Eagles deflate 'Canes, 255-184

Both Hernando County mat teams, F.W. Springstead and Central High, attained their pre-tournament objectives Saturday at Lecanto High's gymnasium at the conclusion of the Class 2A, District 7 Wrestling Tourney.
As anticipated, the top two projected teams, Springstead and Inverness-Citrus High, finished 1-2.
The Eagles, who led from the opening whistle, deflated the Golden Hurricanes, 255-184.
The tourney win was Springstead's seventh this winter across nine tournaments. SHS captured 32-of-37 bouts in claiming its sixth straight district title and North Suncoast's 24th overall.
"The meet went almost the way we figured it would," explained the sixth-year SHS Head Coach Eric Swensen following his 26th tournament title. "Head-to-head Citrus was tough. They pulled out three tough matches, all in the final 20 seconds. Those burned me up. Those types of things need to get fixed before next week."
Who was Swensen's tourney MVP?
"It can't be just one guy," admitted Swensen. "Soto, Ross, Bliss come to mind. They have been so consistent all year long."
What's the next goal?
"This week was a qualifier, so is next week," responded Coach Swensen. "We've got seven practices left until states. It's a vicious tournament going up against Lake Gibson and Oviedo. Our goal remains the same: to win a state championship."
Though both the Eagles and 'Canes had 11 grapplers in the 2A-7 finals, SHS walked away with nine titles compared to Citrus' four.
More importantly, the Spring Hill squad, which entered the meet ranked No. 2 in the state, advanced its entire 14-member squad to next weekend's expected 29-team Class 2A, Region II Meet at Lakeland-Lake Gibson High School.
Third-place Central High finished with 139 points and achieved its ambitious goal of pushing its 14 grapplers to Polk County while Citrus advanced 12.
"We accomplished our goal," smiled fourth-year CHS Head Coach Roy Reyes. "It was kinda gutsy to say we'd take 14 guys to regionals. But we set the bar high and our guys answered. Today we had to step up and fulfill our prophecy."
And next week?
"That's when we get greedy," said Reyes. "Next week is survival of the fittest. We have to bring a mindset of survival. Otherwise, it'll be a short stay. We have to take the approach that it's a business trip, and not a vacation."

Eagles: Nine champs

On Saturday, Springstead toted home nine first-place blue ribbons.
Senior Kenny Cox at 215 pounds, juniors Richie Bliss at 103, Virgil Toms at 125, Nick Soto at 130, Colton Zimmermann at 140, Sammy Colon at 145, Shawn Landgraff at 152 and sophomores Cody Ross at 135 and John Dreggors at 285.
Bliss, Toms, Soto, Zimmermann, Landgraff, Ross and Dreggors were all repeat district champions from last winter.
Senior Thomas Ellerbee at 160 and sophomore Casey Quinn at 171 finished second.
Third-place finishers featured freshman Stephen Pavao at 112, sophomores Sean Redman at 119 and Thomas Gupton at 189.

The ruling class

Bliss collected his 29th and 30th consecutive wins by pinning Ridgewood's Daniel Curlisle in 53 seconds and Citrus freshman Austin Kelly in 34 ticks. Bliss has a county-high 29 pins on the season improving to 40-3 overall.
"I love to repeat at any tournament," explained the 17-year-old Bliss, who stands 93-9 lifetime at SHS. "Today wasn't that tough. It'll be much different next week."
What's the next goal?
"I want to win regionals and then states again," emphasized Bliss. "Personally, I feel great but the team needs to pick it (intensity) up next weekend."
Like the top-seeded Bliss, the top-seeded Toms went 2-0 featuring two falls. Toms, who captured his first district title last winter with Ocala-Forest, needed 28 ticks to drop Lecanto's David Hogan and 2:44 to solve Citrus sophomore Zack Gufford.
Similar to Bliss, Toms is also peaking at the right time, winning 10-of-11. His most recent loss was in the Ippolito final to Brandon's talented freshman Kevin Norstem on a two-point reversal in the final moments, 8-7.
"The shoulder feels good and I've been wrestling with confidence," shared the 17-year-old Toms, who enters regionals at 26-6. "I want to keep this (winning) going. I'd like to win regions again next week."
Did Springstead respond to Citrus' challenge?
"I think we showed Citrus the level of wrestling we're at," he replied.
Top-seeded Soto stormed out of the gym following his finals match. He was upset that he did not pin Lecanto's finest, senior Sam Arcadipane, a Class 1A 2009 state placer. Instead, he settled for a convincing 12-3 major decision.
Earlier, Soto needed 46 seconds to fold Ridgewood's Jon Glenny.
Soto enters regions 37-0 with eight titles in eight tournaments. He was held out of Ippolito as a precautionary measure when he tweaked his knee during his final match at Flagler.
"It feels good to compete again," said the 17-year-old Soto, who is four victories shy of surpassing his career-best win total (40). "I love to compete. I found some mistakes while I sat and have worked hard to clean those up.
"It just feels good to be on the mats and not in the stands and represent Springstead," added the Eagle captain. "Overall, we have some knit picky things we need to straighten out before next week. Regionals is a totally different level than what we saw this weekend."
For Ross, he stretched his winning streak to 8-0 with three pins in three matches. He and Redman were the only Eagles to win three matches, all via falls.
Ross, who enters regions with a county-best 42-1 slate, opened the season with 34 consecutive wins before Kissimmee-Osceola's defending 3A state champion Joe Locksmith decisioned him in the Flagler finals, 7-1.
"I had a good day," recalled the 15-year-old Ross, sporting a new bleached blonde hairdo. "Bottom line, I want to win regionals. Today, the team did not step up like we needed to. We've got to step up next week big time."

