Hernando's hardware denied

NEW PORT RICHEY - It came down to the last bout in the last match of the round-robin tournament, but in the end, the Hernando Leopards just lost out on winning their pool and advancing to the semifinals of the 24-team Gulf Duals Holiday Wrestling Tournament.

The Leopards won their opening four matches Friday and Saturday, beating Pasco (46-12), Sunlake (54-16), Wiregrass Ranch (63-12) and Florida School for the Deaf and Blind (63-12) before they faced River Ridge to see who would win the bracket and move onto the tournament semifinals.

In the end, however, the Leopards lost to the Royal Knights 43-36. But according to first-year HHS Head Coach Joe McLain, they still did fine in the two-day event.

"We did OK but we're pretty disappointed, that's for sure," said McLain after his team was eliminated from the tournament.

"The big thing was we had someone miss weight and then had to have someone go up a weight class," McLain said. "Overall, I think we did well."

Cruising early

Hernando cruised through its opening four matches before they had to wrestle River Ridge in its fifth match for the right to make the tournament semifinals.

And after trailing by as many as 16 points in the match, the Leopards came back as James Davidson at 171 pounds, Nick Pauliot (189) and Taylor Rotunda (215) all pinned their opponent to make it 36-33 Hernando.

Hernando then had to forfeit at 103 pounds and then came up short as Dimitri Perri beat Spencer Weston via a major decision at 112, 10-0.

In the two-day event at the New Port Richey Recreation and Aquatic Center, Hernando had four wrestlers go unbeaten in the five matches. Chris Bishop, who wrestled at both 130 and 135 pounds, Jesse Graham at 145, Tim Ball at 152 and Rotunda, who went between 215 and heavyweight.

"The one who really stepped it up out of all those was Bishop. I expected him to do well but not go undefeated," said McLain.

"And we also had to juggle people between 215 and heavyweight. We used Rotunda and Fernando Gomez and in our last match, Gomez wrestled at heavyweight, even though he only weighs 191 pounds.

"That cost him because the guy he wrestled may have outweighed him by a 100 pounds, but even then he had him until the guy just used his weight and rolled him over."

In their five matches, the Leopards went 45-12 with 31 pins and showed to their coach that they have the makings of a good team. "I think we learned some things with this tournament," McLain said. "It's tough when you don't have a full squad, but we went 4-1 and that isn't a bad day. In the end, we learned a lot about the whole personality of the team, what we have to work on to take it to the next level."

For the Leopards, who were coming off a third-place finish in the prestigious Hernando Kiwanis Tournament, the Gulf Tournament was a good training ground for McLain and his team as Hernando won its first four matches by an average of 56-13.

Pool A: 1. Manatee 5-0; 2. Clearwater 4-1; 3. Lemon Bay 3-2; 4. Lehigh 1-4; 5. Sarasota Booker 0-5.

Pool B: 1. River Ridge 5-0; 2. Hernando 4-1; 3. Pasco 3-2; 4. Florida School for the Deaf and Blind 2-3; 5. Sunlake 1-4; 6. Wiregrass Ranch 0-5. River Ridge advances.

Pool C: 1. Springstead 5-0; 2. Golden Gate 4-1; 3. Crystal River 3-2; 4. Tampa Prep 2-3; 5. Hudson 1-4; 6. Ridgewood 0-6. Pool D: 1. Citrus 5-0; 2. Gulf 4-1; 3. Belleview 3-2; 4. North Marion 2-3; 5. Wesley Chapel 1-4; 6. Zephyrhills 0-5.

Semifinals: Manatee 57, River Ridge 17; Springstead 51, Citrus 11.

Third place: Citrus 37, River Ridge 27.

Finals: Manatee 39, Springstead 28.

Hernando scores: Hernando 46, Pasco 12; Hernando 54, Sunlake 16; Hernando 63, Wiregrass Ranch 12; Hernando 69, Florida School for the Deaf and Blind 12; River Ridge 43, Hernando 36.

