AVON PARK - Defending Class 1A, Region II champion Inverness-Citrus High clinched its unprecedented third straight team title Saturday night at South Florida Community College's gymnasium.
What was most impressive was how Head Coach Mike Porcelli's troops found yet another way to claim the expanded 34-team field.
This time, Citrus High led from the opening whistle. Its lead, however, was nearly 16-19 points for the entire tourney.
But down the stretch, CHS began to wilt in the two-day, 21-hour event hosted by Sebring High School.
Porcelli brought 12 wrestlers to Highlands County, but only six survived the meet to qualify for this week's main event -- the 44th annual State Championships at the Lakeland Center. After two of its team members lost their consolation matches, Hernando appeared poised for a photo finish collecting two consolation wins.
How? The Golden Hurricanes' double-digit lead was whittled to five points.
It now boiled down to the finals. Citrus sent four into Saturday night's finals -- the same as determined Hernando High.
The difference in the end was CHS claimed three individual titles to Hernando's two. And in the only finale pitting both schools -- at 135 pounds -- Citrus senior Josh Rutherford downed HHS junior Max Morrill, to clinch the meet, 5-2.
In the battle between Class 1A, District 5's two top squads, CHS ended up edging Hernando, 143.0-135.0 points.
"Hernando's got a great program," explained a relieved Porcelli afterward. "We scored more points here than we have in any other regional, but it was a dog fight all the way."
What was the key?
"We were fortunate that (Hernando senior Taylor) Rotunda didn't make it to the finals," said Porcelli, whose teams have captured back-to-back-to-back district titles as well. "If he makes it that's 10 more points they would have gotten. Still, I'm very proud of our guys. It's OK to be in a dog fight as long as you come out on top at the end."
What did Porcelli say to Rutherford, who already had defeated Morrill twice this season, 10-2 and 10-4?
"I challenged him," Porcelli replied. "He came out extremely tentative, but he responded just after the injury timeout."
How did the three-peat taste?
"The three-peat tastes good," smiled Porcelli. "All three (wins) were different. And I'm not going to downplay any of them. We lost some kids along the way, but every one of our kids scored points -- that was huge."
HHS: six to states
Like the Hurricanes, HHS also had each of its grapplers score points and captured 26-of-34 bouts, featuring 11 pins in the double-elimination affair.
More importantly, Head Coach Joe McLain's Leopards tied Citrus in advancing a meet-best six to Polk County beginning Thursday at noon.
HHS' state qualifiers feature: sophomore Daniel Pritz at 125 pounds, Morrill at 135, senior Jesse Graham at 140, junior James Davidson at 171, senior Nick Pauliot at 189 and Rotunda at 215.
Graham: back-to-back gold
Graham stretched his current win skein to nine matches in a row behind a 4-0 weekend.
The fourth-year grappler earned his third straight state appearance. The freckled-faced Graham wrecked his first two opponents including Bishop Moore sophomore Gabino Dabdoub, 18-2, and Sebring junior Evan Hunter, 23-6.
In the semifinals, Graham expanded a 4-1 first-period lead to 11-3 after four minutes before pinning Zephyrhills senior Robbie Kunkle in 4:55.
In the finals, Graham tangled with North Marion senior Kortland Key for the second time in a week. Last week, Graham won easily, 20-5. This time, he again never trailed carving out a 16-5 major decision.
Graham, who climbed to career-best 43-2 won-lost slate this winter, is now 128-36 lifetime.
Which regional win was tougher?
"It was tougher to repeat," honestly explained the 17-year-old Graham. "It felt good to win. It was harder this time."
And the team?
"I'm so happy for all our guys," he said. "But I'm real happy for Max (Morrill). He's been my partner all season in practice. He's worked so hard to get this far. It's finally starting to pay off for him."
And states?
"Winning the gold medal is something I've been dreaming about since I was six," declared Graham. "I want it so bad."
Pritz: Remains red hot
The second-year Pritz says he shrugged off what happened the year before in regionals at Avon Park, where he exited quickly at 0-2 as a freshman.
But his second visit was the complete opposite.
Like Graham, Pritz extended his current winning streak to a career-best nine matches in a row behind a perfect 4-0 weekend.
Pritz opened the meet with a dominant 11-0 major decision over Bishop Moore sophomore Andrew Conklin before earning his 12th pin of the season in 3:14 over Haines City junior Rafeal Diaz.
In the semis, he once again tangled with West Port senior Scott Langner. Last week at Citrus Springs Middle School, Pritz won 14-10. This time, he led 4-2 after two minutes en route to a solid 6-2 decision.
In the finals, he led 6-2 after two minutes against Lake Wales senior Gerardo Laurido before settling on a 14-3 major decision.
Pritz, who went 25-14 as a freshman, improved to 40-9 overall in his second campaign.
Was last year's meltdown in the back of his head?
"I never thought about it much," shared the 16-year-old Pritz. "I just focused on what I needed to do once I got here."
