Eagles come up short in the "Hurt Locker"

Talk about painful. This weekend's Class 2A, Region II Meet at The Reservation at Lake Gibson High School was not for the faint of heart.
In what many fans and pundits call the "toughest regional in Class 2A", only one team escaped the 'Hurt Locker' in Polk County with double digits qualifiers for next weekend's 46th annual State Championship at The Lakeland Center - Oviedo High.
Unlike the film nominated for Best Picture based on a true story about an American bomb squad in war-torn Iraq, Head Coach J.D. Robbins' mat squad navigated through the 21 hours of this minefield of regionals.
Oviedo, the state's No. 1 ranked team in 2A, trailed following the first day by three points. The Seminole County-based Lions, who finished fourth in Class 3A last winter, before dropping down in classification, rallied past host Lake Gibson on Saturday and held off a furious F.W. Springstead rally to capture the rugged two-day, 29-team meet.
When the dust settled at 10 p.m., the Lions finished with 217.5 points, while the No. 2 ranked Eagles finished second with 204 points.
The host Braves, who came in ranked third, finished third with 184.5 points.
Most importantly, the Lions will advance 10 grapplers to next week's two-day, state meet while Springstead and Lake Gibson each will tow eight grapplers.
Despite Springstead falling to the Lions for the second time in an individually bracketed tournament this winter, many believe the Eagles remain primed in the hunt for their first-ever state championship in 31 years next week.
SHS captured 40-of-55 overall bouts (73 percent) at Lake Gibson, featuring 13 pins.
Though SHS fell, the Eagles narrowed the point gap on the Lions from the 24-point deficit suffered at Zac Jarzynka Memorial VIII Tournament almost in half.
Just as in important, the Eagles sent a salvo across the Oviedo bow by capturing 6-of-7 regional finals including in both head-to-head matchups against the Lions.
Hernando County's other 2A-II team, Central High, was not a factor in the meet finishing in a tie for 21st with Lakeland-Kathleen with 17 points. The Bears, who entered with 14 grapplers following its third-place 2A-7 finish, captured 8-of-36 bouts and were all eliminated by Saturday morning's first wrestle back round.

Eagles' downside

The downside of the 2A-II was the final wrestleback and consolation round when SHS went 0-for-4, losing three members in the process of the double elimination event.
Senior Tommy Ellerbee at 160 pounds, and sophomores Sean "Buddha" Redman at 119 and Sammy "The Bull" Colon at 145 each finished one agonizing win away from qualifying for states.
In tournament's toughest weight class and Ellerbee's school-record 57th match of the season, he lost to Liberty's J.J. Elisis, 8-6.
Ellerbee finished his career-best 44-13 overall this winter and 96-51 lifetime.
Earlier in perhaps the second toughest weight division, Redman fell to Lake Gibson's talented junior Jacob Phillips, 4-3. The two had clashed earlier at Oviedo as Redman fell, 7-4.
The narrow 1-point setback marked the second consecutive season Redman finished a win away from states. He closed out 2009-10 at 42-14 and stands 67-34 lifetime.
Like Ellerbee and Redman, Colon, dropped a close decision to Dunedin's Jake Cannizzaro, 7-5.
Colon, who was a quiet 22-19 last winter, improved to a fine 33-11 slate.
In the consolation finals for third place, Springstead sophomore John Dreggors clashed with St. Cloud senior and 2009 state placer Josh Chattin.
Chattin, who had dropped 2-of-3 meetings to Dreggors this season, this time edged the Springstead heavyweight twice, winning 5-1 in the second round and 3-1 in overtime in the consolation finals.
Dreggors, who competed at states last winter for Class 1A Citrus High before transferring, enters The Lakeland Center at 41-7 overall.

Eagle standouts

On the plus side, senior Kenny Cox at 215, juniors Richie Bliss at 103, Virgil Toms at 125, Nick Soto at 130, Colton Zimmermann at 140, Shawn Landgraff at 152, and sophomores Cody Ross and Dreggors earned repeat visits to states.
Cox, Bliss, Toms. Soto, Landgraff and Ross all earned their initial region titles while Zimmermann placed runner-up.
Interestingly, these seven Eagles appear to be peaking at precisely the right time.