ROUND 1: HERNANDO 46, PASCO 12

103 - Videl Jimenez (PAS) pin Spencer Weston, 0:50

112 - Double forfeit

119 - Christian Sanchez (HER) pin Justin Caudill, 4:27

125 - Daniel Pritz (HER) maj. Dec. Robert Smith, 22-10

130 - Double forfeit

135 - Chris Bishop (HER) pin Trevor Drake (PAS), 0:21

140 - Max Morrill (HER) pin Marcus Hicks, 3:46

145 - Jesse Graham (HER) won by forfeit

152 - Tim Ball (HER) pin David Ward, 0:35

160 - Dillon Lamorte (HER) pin Demetrius McLaughlin, 4:31

171 - James Davidson (HER) dec. Jarrod Carmody, 10-8

189 - Reyes Perez (PAS) dec. Nick Pauliot), 5-1

215 - Alexander Johnson (PAS) dec. Fernando Gomez, 7-0

HWT - Taylor Rotunda (HER) dec. Eric Storm, 8-2

ROUND 2: HERNANDO 54, SUNLAKE 16

103 - Weston (HER) pin Jean Mancebo, 0:32

112 - Tyler Crawford (SUN) won by forfeit

119 - Sean Hart (SUN) dec. Sanchez, 15-12

125 - Pritz (HER) pin Matthew Brown, 0:41

130 - Bishop (HER) pin Robert Peterson, 1:50

135 - Double forfeit

140 - Morrill (HER) pin Daniel Haddad, 1:17

145 - Graham (HER) pin Nick Stanger, 1:30

152 - Ball (HER) pin Deven Johnson , 2:31

160 - Lamorte (HER) pin Dylan Buntin, 0:48

171 - Christopher Whittington (SUN) maj. dec. Davidson, 21-12

189 - Jarrett Baker (SNL) dec. Nick Pauliot, 10-9

215 - Gomez (HER) pin Tim Gibbons (SUN), 0:30

HWT - Rotunda (HER) pin Jordan Myers (SUN), 0:13

ROUND 3: HERNANDO 63, WIREGRASS RANCH 12

103 - Double forfeit

112 - Weston (HER) won by forfeit

119 - Michael Holt (WR) pin Sanchez, 2:32

125 - Pritz (HER) pin Timothy Betts, 0:35

130 - Bishop (HER) dec. Eric Madden, 8-3

135 - Emanuel Long (WR) won by forfeit

140 - Morrill (HER) pin Eric Mendoza, 0:47

145 - Graham (HER) pin Erich Sessions-Davis, 0:31

152 - Ball (HER) won by forfeit

160 - Lamorte (HER) won by forfeit

171 - Davidson (HER) pin Steve Van Bemmel, 0:47

189 - Pauliot (HER) won by forfeit

215 - Rotunda (HER) won by forfeit

HWT - Gomez (HER) pin Noah Ravenna, 0:52

ROUND 4: HERNANDO 69, FLA. DEAF AND BLIND 12

103 - Seth Snow (FSDB) won by forfeit

112 - Weston (HER) pin Melvin Jenkins, 0:28

119 - Sanchez (HER) won by forfeit

125 - Pritz (HER) tech. fall Joshua Snell, 18-2

130 - Bishop (HER) pin Joseph Cano (FSDB), 0:17

135 - Sean Paskey (FSDB) won by forfeit

140 - Morrill (HER) pin Steven Zimmerman, 1:09

145 - Graham (HER) maj. dec. Javier Tabares, 19-6

152 - Ball (HER) def. Wil Pages, injury default

160 - Lamorte (HER) pin Angel Rodrigues, 3:44

171 - Davidson (HER) won by forfeit

189 - Pauliot (HER) pin Darrin Bryant, 0:46

215 - Rotunda (HER) won by forfeit

HWT - Gomez (HER) pin Zachary Riha, 0:23

ROUND 5: RIVER RIDGE 43, HERNANDO 36

103 - Andrew Agazarm (RR) won by forfeit

112 - Demitri Perri (RR) maj. dec. Weston, 10-0

119 - Anthony Biondo (RR) pin Sanchez, 0:23

125 - Tyler Fleming (RR) maj. dec. Pritz, 14-4

130 - Bishop (HER) pin Dennis Saunders), 0:40

135 - John Barranco (RR) won by forfeit

140 - Sean Hitchcock (RR) pin Morrill, 2:37

145 - Graham (HER) won by forfeit

152 - Ball (HER) pin Aaron Nesbit, 0:27

160 - Marco Custodio (RR) pin Lamorte, 2:30

171 - Davidson (HER) pin Landon Vanmato, 2:49

189 - Pauliot (HER) pin Nick Wine (RR), 3:00

215 - Rotunda (HER) pin Joshua Soto-Natonio, 1:00

HWT - Anthony Colello (RR) pin Gomez, 0:55