dunedin High behind a 14-member squad seeking its fifth straight district title under Head Coach Eric Swensen and its county-record 23rd district crown.
The 10-team field in the Class 2A, District 5 Tourney includes 22-time district champion Spring Hill-Springstead, Wesley Chapel, New Port Richey-River Ridge, Groveland-South Lake, Brooksville-Central, Land O' Lakes, Land O' Lakes-Sunlake, Tarpon Springs, NPR-Ridgewood and host Dunedin.
Weigh-ins are set for 9 a.m. with the first match set for 11 a.m.
The top four wrestlers in each weight class advance to next weekend's two-day, 37-team, Region II Meet hosted by Kissimmee-Poinciana.
SHS, winners of a county-high five tourneys this winter, enters the event winners of 380-of-493 individual matches (77 percent).
Last year, SHS advanced 13-of-14 grapplers to Poinciana, including nine district champions from the 2A-5 meet at Ridgewood.
This year, only four returnees from that meet are in the fold including: sophomore Shawn Landgraff (32-10 won-lost record - who did not advance), junior Thomas Ellerbee (26-12), and seniors Thad Klenovich (33-6) and Scott Wern (32-6).
At press time, according to Swensen, Ellerbee and sophomore Devean Huff's (18-6) status were day-to-day "due to flu-like symptoms."
If Huff was not healthy enough to compete, look for senior Anthony Urso (3-5) to replace him at 130.
Ellerbee's possible replacement at 152 was not named.
Four other SHS wrestlers in this week's Hernando Today Top 10 Honor Roll will be seeking their first district titles with the Eagles including: Jessey Lorentsen (35-5), sophomore Richie Bliss (34-2), freshman Cody Ross (33-7) and junior Kenny Cox (32-5). Cox did not compete in the state series last year due to a stapf infection.
Four others will be competing for the first time in districts including: freshman Sean "Buddha" Redman (22-17), sophomore Nick Soto (31-4), sophomore Colton Zimmerman (26-11), and sophomore Sammy "The Bull" Colon (18-16).
How's the general health of the team going in?
"We're good," explained Coach Swensen, who canceled the final dual meet match of the season against Hernando after his team came home battered, bruised and exhausted from its tough January stretch. "The time off did us well."
Who is the favorite on Saturday?
"We've got to be the favorite," insisted Swensen. "Even with the brutal schedule and such a young team this year, we've won five tournaments and we've won this tournament the past four years. It would be tough to call us underdogs going into Dunedin."
How do the Eagles sell this event?
"This is our last major team event," said Swensen. "We don't ever want to finish second. Winning districts is what we're supposed to do. That's why we wear the Superman "S" on our singlets.
"You've got to win districts in order to do well in the state series," he added. "Now we know what's in front of us. Dunedin is favored in several of the heavier weights, but we've got to step up and beat 'em."
In a line-up surprise, heavyweight Charles Oquendo (3-1 overall, 3 pins) will be back in the fold this weekend. Oquendo suffered a severe ankle injury at the Ocala-Forest Invitational and has not wrestled since.
Bears compete sans Ramirez
Like Springstead, on the eve of districts, Central High's line-up is also in flux.
First and foremost, CHS will compete sans its most talented grappler, junior Vince Ramirez (shoulder injury).
According to Head Coach Roy Reyes, Ramirez (24-4) "feels like he's in too much pain. He wants to work on strengthening it. The pain is taking away his ability to compete."
Reyes believes that "Vince is better with one arm than most guys are with two arms. If it was up to me, he'd wrestle. We've been going back and forth with this (injury) since January."
If that wasn't enough, senior Matt Redford has not been medically cleared (stapf infection) to compete as of press time. Should he get clearance, he'll compete at 160. If not, Puerto Rico Nieves will replace him at 160.
CHS is already forfeiting 103 pounds and possibly 189, depending on the Redford situation.
The Bears, who finished fourth in 2A-5 last winter, posted an overall 17-16 slate.
Without Ramirez, six members of last year's district squad return including: senior Wayne Snell (21-15), junior David Supple (15-8), senior Kenny Supple (25-8), sophomore Antonio Zayas (1-1), senior Danny May (12-3) and senior Shaun Cadoret (team-best 26-11).
Zayas was medically clearly following an early-season shoulder injury. If he does not compete, a last-minute insertion will be junior Justin Lane.
Overall?
