First 'major' arrives

Sixth-year F.W. Springstead High School mat skipper Eric Swensen penciled in eight tournaments to test the 31st Eagle mat team
Most of the venues are categorized as "local" events like Hernando High's Kiwanis Invitational, or the Springstead Invitational and the Gulf Duals.
Two others including last weekend's Deltona Duals and the Jan. 15-16 Flagler Invitational are "satellite" events for the Eagle grapplers to see different personnel and styles.
And then there are three "majors" including the Jan. 22-23 Brandon Ippolito Tournament, the Dec. 28-29 Oviedo Tournament and this weekend's 14th annual Cougar Invitational at Plant City-Durant High School.
Swensen & Co. view the start of Friday's two-day Durant Tourney as a "mini-state" tournament.
Why?
It's a virtual 'Who's Who' of Florida wrestling.
With the exception of legendary Brandon High, the Durant field features perhaps the greatest collection of mat talent this side of the 46th annual State Finals on Feb. 19-20.

Durant 101

The 14th annual event is expecting 31 teams in the individually bracketed tourney format featuring: Homestead-South Dade, Fort Myers-Riverdale, Kissimmee-Osceola, Spring Hill-Springstead, Naples-Palmetto Ridge, Bradenton-Manatee, Lakeland-Lake Gibson, Winter Springs, Melbourne-Palm Bay, Miami-Braddock, Plant City-Durant, Live Oak-Suwannee, Clearwater-Countryside, Lakeland Senior, Tampa Jesuit, Cocoa Beach, Tampa-Chamberlain, Tampa-Wharton, Orlando-Olympia, Tampa Prep, Bradenton-Bayshore, Tampa-Sickles, Sarasota Riverview, Tampa-Plant, Tampa-Hillsborough, Miami-Southwest, Sarasota, Orlando-Timber Creek, Ft. Lauderdale-Western, Jupiter, Punta Gorda-Charlotte and Crawfordville-Wakulla. Defending champion is South Dade.
Osceola is defending 3A state champion while Riverdale is the defending 1A state champion.
Durant, which dropped to 2A this winter, expects to see three of top five teams in 2A, including top ranked Springstead.
Durant, which finished 12th in its own tourney last winter, seeks a Top 10 finish this time behind three returning state qualifiers in the lineup.
"We have seven solid seniors," admitted Durant's veteran Head Coach Dennis Kitko. "And a lot of them have 3-4 years at this (varsity) level. Thing is we'll be going up against some guys that have been wrestling for eight years."
How does Kitko see the field?
"Springstead is extremely talented and young," described Kitko. "Having those two move-ins (Virgil Toms and John Dreggors) didn't hurt. Palmetto Ridge has a lot of young, talented lightweights. They're loaded down low, so they match up well with Springstead."
And the others?
"South Dade, Osceola and Riverdale have really good experienced coaching," Kitko said. "Those teams are always fighting for state championships. And we just finished second to Suwannee at the Ocala-Forest Tourney. They're real tough and Wakulla is too. Overall? It's great field."
What's the focus in such an early-season event?
"I think Coach Swensen is right," said Kitko. "It is a mini-state tournament. In many ways, this tournament is harder than states. All I've asked from my kids is to win at least one match. I don't wanna see guys go 0-2. In a perfect world, I like to see our guys get at least two wins.
"The kids need to see who the best kids in the state are," added Kitko. "I know we're gonna get a good test in 2A. Most coaches use this tournament to see where they're at."

Swensen says

Just how important does Springstead regard this meet?
Last winter, SHS' six placers at Durant, Richie Bliss (3rd), Nick Soto (2nd), Cody Ross (5th), Thad "Boomer" Klenovich (6th), Jessey Lorentsen (3rd) and Scott Wern (2nd) each also placed at states leading the Spring Hill squad to a school-best tying third-place finish.
"Those six placers is a great indication of what this (Durant) tournament is all about," explained Coach Swensen. "I'd rank this tournament as one of the best in this state going back 10-15 years.
"Just look at the credentials," continued Coach Swensen. "Osecola, South Dade, Riverdale, Palmetto Ridge and Wakulla join 24 other teams at Durant. Someone told me there's something like 80 state qualifiers coming to Durant, including 16 state finalists and eight champs. This one's the real deal."
Though Klenovich, Lorentsen and Wern all graduated, SHS will tote a 12-man roster including Durant veterans: Sean "Buddha" Redman, Sam Colon, Colton Zimmermann, Shawn Landgraff and Thomas Ellerbee. None of these five grapplers along with first-year starter Andrew Herr have ever medaled at Durant.
The same can be said for move-ins Toms and Dreggors.
Yet Springstead enters this meet unfazed.
What's the focus?
"We've told the kids, we expect every wrestler to place in the top six. We're borrowing a page from the Raiders. We have to make a commitment to excellence," said Coach Swensen. "We don't want guys shooting for 2-2. If you go 0-2 at Durant, there will be pain the following Monday. Going 0-2 is totally unacceptable with this group."
In Wednesday night's seed meeting at Durant, SHS had grapplers receive top seeds including: Richie Bliss (1st at 103), Virgil Tomas (1st at 125), Nick Soto (1st at 130), Cody Ross (1st at 135), Colton Zimmermann (4th at 145), Shawn Landgraff (2nd at 152), Casey Quinn (2nd at 171), and John Dreggors (2nd at 285).
What's the main goal?
"Our goal is to win it," candidly stated Coach Swensen. "Would I feel a little more comfortable if we had Kenny (Cox) in the lineup? Absolutely. But winning at Durant would be the highlight of my coaching career at Springstead. It might be the biggest win in school history. With the level of Florida wrestling this would be our greatest win."