On a hot streak

Like Bliss, Toms, Soto, and Ross, Zimmermann is also hitting his stride.
Zimmermann went 3-0 at Lecanto to improve to 30-6 overall. Across his initial 18 bouts, he went 13-5. But since Oviedo, he's gone 17-1 overall with his only loss to 3A state placer Gabriel Bird of Kissimmee Osceola via a pin in the Flagler finals.
"Since I beat (Daniel) Pritz, the reality is I've wrestled much better," explained the 17-year-old Zimmermann. "I feel more confident. This is the type of sport, the more you put in, the more you get back.
"My teammates want me to step it up," added Zimmermann. "They need me. From here on out we need to continue building momentum toward states. I feel like I'm a big part of this team."
After dropping the finals' matches at Flagler and Ippolito, the top seed Landgraff went 2-0 to win his third tournament of the season.
The top seed Colon went unbeaten (3-0, 2 pins) for the first time since he went 6-0 at the Gulf Duals for his first district title.
Cox is one of six Eagles on a tear.
Cox went 3-0 featuring two falls and a major decision to climb to 22-0 and claim his first-ever district title.
"I'm happy to win districts for the first time," said the 18-year-old Cox. "But this isn't the main goal; winning states is. Overall the team did good. We could have done a little better against a couple of other kids."
Dreggors, who won a district crown last winter for Citrus High, earned back-to-back titles behind a 2-0 run. Dreggors enters regionals 37-5 overall.
"It tastes pretty good to repeat," smiled the 15-year-old Dreggors with a sheepish grin. "I came to Springstead to get better. I'm a much better wrestler now than I ever was last year."
Next week's aim?
"I've got to be on top of my game," admitted Dreggors. "There will be some tough competition next week. I know I have to bring it."

Bears' MVP: David Supple

The Bears saw two grapplers make the 2A-7 finals in junior Anthony Marquez at 112 and sophomore Luis Lantigua at 171. Both, however, lost.
Five Bears won their consolation third-place matches including freshman Josh Marquez at 103, sophomore Puerto Rico Nieves at 152 and seniors David Supple at 125, Patrick Scott at 215 and Bradley Williamson at 285.
Supple was the most active with three wins, all via pins.
According to Coach Reyes, he was the team's Most Valuable Wrestler.
"We did well finishing third," summed up the 17-year-old Supple, who enters regionals at 30-10 overall. "Our goal was to get all our guys to regions and we did that."
"I thought I had a good day," Supple added. "I was a little disappointed with my match against Citrus (a 9-4 loss to Zack Gufford). He muscled me a little bit. But I finished with three pins and that's pretty good.
"Next week we've all got to pick up the intensity," noted Supple. "Hopefully, with a good week of practice we'll be ready for regionals."

