Staying Alive...Leopards, Eagles, Sharks Return 13

LAKELAND - Thirteen of Hernando County's 16-member contingency remained alive after the first day of the double-elimination 44th annual State Wrestling Championships Thursday at The Lakeland Center.
County grapplers went a combined 13-10 overall against the state's elite in the Jenkins Arena.
Here's a breakdown.

Springstead: six remain

In the Class 2A State Tournament, Springstead finished fifth overall with 15.5 points despite struggling, posting an overall 6-5 mark featuring two pins.
On the plus side, seniors Schuyler Swanton at 112 pounds, Skylar Huff at 119 and C.J. Cook at 125 each captured their first-round matches to stay in the hunt for an elusive gold medal.
Swanton, the defending state champion at 103, needed 58 seconds to dispose of Charlotte High junior Luke Graniero to improve to 33-2 overall.
Huff never trailed in edging Chiles junior Will Alford, 14-13, to climb to 42-10.
Meanwhile, Cook overwhelmed Palm Beach Gardens-Dwyer junior Brian Asker via a 15-0 technical fall. Cook enters Friday's second round at 44-7.
In the meet's opening round, SHS dropped four matches: Dustin Soto at 103, Thad Klenovich at 152, Scott Wern at 171 and Cesar Acosta at 189.
"Cookie and Swanton were dominant today," responded fourth-year Eagle Head Coach Eric Swensen. "And Huff just got the job done. Three others (Soto, Klenovich and Acosta) came back and won. You just can't take satisfaction in just getting here. Everyone's goal has got to be to place."

Coming back

Dropped into the lethal loser's bracket, Soto, Klenovich and Acosta rebounded with wins to finish 1-1 on Thursday.
Soto, who led 7-0 in his first match, was eventually pinned in 1:53 by Satellite junior Nick Nichols.
Fortunately, Soto led the second-round Eagle comeback by crushing Bradenton-Manatee freshman Travis Fulk, 14-2.
"I was up 7-0 in my first match and tried a suicide cradle for the first time," lamented the 17-year-old Soto. "He sat through and caught me. I made one mistake and I paid for it."
In the nightcap?
"In the second match, I've beaten him before, but I didn't worry about who he was or what his record was," explained Soto. "I told myself all I gotta do is win."
Wern, who dropped his initial match to Palmetto Ridge senior Troy Miller (8-0), fell in the night cap to Fleming Island sophomore Chris Taylor, 5-2.
Wern completed his second varsity season at 23-17.
"In my first match, I got outclassed," recalled the 16-year-old Wern. "He was a good wrestler. He was very strong.
"The second match could have gone either way," he shrugged. "This (states) was an eye-opener. I've got a lot of work to do. You just can't take a break, because the other guys aren't."
Overall?
"It was a good experience," he replied, "I achieved a lot of my goals. A week ago, I would have said I was satisfied. But seeing that I could have won the last match, I'm not."

Bears: blanked

Central High's initial visit to the 2A State Meet in five years was not a pleasant one as the Bears went a collective 0-4.
Junior Ken Supple dropped both his matches at 125 to Nova senior Matt Desharnais (8-0) and Ridgeview's junior Josh Pitts, 7-4.
"Today, I underperformed," shared the 16-year-old Supple, who finished 24-19 overall. "It was my goal to reach states. But I want to turn into an elite wrestler. Before I belong, I've got to work much harder."
How was the first trip to states?
"Honestly, I'd give myself an 'F,'" said Supple. "Getting here was great, but not getting a win is disappointing. I'll use that as motivation for next year."
Supple's classmate, Daniel May, also went 0-2.
May, who finished runner-up in the 2A-II meet last weekend, fell in his initial match to Gainesville's Matt Vanscoy, 8-7. Vanscoy had defeated May earlier in the season at the Citrus Duals.
In his second-round match, North Port junior Joe Wier etched a 3-1 decision to close May's season at 28-17.
Second-year Bears Head Coach Roy Reyes was not disappointed with the individual efforts, just the final results.
"We failed in meeting our objectives," said Reyes. "We lost four decisions today. Only Kenny's first match was a major decision, the other three were close."
How did Reyes evaluate the performance?
"It was a big step for our program to get here," said Reyes. "But I'm a competitor, we want to win. I'm not a happy camper. I didn't see our states run ending this way."
Positives?
"Of the guys who went to regionals and states, we only graduate Nathan (Brazeau)," shared Reyes. "Hopefully, a lot of our guys got a taste of what it's like at this level."