Adding to the resume

Bliss, who opened the season 10-3, went 4-0 at regionals with two pins and a pair of rare injury defaults to extend his winning skein to 34 matches in row.
Bliss opened by pinning Sebring's Cody Kennedy in 2:58 and closed by folding Orlando-Edgewater's Terry Tran in 2:14. He paces all Hernando County grapplers with 31 pins.
Bliss, whose last loss was at Durant to South Dade's Shaquan Hall, 5-3, enters states red-hot at 44-3. He captured the Class 2A 103-pound title last season behind a 45-3 mark.
"This tourney helped me to prepare really good for states," admitted the 17-year-old Bliss. "I feel like I've got to keep it going."
After suffering two losses at Durant, what changed his direction?
"After I got back from Durant, I said 'I'm not losing again,'" recalled Bliss. "'veI wrestled smarter. I've brought more intensity to mat since Durant. I trained really hard to get this far. I have to work twice as hard to win again at states."
Unlike Springstead's five other regional champs, Toms earned his second regional crown.
Toms enters states winning 14-of-15, including a perfect 6-0 run in the post season ala Bliss.
Toms, who won a regional crown last winter for Ocala-Forest before relocating to Spring Hill, went 4-0 at Lake Gibson featuring two pins.
In the semifinals he blanked Lake Gibson's Chase Krutzky, 5-0, before facing 2009 state qualifier, Ray Rowland of Oviedo.
Toms stunned Rowland, 2-1. The margin of victory was a penalty point awarded to Toms because Rowland kept anticipating the whistle and was called for three caution violations from the top position.
Most importantly, Toms' defense was instrumental in the win. Twice Rowland nearly earned a two-point takedown, only to have Toms counter with a pair of critical stalemates denying a takedown.
"The second move I used was as a last resort," recalled the 17-year-old Toms, who enters states at 30-6 overall. "And I've never won a match before today on a caution call. I kept telling myself 'Be cool.' He seemed determined in anticipating the whistle."
How big was the win?
"It was a big one because it kept us in the hunt (for the regional title)," said Toms. "I would have liked to have been more dominant, but hopefully, I'll see him again."

Soto: Keeps churning

Like Bliss and Toms, Soto is also 6-0 this post season.
More importantly, after a 4-0 performance featuring two pins and two decisions, Soto has improved to 41-0.
After stuffing St. Cloud's Markus Rivera (78 seconds) and Wiregrass Ranch's Mason Bradford (93 seconds), Soto faced Liberty High's Felix Bettancourt in the semifinals.
In their previous meeting at Springstead, Soto mangled Bettancourt via a major decision, 14-4.
But in Saturday's semifinals, Bettancourt tied matters late in the third period, 5-all. But 30 seconds into overtime, Soto cradled and tilted Bettancourt for a two-point takedown to win, 7-5.
In his finals match, Soto blanked Harmony's Matt Vaughn, 7-0.
Soto, who placed fourth finishing at 40-6, enters states brimming with confidence and a career 86-10 slate.
"I'm going in confident," explained the 17-year-old Soto. "The match against Felix let's me know there are people who are not going to just fall over when I get on the mat. People are getting better, so is the competition. Right now, it's all about who wants it more."
As the Eagle captain was he sullen after losing six comrades in this weekend's action?
"Hey, nobody's going to states with 14 guys," frankly stated Soto. "It takes 6-7 guys to win states and that's exactly what we got. We can do this.
"Personally, I'd rather finish second in regionals and win states than the other way around," he added. "We're going in hungry."

Ross: Rolling, rolling, rolling

After a 4-0 jaunt at Lake Gibson, Ross is now 7-0 in the current postseason and has strung together 12 straight wins since losing to Kissimmee-Osceola's talented defending state champion Joe Locksmith in the tournament finals at Flagler, 7-1.
Ross, who finished second at states last winter behind a 43-9 mark, enters states with a Hernando County-high 46-1 record.
He opened regionals by planting Oak Ridge High's Lukas Tanner (95 seconds), then captured two decisions before stuffing Dunedin's Kane Plate in the finals in 1:55.
"It's nice to be a regional champion," noted the 15-year-old Ross. "Winning here isn't the main goal though. I see it as another stepping stone to states."
How'd he evaluate his performance?
"I did alright," replied Ross. "I could have done better. Right now, it's all about producing at states. Physically, I feel great. I feel like I'm wrestling at my absolute best."

Landgraff: 10 finals in a row

Like Bliss, Toms, Soto, Ross and Cox, Landgraff has not dropped a match in the postseason.
Landgraff went 4-0 at Lake Gibson to extend his win skein to six in a row and 9-of-10.
Remarkably, Landgraff has finished either first or second in 10 events this winter. Saturday was his fourth first-place effort. It marked the first time he's gone back-to-back weeks at the top of the podium.
"I'm wrestling the best I ever have," described the 17-year-old Landgraff after finishing off Winter Haven's Sterling Smith in the finals via a 10-1 major decision. The win over Smith also served as a milestone - his 100th in an Eagle uniform. He enters states with momentum and a 100-32 lifetime mark.
What about states?
"It's time to step it up," reminded Landgraff remembering his 1-2 state visit last season. "We've got to blow up states. We can do it with wins and pins. I think we can do it because we have more firepower and we'll place higher with our guys."