What's the biggest difference a year has made?
"My confidence level is building up every week," he replied. "This (win) helps me for next week. I think the big thing for me is just wrestling smarter and staying in a good stance, good position."
And the team?
"I thought we'd have a chance to win this and we did," he said.
'Mad' Max: major surprise
If Pritz earning regional gold wasn't the biggest surprise for the Leopards, it has been the emergence of Morrill.
Entering his third season, Morrill had a career 16-33 won-lost record with 10 pins.
But this winter, he's turned the corner. He followed up his surprising second-place district finish with a runner-up finish in regionals.
At Avon Park, Morrill stuck Frostproof junior Trevor Manley in 3:25 before surviving a tense second-round overtime match against Gulf senior Josh Przybysz (pronounced BRIZ-bee).
After a scoreless first period, Morrill garnered a 4-0 cushion entering the third period.
Przybysz, however, battled back to tie matters in regulation sending the bout into overtime.
Eighteen seconds later, Morrill earned a critical two-point takedown to win the thriller, 6-4.
Buoyed by the win, Morrill posted a convincing 13-5 major decision over Titusville-Astronaut senior Joe Nelson, 13-5, to earn his first-ever state berth.
His momentum was halted in the finals when Rutherford earned his third win in three attempts against him.
How did Morrill (25-18 this winter) take the loss?
"I definitely think I wrestled him better," said the 16-year-old Morrill. "Coach has pushed us and pushed us in practice. The key has been to keep picking up the pace.
"I'm pretty disappointed that I lost in the finals," he said. "No athlete is satisfied with second. It sucks to lose, but I am happy to be improving."
And states?
"It's pretty good to be going," smiled the blonde-haired Morrill. "I really wanted to be there for Jesse's senior year. Now, I've got to go back to practice and pick it up even more. For me, the key is eliminating my mess-ups."
Davidson: breaking through
Like Pritz, Davidson finished the 2006-07 season on a sour note. He went 2-2 in Avon Park, finishing 26-15 overall.
He entered this year's 1A-II Tourney on a high. He continued his upward turn with three straight wins before the finals.
He opened with back-to-back pins over Florida Air Academy's Oliver Datullo (3:47) and Bishop Moore junior Sylvan Larson (5:49) before carving over a 9-3 semifinal triumph over Gulf's Martin Levinson.
He had faced Levinson once before in the Springstead Invitational producing a pin in 3:10.
His second win over Levinson produced a rematch with Hudson senior and two-time state qualifier Devin Brown.
Brown produced 7-2 and 15-9 wins in his first two clashes against Davidson proceeding Saturday night's pin in 5:24. Ironically, Davidson had not been pinned in his past 55 matches or since the 2007 Golden Gate Duals Tourney.
"I hadn't been pinned all year," lamented the 17-year-old Davidson, who enters Polk County at 33-9 overall. "I broke my goal (no pins allowed). The last match was my worst. That wasn't me. I wasn't listening, I wasn't mentally focused. I know at states I've got do my thing. Hopefully, I'll get another crack at him (Brown)."
Pauliot, Rotunda: third-place finishers
Two of Hernando High's most prolific weapons, Pauliot and Rotunda, both dropped a match but each recovered and went on to finish third.
In perhaps the toughest weight class in the regional, Pauliot (22-6 overall) stretched his win skein to 10 wins in a row to open the tourney with a 19-4 technical fall over Avon Park's Israel Guzman.
But in his second-round match he surrendered a three-point near fall in the waning seconds of the third period to lose to Sunlake's Jarrett Baker, 12-9.
Baker, who earlier in the season edged Pauliot at the Gulf Duals, 10-9, eventually fell in the tourney finals to Pasco's Rey Perez.
Facing elimination with another loss, Pauliot pinned Dunnellon's Nick Gandy (3:53), received a forfeit against Haines City's Lee Marcus, stuffed Cocoa senior Lavander Hearn (4:55) before decisioning Lake Wales senior Azarius Adams, 10-4.
"Losing hurt," explained the 17-year-old Pauliot. "It hurt a lot. What? I was beating the kid by seven points, and then I gassed out. In the end, I got caught in a cradle. What can you do?
"After that, I felt like quitting," added Pauliot, a two-time state qualifier. "All I was thinking about was me and Perez in the finals. I overlooked him (Baker). Thank God Coach Combs helped pull me back together."
Upset city
Rotunda arrived unbeaten at 27-0.
He began the meet in typical fashion disposing of Bishop Moore freshman Robert Rowland in 35 seconds and Avon Park senior Troy Knight in 95 ticks.
Though Rotunda had defeated Pasco's Eric Stroud twice this season and 3-of-4 overall, he could not build on his 1-0 lead entering the final period. Stroud eventually knocked off Rotunda, 5-2.
Fortunately, Rotunda bounced back to pin NCT senior Brandon Nuby in 36 seconds before closing the meet with a 13-3 major decision over Bartow's Mark Keeley.