NCT: one rare win

Nature Coast Technical received a tremendous surprise in its first-ever match when it arrived.
Junior David Simonson's first scheduled opponent at 112, Cardinal Gibbons' stout senior standout Daniel Rojas (38-5), could not make the trip to Lakeland due to a bout of mononucleosis. As a result, Simonson won his first match via forfeit and got the rest of the day off.
"It was a nice surprise," said the 16-year-old Simonson with a smile. "Now, I get some rest for tomorrow and make sure my weight is good. Now, I'm one win away from placing."
"I kinda wanted him to wrestle that first match," admitted fourth-year Shark Head Coach Mike Lastra. "But we'll take it. We're not upset. Now, we've got to focus in on tomorrow."

Leopards roar: go 6-1 overall

Perhaps the best showing on Thursday was Hernando High's six-member squad which went 6-1 overall.
Sophomore Daniel Pritz opened the meet at 125 pounds with a 6-5 nod over Jacksonville-University Christian's Angel Bosque. Pritz had previously defeated Bosque at the Clay Invitational. Pritz's first-ever state match improved his record to 41-9.
At 135, junior Max Morrill also captured his first-ever match at states by rallying past South Fort Myers sophomore Jordan Williams, 7-4.
Morrill (26-18 overall) quietly celebrated his first win in Lakeland.
"Everybody told me to treat this tournament like every other tournament," insisted the 16-year-old Morrill. "I was here for the Sunshine Cup, I know the layout. I came in confident and I just wrestled."
What was the key?
"I stayed in a good position throughout the match," remarked Morrill. "It was hard for the other guy to shoot on me."
Senior and three-time state qualifier Jesse Graham opened the tourney by pinning Suwannee sophomore Bryan Wainwright at 1:59 at 140 pounds.
Graham, who placed fifth last winter, improved to a county-best 44-2 overall.
Perhaps the most impressive first-round triumph belonged to two-time state qualifier Nick Pauliot at 189.
Pauliot never trailed in decisioning Riverdale sophomore Trevor Dunn, 9-3. Dunn dipped to 33-10 overall while Pauliot climbed to 23-6.
"I just followed the game plan," explained the 17-year old Pauliot. "I took my time and calmed down on the mat. The only time I've lost in the last three weeks was when I gassed out. I learned my lesson."
Hernando senior Taylor Rotunda at 215 also looked impressive in dismantling Fernandina Beach senior Jack Williams via a major decision, 17-6.
Not bad for a guy who went 1-2 at Lakeland last winter.
Rotunda improved to 32-1 overall.
Junior James Davidson, who dropped his first-round match to Monsignor Pace's Julian Martinez, 10-2, bounced back in the second round to post a 6-2 triumph over Gulf Breeze junior Taylor Retherford.
Davidson enters Friday with a career-best 34-10 slate.