"We're taking 12 guys and I don't see why we can't take 12 to regionals," said the optimistic Reyes. "It's not like we're going into a tournament with eight schools having 14 guys. Bringing double digits to regionals would be phenomenal. For a lot of the younger guys, it'll boil down to winning one match."
Is Springstead the favorite?
"I'd give them the slight edge," said Reyes. "Because of their overall strength, but Dunedin is real solid in the upper weights; so they're no slouch. A lot of times, winning at districts boils down to injuries and which side of the bracket a guy falls on, so seeds are important."
Leopards: chasing Citrus
Hernando High, like the other eight teams in Class 1A, District 5, is chasing Inverness-Citrus High.
The 1A-5 Meet features the 3-time defending champion and host Inverness-Citrus, 3-time district champion Brooksville-Hernando, Lecanto, Dunnellon, Ocala-Trinity-Catholic, Ocala-West Port, Citra-North Marion, The Villages, Brooksville-Nature Coast Technical and Crystal River.
Weigh-ins are set for 8 a.m. with wrestling expected to begin at 10 a.m.
The top four wrestlers in each weight class advance to next weekend's two-day, 34-team, Region II Meet hosted by St. Augustine-Matanzas High School.
The burning question in the Citrus County event is can anyone halt the Golden Hurricanes' bid on a fourth straight district title?
"Citrus is the favorite," explained HHS assistant coach Bill Combs Sr. "They've got more bodies, plus they've got some real good kids."
Dark horse?
"I see Nature Coast up there," added Coach Combs. "They have a lot of above average wrestlers. Now, we should do well, but we need our younger kids to win some matches. The weird thing is we really haven't run into Citrus. They've kinda stayed north of us all season. On paper, they're the ones everyone is chasing, but really I don't know how they match-up individually."
Last winter, HHS finished runner-up to the 'Canes finishing 22-10 overall.
Eight Leopards qualified for regionals in 2008.
This time, the Purple and Gold return four members of that squad including: junior Daniel Pritz (32-2), seniors Kenny Day (10-17), Max Morrill (23-10) and James Davidson (county-best 36-3).
Pritz and Davidson are returning district champions.
Seniors George Smith (33-7, 20 pins) and Brandon Gunderson (27-11) and freshman Zach Pritz (29-8) are all expected to contend for district championships.
The Leopards are expected to bring 12 grapplers. Freshman Sonny Worsley was lost for the remainder of the season due to a broken hand suffered last week.
NCT: In the hunt
Nature Coast Technical's stated goal all season long was to either win or finish second in districts.
So, who's in the way?
"Citrus clearly is the team to beat," explained fifth-year Shark Head Coach Mike Lastra. "They'll be tough to beat, especially at home. They've got a couple studs and they're solid across the board. After them though, second place is kinda up for grabs."
What's the key on Saturday?
"We want to come home with some district hardware," said Lastra of his team's main goal. "We can do that if we take care of business on the mats. We can't afford any of our guys to go winless. We can't have guys go 0-2."
NCT is expected to bring 13 grapplers. Only two return as district placers: senior David Simonson (19-9) and junior Scott Cronin (24-15). Neither, however, competed in last week's tournament win at The Villages.
The key for the Sharks is whether their four other returness from last year perform at a higher level this time around including: sophomore Tyler Forand (24-13) and seniors Rockkhem "The Dream" Greene (29-12), Matt Lambert (26-4) and Shayne Gracteroly (35-9).
AT A GLANCE
WHO - Ten teams including 22-time district champion Spring Hill-Springstead, Wesley Chapel, New Port Richey-River Ridge, Groveland-South Lake, Brooksville-Central, Land O' Lakes, Land O' Lakes-Sunlake, Tarpon Springs, NPR-Ridgewood and host Dunedin.
WHAT - Class 2A, District 5 Wrestling Tournament.
WHERE - Dunedin High gym.
WHEN - Today from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m.
AT STAKE - Top four wrestlers in each weight class advance to next weekend's two-day, 37-team, Region II Meet hosted by Kissimmee-Poinciana.
WHO - Ten teams including 3-time defending champion and host Inverness-Citrus, 3-time district champion Brooksville-Hernando, Lecanto, Dunnellon, Ocala-Trinity-Catholic, Ocala-West Port, Citra-North Marion, The Villages, Brooksville-Nature Coast Technical and Crystal River.
WHAT - Class 1A, District 5 Wrestling Tournament.
WHERE - Citrus High School gym.