Final 2A-7 Wrestling Tournament Results:
PL SCHOOL PTS.
1. Spring Hill-Springstead (SPG) 255.0
2. Inverness (CIT) 184.0
3. Brooksville-Central (CEN) 139.0
4. Lecanto (LEC) 77.5
5. Land O'Lakes (LOL) 37.0
6. New Port Richey-Ridgewood (RW) 32.0
7. Hudson (HUD) 20.0

Championship Round
103 - Richie Bliss (SPG) pin Austin Kelly (CIT), 0:34.
112 - Robert Norman (CIT) pin Anthony Marquez (CEN), 0:44.
119 - Justin McKay (LOL) dec. Justin Nolen (CIT), 8-2.
125 - Virgil Toms (SPG) pin Zack Gufford (CIT), 2:44.
130 - Nick Soto (SPG) major dec. Sam Arcadipane (LEC), 12-3.
135 - Cody Ross (SPG) pin Brennen Stack (LOL), 3:38.
140 - Colton Zimmermann (SPG) dec. Blake DeCarlo (CIT), 5-1.
145 - Sammy Colon (SPG) dec. Cody Sumlin (CIT), 10-3.
152 - Shawn Landgraff (SPG) dec. Casey Whitton (CIT), 11-4.
160 - Taylor Jackson (CIT) dec. Thomas Ellerbee (SPG), 7-3.
171 - Fred Drew (CIT) dec. Casey Quinn (SPG), 6-5.
189 - Aaron Zukley (CIT) pin Luis Lantigua (CEN), 1:32.
215 - Ken Cox (SPG) major dec. Joe Conway (CIT), 10-0.
285 - John Dreggos (SPG) pin Doug Shumate (LEC), 1:23.

Consolation Round
103 - Josh Marquez (CEN) pin Daniel Curlisle (RW), 2:44.
112 - Stephen Pavao (SPG) pin Chris Downs (LEC), 2:21.
119 - Sean Redman (SPG) pin Robbie Monsegur (CEN), 2:10.
125 - David Supple (SPG) pin Gill (RW), 0:54.
130 - Jon Glenny (RW) pin Josh Cleveland (CEN), 1:23.
135 - Nick Fernandez (CIT) pin Luke Walton (CEN), 4:21.
140 - Steven Jordan (LEC) dec. Daniel Merced (CEN), 10-9.
145 - William Hoover (LEC) pin Justin Lane (CEN), 4:06.
152 - Puerto Rico Nieves (CEN) dec. John Nowak (LEC), 7- (4 OT).
160 - Matt Sblano (LEC) pin Zach Gehrke (CEN), 1:56.
171 - Dominick Grilli (HUD) pin Zach Martin (CEN), 1:47.
189 - Thomas Gupton (SPG) won via injury default Jon Paone (HUD).
215 - Patrick Scott (CEN) won via disqualification Adam Hengoed (LOL).
285 - Adam Williamson (CEN) dec. Kelly Meus (RW), 6-0.

Springstead Individual Results
WGT NAME W L PINS PL
103 Bliss, Richie 2 0 2 1st
112 Pavao, Stephen 2 1 2 3rd
119 Redman, Sean 3 1 3 3rd
125 Toms, Virgil 2 0 2 1st
130 Soto, Nick 2 0 1 1st
135 Ross, Cody 3 0 3 1st
140 Zimmermann, Colton 3 0 1 1st
145 Colon, Sammy 3 0 2 1st
152 Landgraff, Shawn 2 0 1 1st
160 Ellerbee, Thomas 2 1 1 2nd
171 Quinn, Casey 1 1 1 2nd
189 Gupton, Thomas 2 1 0 3rd
215 Cox, Ken 3 0 2 1st
285 Dreggors, John 2 0 2 1st
TOTALS 32 5 23 -

Central Individual Results
WGT NAME W L PINS PL
103 Marquez, Josh 1 1 1 3rd
112 Marquez, Anthony 2 1 2 2nd
119 Monsegur, Robbie 1 2 1 4th
125 Supple, David 3 1 3 3rd
130 Cleveland, Josh 0 2 0 4th
135 Walton, Luke 1 2 1 4th
140 Merced, Daniel 1 2 1 4th
145 Lane, Justin 1 2 1 4th
152 Nieves, Puerto Rico 1 1 0 3rd
160 Gehrke, Zach 0 2 0 4th
171 Martin, Zach 2 2 2 4th
189 Lantigua, Luis 1 1 1 2nd
215 Scott, Patrick 2 1 1 3rd
285 Williamson, Bradley 1 1 0 3rd
TOTALS 17 21 14 -