1st Round Results:
103 - Nichols (SATE) pin D. Soto (SPG), 1:53.
112 - Swanton (SPG) pin Graniero (CHAR), 0:58.
112 - Simonson (NCT) won by forfeit Rojas (CARG).
119 - Huff (SPG) dec. Alford (CHIL), 14-13.
125 - Cook (SPG) tech. fall Asker (DWY), 15-0.
125 - Desharnais (NOVA) major dec. K. Supple (CEN), 8-0.
125 - D. Pritz (HER) dec. Bosque (UNIV), 6-5.
135 - Morrill (HER) dec. Williams (SFTM), 7-4.
140 - Graham (HER) pin Wainwright (SUW), 1:59.
152 - Carnes (MIDD) pin Klenovich (SPG), 2:36.
171 - Miller (PAMR) dec. Wern (SPG), 9-2.
189 - Reynolds (LINC) dec. Acosta (SPG), 5-1.
189 - Vanscoy (GAIN) dec. May (CEN), 8-7.
171 - Martinez (PACE) major dec. Davidson (HER), 10-2.
189 - Pauliot (HER) dec. Dunn (RIVRD), 9-3.
215 - Rotunda (HER) major dec. Williams (FERN), 17-6.

2nd Round Results:
103 - Soto (SPG) major dec. T. Fulk (MANA), 14-2.
125 - Pitts (RIVR) dec. K. Supple (CEN), 7-4.
152 - Klenovich (SPG) pin Hackel (TIT), 4:31.
171 - Taylor (FI) dec. Wern (SPG), 5-2.
171 - Davidson (HER) dec. Rutherford (GFBZ), 6-2.
189 - Acosta (SPG) dec. Perez (CORG), 7-3.
189 - Wier (NPRT) dec. May (CEN), 3-1.

Springstead at Lakeland 44th 2A State Finals Results
Wgt Name W L Pins PL
103 Soto, Dustin 1 1 0 -
112 Swanton, Schuyler 1 0 1 -
119 Huff, Skylar 1 0 0 -
125 Cook, C.J. 1 0 0 -
152 Klenovich, Thad 1 1 1 -
171 Wern, Scott 0 2 0 -
189 Acosta, Cesar 1 1 0 -
TOTALS 6 5 2 -

Central at Lakeland 44th 2A State Finals Results
Wgt Name W L Pins PL
125 Supple, Ken 0 2 0 -
189 May, Daniel 0 2 0 -
TOTALS 0 4 0 -

Hernando at Lakeland 44th 1A State Finals Results
Wgt Name W L Pins PL
125 Pritz, Daniel 1 0 0 -
135 Morrill, Max 1 0 0 -
140 Graham, Jesse 1 0 1 -
171 Davidson, James 1 1 0 -
189 Pauliot, Nick 1 0 0 -
215 Rotunda, Taylor 1 0 0 -
TOTALS 6 1 1 -

Nature Coast at Lakeland 44th 1A State Finals Results
Wgt. Name W L Pins PL
112 Simonson, David 1 0 0 -
TOTALS 1 0 0 -

Class 1A State Championship Team Standings
PL Hometown-School Points
1. Fort Myers-Riverdale (FMR) 37.5
2. Green Cove Springs-Clay (CLY) 23.5
3. Live Oak-Suwannee (SUW) 20.5
4. Miami-Monsignor Pace (MPAC) 20.0
5. (tie) Ft. Laud.-Cardinal Gibbons (CAG) 19.5
5. (tie) Crawfordville-Wakulla (WAK) 19.5
7. Jupiter Christian (JUC) 19.0
8. Brooksville-Hernando (HER) 16.0
9. Inverness-Citrus (CIT) 15.0
10. Tampa-Jesuit (TJ) 14.5
Others:
35. (tie)Nature Coast Technical (NCT) 4.00

Class 2A State Championship Team Standings
PL Hometown-School Points
1. Brandon (BRA) 39.0
2. Naples-Palmetto Ridge (PALM) 36.0
3. Bradenton-Manatee (MAN) 29.5
4. Gainesville (GAIN) 21.5
5. Spring Hill-Springstead (SPG) 15.0
7. Fleming Island (FI) 13.5
8.(tie) Orange Park-Ridgeview (RDGV) 12.0
8.(tie) St. Cloud (STC) 12.0
10. Seffner-Armwood (ARM) 11.0
10. JAX-Forrest (FOR) 11.0