What happened against Stroud?
"I really don't know," declared the 17-year-old Rotunda. "Maybe it was because I had beaten him the last three times. Maybe it was because I was unbeaten. I thought I took the match serious. Maybe I came in too cocky, too over confident. It's over now. I look at it as a reality check.
"I was real depressed afterward," added Rotunda. "But why throw away all the hard work I put in? Nothing really matters until next week at states anyway."
Any predictions at states?
"I'm not gonna say anything," he hinted with a sly smile. "I'll just have to show you."
Class 1A-II Wrestling Tourney Team Standings
PL SCHOOL PTS.
1. Inverness-Citrus (CIT) 143.0
2. Brooksville-Hernando (HER) 135.0
3. Dade City-Pasco (PAS) 86.0
4. New Port Richey-Gulf (GF) 84.5
5. Lake Wales (LW) 77.0
6. Crystal River (CR) 72.5
6. Hudson (HUD) 72.5
6. Port St. John-Space Coast (SC) 72.5
9. Avon Park (AP) 64.5
10. Harmony (HAR) 64.0
11. Titusville-Astronaut (AST) 53.5
12. Brooksville-Nature Coast (NCT)50.5
13. Lecanto (LEC) 49.5
14. Cocoa Beach (CB) 44.0
15. Port Orange-Atlantic (ATL) 40.0
16. Sebring (SEB) 36.0
17. Zephyrhills (ZEP) 34.5
18. Dunnellon (DUN) 33.5
18. Orlando-Lake Highland Prep (LHP)33.5
20. Ocala-Trinity Catholic (TC) 33.0
21. Land O'Lakes-Sunlake (SNL) 31.0
22. Orlando-Bishop Moore (OBM) 30.0
23. Bartow (BAR) 29.5
24. Pierson-Taylor County (TAY) 29.0
25. Citra-North Marion (NM) 28.5
26. Haines City (HC) 26.0
27. Cocoa (COC) 18.0
28. Ocala-West Port (WP) 15.0
29. Wesley Chapel-Wiregrass (WG) 11.0
29. Melbourne-Viera (VIE) 11.0
31. Ridge Community (RC) 8.00
32. The Villages (VILL) 0.00
32. Melbourne-Florida Air (FA) 0.00
32. Frostproof (FP) 0.00
1A-II Tournament Finals
103 - O'Connor (GF) dec. Jimenez (PAS), 13-12.
112 - Barker (CIT) dec. Hynes (ZEP), 5-0.
119 - Fisher (CIT) major dec. Jones (CR), 9-1.
125 - Pritz (HER) major dec. Laurido (LW), 14-3.
130 - Holding (GF) pin Lynch (OBM), 1:15.
135 - Rutherford (CIT) dec. Morrill (HER), 5-2.
140 - Graham (HER) major dec. Key (NM), 16-5.
145 - J. Richardson (DUN) dec. Neptune (CIT), 5-4.
152 - Spiegel (SEB) major dec. Duca (LEC), 18-5.
160 - Bland (AP) pin Germano (HUD), 3:07.
171 - Brown (HUD) pin Davidson (HER), 5:24.
189 - Perez (PAS) dec. Baker (SNL), 8-3.
215 - Stroud (PAS) dec. Amadeo (HAR), 7-1.
285 - Rodriguez (HAR) pin Nelson (SC), 5:21.
1A-II Tournament Consolation Finals
103 - Hoppel (OTC) pin Vreeland (CR), 2:37.
112 - Simonson (NCT) pin Watson (CB), 4:41.
119 - Pressley (ATL) won by injury default Collado (HC).
125 - Langner (WP) dec. Koney (CR), 6-5.
130 - Leyva (LW) dec. Blodgett (LHP), 10-6.
135 - Nelson (AST) dec. Fowler (LW), 14-9.
140 - Kunkle (ZEP) dec. Gibson (CIT), 7-4.
145 - Dauphinais (AST) dec. Oliver (LW), 11-7.
152 - K. Drawdy (CR) dec. D. Zukley (CIT), 12-6.
160 - Taulbee (TAY) dec. Johnson (LHP), 5-1.
171 - Hatten (AP) major dec. Levinson (GF), 13-3.
189 - Pauliot (HER) dec. Adams (LW), 10-4.
215 - Rotunda (HER) major dec. Keeley (AST), 13-3
285 - Tindell (HUD) dec. Armstrong (OTC), 5-1.
Hernando's 1A-II Tourney Results
Wgt Name W L Pins PL
103 Weston, Spencer 1 2 0 -
125 Pritz, Daniel 4 0 1 1st
135 Morrill, Max 3 1 1 2nd
140 Graham, Jesse 4 0 1 1st
160 Ball, Tim 2 2 1 -
171 Davidson, James 3 1 2 2nd
189 Pauliot, Nick 5 1 2 3rd
215 Rotunda, Taylor 4 1 3 3rd
TOTALS 26 8 11 -
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