WHEN - Today from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m.
AT STAKE - Top four wrestlers in each weight class advance to next weekend's two-day, 34-team, Region II Meet hosted by St. Augustine-Matanzas High School.
Final 2008 Class 2A, District 5 Team Standings
PL Team PTS
1. Springstead (SPG) 237.0
2. Dunedin (DUN) 165.0
3. River Ridge (RR) 146.0
4. Central (CEN) 117.0
5. Ridgewood (RW) 56.0
6. Land O' Lakes (LOL) 46.0
7. South Lake (SL) 36.0
8. Wesley Chapel (WC) 18.5
9. Tarpon Springs (TS) 5.0
Springstead's 2008 Class 2A, District 5 Individual Results
Wgt Name W L Pins Pl
103 Soto, Dustin 2 0 2 1st
112 Swanton, Schuyler 3 0 2 1st
119 Huff, Skylar 3 0 2 1st
125 Cook, C.J. 2 0 1 1st
130 Bliss, Steve 2 0 2 1st
135 Landgraff, Shawn 1 2 0 -
140 Hughes, Sean 2 1 1 3rd
145 Ellerbee, Thomas 1 1 0 2nd
152 Klenovich, Thad 3 0 2 1st
160 Herr, Andrew 1 2 1 4th
171 Wern, Scott 2 0 0 1st
189 Acosta, Cesar 2 0 1 1st
215 Delgado, Luis 2 1 2 3rd
285 Ramirez, Carlos 3 0 1 1st
TOTALS 29 7 17
Central's 2008 Class 2A, District 5 Individual Results
Wgt Name W L Pins Pl
103 Vega, Anto 0 2 0 4th
112 Supple, David 0 2 0 -
119 Snell, Wayne 3 1 2 3rd
125 Supple, Ken 2 1 1 2nd
130 Zayas, Antonio 1 1 0 3rd
135 Ramirez, Vince 2 1 1 2nd
140 Sieber, Robbie 0 2 0 -
145 Cadoret, Shaun 3 1 1 3rd
152 Miller, Mike 1 2 1 4th
160 Adams, Tom 0 2 0 -
189 May, Daniel 2 1 1 2nd
215 Brazeau, Nathan 3 0 1 1st
TOTALS 17 16 8
Final 2008 Class 1A-5 Wrestling Tourney Team Standings
PL School Pts.
1. Inverness-Citrus (CIT) 230.5
2. Brooksville-Hernando (HER) 173.0
3. Brooksville-Nature Coast (NCT) 123.5
4. Crystal River (CR) 119.5
5. Lecanto (LEC) 98.0
6. Dunnellon (DUN) 92.5
7. Citra-North Marion (NM) 61.0
8. Ocala-Trinity Catholic (OTC) 54.0
9. Ocala-West Port (WP) 27.0
10. The Villages (VILL) 14.0
Hernando's 2008 Class 1A-5 Individual Results
Name Wgt. Won Lost Pins PL
Weston, Spencer 103 2 2 2 4th
Pritz, Daniel 125 3 0 2 1st
Bishop, Chris 130 1 2 1 -
Morrill, Max 135 2 1 1 2nd
Graham, Jesse 140 4 0 2 1st
Day, Kenny 152 0 2 0 -
Ball, Tim 160 2 1 2 2nd
Davidson, James 171 2 0 1 1st
Pauliot, Nick 189 2 0 2 1st
Rotunda, Taylor 215 3 0 3 1st
Hostetter, Casey 285 1 2 1 -
TOTALS 22 10 17 -
Nature Coast's 2008 Class 1A-5 Individual Results
Wgt Name W L Pins PL
103 Forand, Tyler 1 2 1 -
112 Simonson, David 3 1 3 2nd
119 Cronin, Scott 3 1 1 3rd
130 Jackson, Jeremiah 3 1 2 3rd
135 Lambert, Matt 1 2 1 -
140 Baker, CJ 2 2 1 4th
145 McCabe, Ryan 1 2 1 -
152 Huang, Jimmy 2 2 1 4th
160 Goben, Derek 1 2 1 -
171 Gracteroly, Shayne 1 2 1 -
189 Greene, Rockkhem 1 2 1 -
215 Nuby, Brandon 3 1 2 3rd
285 Baker, JJ 3 0 3 1st
TOTALS 25 20 19 -
Sports Editor Tony Castro can be reached at 352-544-5278 or online at acastro@hernandotoday.com.
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