Leopards are Bridesmaids (Again)

CITRUS SPRINGS - From the meet's opening whistle till the last, Inverness-Citrus High School could not be caught.
The defending district champion Golden Hurricanes imposed their will on the remaining eight members of the Class 1A, District 5 Wrestling Tournament Saturday at Citrus Springs Middle School.
When the dust finally settled, CHS's Head Coach Mike Porcellis' troops totaled 230.5 points to win over runner-up Brooksville-Hernando by 57.5 points. The team triumph was the school's third in a row.
More importantly, CHS advanced 12-of-14 grapplers to this weekend's two-day, Region II Tournament at Avon Park's South Florida Community College.
The Leopards, who finished second for the sixth time in the past 12 seasons, rallied from fifth to second behind eight placers -- highlighted by seven grapplers reaching the finals.
Fourth-year NCT, which was second after the opening round, finished with its best-ever team performance in third place with 123 points.
The Sharks, who had two grapplers make the finals, advanced seven to regionals.

Five champions, two silvers

HHS and Citrus each concluded the meet behind a meet-high five champions.
The Leopards' blue ribbon winners included: sophomore Daniel Pritz at 125 pounds, senior Jesse Graham at 140, junior James Davidson at 171, senior Nick Pauliot at 189 and senior Taylor Rotunda at 215.
Junior Max Morrill (22-17 won-lost record) finished runner-up at 135 losing to Citrus High senior Josh Rutherford in the finals, 10-4, as did senior Tim Ball, who dropped a controversial 3-2 nod to Citrus High's Tim Musto in the finals at 160.
As the match drew to a close, Ball (23-8 overall) spun around and appeared to gain control of Musto near the edge of the mat for a takedown with two seconds left. The two mat officials conferred, but elected not to award a takedown as Musto held on for the narrow win.
Sophomore Spencer Weston (8-18) collected fourth at 103 to round out the squad headed to regionals in Highlands County. It marked the second straight year Weston qualified for regionals despite a losing record.

Graham: three-peat

Graham finished 4-0 to earn his third district championship in a row. Graham, who climbed to a county-best 39-2 won-lost record this winter, joined Addison Chipoletti and Brandyn Kuhn as recent three-time district champions.
The freckled-face Graham opened the meet by folding Dunnellon sophomore Richard Lowe via a 17-1 technical fall. Next, he pinned West Port sophomore Michael Fernland in 53 ticks.
In the semifinals, Graham collected his 16th pin this season in 3:13 over Ocala-Trinity Christian's Jim Paletti.
In the finals, Graham never trailed overwhelming North Marion senior and the weight division's No. 2 seed, Kortland Key, 20-5.
Graham's four wins upped his career mark to 124-36 lifetime tying him for fifth all-time at HHS alongside Bill Woods (1998-02). He needs eight wins to surpass Michael Combs (131) to reach fourth place.
"My last kid was the best kid I've wrestled in districts in three years," explained the 17-year-old Graham. "Once I took him down, they (takedowns) just kept coming."
Is Graham peaking at the right time?
"I'm feeling pretty good," smiled Graham. "I think I'm at the top of my game, but I also know I can get better."

Rotunda: continues to grind

Another repeat district champion was Rotunda. Despite a heavily-bandaged right shoulder, the 6-foot-3 Rotunda collected three pins in three matches as the top seed to remain Hernando County's lone unbeaten wrestler.
Rotunda, who improved to 27-0, had not competed since wrenching the shoulder in his finals bout against Pasco's Eric Stroud during the Springstead Invitational.
Upon his return to the mats, Rotunda opened the meet with a 20-second flattening of The Villages' freshman Alex Hull.
Next, he folded Lecanto senior Mike Navarro in 2:31.
In the finals, he stuffed Citrus junior Josh Sumlin in 2:26.
Rotunda's 46th career pin helped him up his two-year (only competed in three matches as a sophomore before injuring a shoulder) varsity record to 59-10 lifetime.
"This (repeat win) was awesome," exclaimed the 17-year-old Rotunda. "It's another step toward my goals."
How's the shoulder?
"It still hurts big time," declared Rotunda. "But it's getting stronger. I feel like I'm hitting my stride. I don't want to know what it feels like to lose."
And the team?
"Second place here was really good for us," Rotunda replied. "But we've got some guys who could do things in regionals, so look out."