AT A GLANCE
WHAT - 14th annual Cougar Invitational Wrestling Tournament
WHO - Thirty-one teams are expected to compete in the individually bracketed tourney format featuring: Homestead-South Dade, Fort Myers-Riverdale, Kissimmee-Osceola, Spring Hill-Springstead, Naples-Palmetto Ridge, Bradenton-Manatee, Lakeland-Lake Gibson, Winter Springs, Melbourne-Palm Bay, Miami-Braddock, Plant City-Durant, Live Oak-Suwannee, Clearwater-Countryside, Lakeland Senior, Tampa Jesuit, Cocoa Beach, Tampa-Chamberlain, Tampa-Wharton, Orlando-Olympia, Tampa Prep, Bradenton-Bayshore, Tampa-Sickles, Sarasota Riverview, Tampa-Plant, Tampa-Hillsborough, Miami-Southwest, Sarasota, Orlando-Timber Creek, Ft. Lauderdale-Western, Jupiter, Punta Gorda-Charlotte and Crawfordville-Wakulla. Defending champion is South Dade.
WHERE - Plant City-Durant High School, 4748 Cougar Path, Plant City, FL 33567 in Hillsborough County.
WHEN - Friday, Dec. 4 and Saturday, Dec. 5. Friday's opening round is expected to begin at 3 p.m. Saturday's first round is set for 9:30 a.m. Semifinals are expected to start at 11 a.m. followed by wrestle backs. Consolation finals are 5 p.m. followed by finals at 7 p.m.
AT STAKE - Trophies will be presented to top five teams along with medals for top six placers among the 14 weight classes. There will also be individual awards presented for Most Pins, Least Amount of Time, Outstanding Wrestler (Lightweights) and Outstanding Wrestler (Heavyweights).

Springstead results at 2008 Cougar Inv. at Durant High
Wgt NAME W L Pins Place
103 Richie Bliss 4 1 3 3rd
112 Sean Redman 2 2 0 -
125 Nick Soto 3 1 0 2nd
130 Cody Ross 5 2 1 5th
135 Sam Colon 2 2 1 -
140 Colton Zimmermann 2 2 1 -
145 Shawn Landgraff 3 2 3 -
152 Thomas Ellerbee 2 2 1 -
160 Thad Klenovich 4 2 2 6th
171 Jessey Lorentsen 5 1 4 3rd
189 Scott Wern 4 1 2 2nd
215 Kenny Cox 2 2 1 -
TOTALS 38 20 19

Final 2008 Cougar Invitational Results:
1. Homestead-South Dade (SD) 248.5; 2. Riverdale,(RV) 200.0; 3. Kissimmee Osceola (KO) 189.5; 4. Springstead (SPG) 175.5; 5. Bradenton Manatee, (MAN) 175.0; 6. Lake Gibson (LG) 168.5; 7. Winter Springs (WS) 143.5; 8. Palm Bay (PB) 137.0; 9. Miami Braddock (BRA) 130.5; 10. Palm Beach Gardens (PBG) 125.5; 11. Gainesville (GA) 96.0; 12. Durant (DUR) 85.5; 13. Suwannee (SUW) 74.5; 14. Riverview (RIV) 72.5; 15. Countryside (COU) 50.0; 16. Lakeland (LAK) 48.5; 17. Tampa Jesuit (TJ) 47.0; 18. Cocoa Beach (CB) 42.0; 19. Chamberlain (CHA) 40.0; 20. Jefferson (JEF) 39.0; 21. Wharton (WHA) 37.5; 22. Olympia (OLM) 33.0; 23. Tampa Prep (TP) 32.0; 24. Winter Haven (WH) 27.5; 25. Bayshore (BAY) and Sickles (SIC) 25.0; 27. Sarasota Riverview (SR) 22.5; 28. Plant (PLA) 16.0; 29. Hillsborough (HIL) 10.0; 30. Lakes Wales (LW) 9.0; 31. Miami Southeast (MS) 0.