Pauliot: in the zone

Like Graham and Rotunda, Pauliot is also a 2007 state qualifier.
More importantly, Pauliot appears to also be peaking at just the right time.
Pauliot, who was seeded first, opened the meet by receiving a first-round bye.
He then stuck NCT junior Rockkhem Greene in 4:17 before facing Citrus freshman Aaron Zukley in the finals.
Zukley fell behind 7-1 after one period and trailed 14-4 after four minutes. Pauliot carved out his 11th pin of the season in 5:32 to earn his second straight district championship.
Pauliot, who improved to 17-5 overall, collected his ninth straight win this winter and his 13th triumph across his past 14 matches.
Momentum is certainly on his side.
"It (winning again) feels excellent," smiled the 17-year-old Pauliot. "I said I wanted to go to regionals unbeaten (since he came back from his ejection at Clay High) and I have. My goal is going to states unbeaten."
Why the difference lately?
"Coach (Bill) Combs has kinda taken me under his wing," admitted Pauliot. "He's works with me all the time. He's pushed me harder and harder. This (success) is all because of his help."
And the team?
"Our senior leadership helped bring us back after the morning round," Pauliot said. "We got second tonight, but we have a lot of seniors. I think we can win regionals."

Davidson: first-time district champ

The second-year Davidson also went 2-0 to garner his first-ever district title. In the process, Davidson too has collected momentum carving out nine wins across his past 10 bouts.
The top-seeded Davidson received a bye before flattening NCT junior Shayne Gracteroly in 3:49.
In the finals, Davidson never trailed Citrus sophomore and No. 2 seed Joe Conway, carving out a 5-1 decision.
Davidson, who finished 26-15 last winter, climbed to 30-8 overall after his first gold medal performance of the season.
"It feels great to win districts," shared the 17-year-old Davidson. "The key was I definitely wrestled smarter than I usually do. Man, I listened to coaches every time now. All it takes (to win) is listening to what they say."
How pivotal was the district title?
"I know I just wanted to win districts," said Davidson. "I wanted to go to regionals real bad. Last year, I blew it in districts."
What about regionals?
"We did real well here," admitted Davidson. "We're all coming together. We've got a good team."

Pritz: stays on a roll

Like Davidson, the second-year Pritz also garnered his first-ever district crown.
As the No. 1 seed Pritz opened the meet by mowing down The Villages freshman Kyle Spear in 1:50.
Next, Pritz solved West Port senior Scott Langer, 14-10, before locking horns with Crystal River's talented two-time state qualifier, senior John Koney.
Koney, however, never led and trailed 4-0 after two periods before getting stuck in 5:19.
Pritz's 11th pin of the season pushed his overall mark to a career-best 36-9.
How much of a difference did one year make for Pritz, who finished third in districts last winter and finished 25-14 overall?
"I've been building more and more confidence," explained the 16-year-old Pritz. "I've been using a shuck move more, too. My brother David taught it to me last year. It's one of the moves I use. The key is knowing when to use it."
What does the district title mean?
"This sets me up for regionals," replied Pritz. "It's all about going in with confidence."

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 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 -

2008 Class 1A-5 Tournament Finals
103 - Hoppel (OTC) pin McClung (DUN), 1:13.
112 - Barker (CIT) major dec. Simonson (NCT), 12-0.
119 - Fisher (CIT) dec. Jones (CR), 6-3.
125 - Pritz (HER) pin Koney (CR), 5:19.
130 - A. Arcadipane (LEC) dec. Gonzalez (NM), 4-2 (OT).
135 - Rutherford (CIT) dec. Morrill (HER), 10-4.
140 - Graham (HER) tech. fall Key (NM), 20-5.
145 - Neptune (CIT) major dec. J. Richardson (DUN), 18-8.
152 - Drawdy (CR) dec. D. Zukley (CIT), 9-3.
160 - Musto (CIT) dec. Ball (HER), 3-2.
171 - Davidson (HER) dec. Conway (CIT), 5-1.
189 - Pauliot (HER) pin A. Zukley (CIT), 5:32.
215 - Rotunda (HER) pin Sumlin (CIT), 2:26.
285 - JJ Baker (NCT) pin Armstrong (OTC), 1:07.

2008 Class 1A-5 Tournament Consolation Finals
103 - Vreeland (CR) major dec. Weston (HER), 8-0.
112 - Richardson (DUN) tech. fall Surber (CR), 15-0.
119 - Cronin (NCT) tech. fall Nicholson (LEC), 18-3.
125 - S. Arcadipane (LEC) major dec. Langer (WP), 11-0.
130 - Jackson (NCT) dec. Toles (CIT) 12-6.
135 - Roberts (LEC) pin Mueller (CR), 0:42.
140 - Gibson (CIT) pin CJ Baker (NCT), 1:58.
145 - Panaccione (CR) dec. Detwiler (WP), 11-4.
152 - Duca (LEC) pin Huang (NCT), 2:20.
160 - Leone (DUN) major dec. M. Navarro (LEC), 15-1.
171 - Varner (NM) dec. Yerman (LEC), 15-12.
189 - Gandy (DUN) pin Epps (NM), 4:37.
215 - Nuby (NCT) pin M Navarro (LEC), 1:40.
285 - Cruz (CR) pin Whitelaw (CIT), 4:30.