Cox: En fuego

Like Soto, Cox continues to dazzle behind a length win streak.
At Lake Gibson he finished 4-0 with one pin to improve to 26-0. Even when opponents like Liberty's Angel Perez and Oviedo's Alton Meeks rarely pressed the action slowing the matches to a crawl. Cox countered by simply grinding out back-to-back blue collar decisions, 3-0 and 3-2 (overtime).
How's he feel?
"I'm wrestling to the best off my abilities," said the 18-year-old Cox. "Sure I'd like to get a few more shots on offense.
"I don't worry too much about the other guys," said Cox. "If they can't take me down and nobody can ride me, I'm in control."
Next goal?
"Finishing second in regionals (as a team) isn't what I wanted," Cox said recalling his 1-2 abbreviated state run last year. "But we all know it's all about what we do next week that counts. If we win states, regionals won't matter."

Final 2A-II Wrestling Tournament Results:
PL SCHOOL PTS.
1. Oviedo (OVI) 217.5
2. Spring Hill-Springstead (SPG) 204.0
3. Lakeland-Lake Gibson (LG) 184.5
4. Dunedin (DUN) 140.0
5. Harmony (HAR) 74.5
6. Inverness (CIT) 69.0
7. Orlando-Edgewater (EDGE) 64.5
8. Kissimmee-Liberty (LIB) 64.0
9. New Port Richey-River Ridge (RR) 50.5
10. St. Cloud (STC) 50.0
11. Zephyrhills (ZEP) 35.5
12. Winter Haven (WH) 32.0
13. Bartow (BART) 27.0
13. New Port Richey-Mitchell (MIT) 27.0
15. Wesley Chapel-Wiregrass Ranch (WGR) 26.5
16. Land O'Lakes-Sunlake (SNL) 26.0
17. Land O'Lakes (LOL) 23.5
18. Davenport-Ridge Community (RC) 22.0
19. Orlando-Oak Ridge (OR) 21.0
20. Celebration (CELE) 18.0
21. Brooksville-Central (CEN) 17.0
21. Lakeland-Kathleen (KATH) 17.0
23. Lake Alfred-Lake Region (LR) 14.0
24. Sebring (SEB) 13.5
25. Lecanto (LEC) 11.0
26. Haines City (HC) 7.00
27. Tarpon Springs (TS) 4.00
27. New Port Richey-Ridgewood (RW) 4.00
29. Hudson (HUD) 0.00

Championship Round
103 - Richie Bliss (SPG) pin Terry Tran (EDGE), 2:14.
112 - Brandon Jorge (LG) pin Shaun Shakoor (DUN), 3:22.
119 - Joey Hefley (OVI) major dec. Justin McKay (LOL), 15-3.
125 - Virgil Toms (SPG) dec. Ray Rowland (OVI), 2-1.
130 - Nick Soto (SPG) dec. Matt Vaughn (HAR), 7-0.
135 - Cody Ross (SPG) pin Kane Plate (DUN), 1:55.
140 - Cash Cottrell (LG) tech. fall Colton Zimmermann (SPG), 20-5.
145 - Chase Gordon (OVI) major dec. Justin Thiele (OKR), 15-5.
152 - Shawn Landgraff (SPG) major dec. Sterling Smith (WH), 10-1.
160 - Frank Cousins (STC) dec. Erin O'Dell (OVI), 9-4.
171 - Pat Poules (LG) major dec. Landon Vannata (RR), 12-4.
189 - Jay Taylor (OVI) pin Chris Whidden (RDC), 1:43.
215 - Ken Cox (SPG) dec. Alton Meeks (OVI), 9-0.
285 - Doug Vollaro (OVI) dec. Luis Agramonte (DUN), 4-3.

Consolation Round
103 - Skyler Moody (LG) tech. fall Ariel Dominguez (HAR), 15-0.
112 - Kurt Keebler (OVI) dec. Chris Valdez (HAR), 4-2.
119 - Nick Hynes (ZEP) pin Jacob Phillips (LG), 3:09.
125 - Jeremy Goodloe (DUN) dec. Chase Krutzky (LG), 9-4.
130 - Felix Bettancourt (LIB) dec. Justin Gomac (OVI), 7-2.
135 - Michael Alpert (OVI) dec. Darrin Mack (EDGE), 6-1.
140 - Chris Grillo (HAR) dec. Austin Prince (DUN), 4-3.
145 - Orlando Medina-Quinones (LG) pin Jake Cannizzaro (DUN), 0:35.
152 - Casey Whitton (CIT) dec. Tyler Smith (DUN), 10-4.
160 - Taylor Jackson (CIT) pin J.J. Elisis (LIB), 4:46.
171 - Aric Fernandez (LIB) pin Karl Joseph (EDGE), 4:10.
189 - Ryan Kuell (LG) dec. Jake Horning (RR), 11-4.
215 - Angel Perez (LIB) dec. Ryan Brosnan (MIT), 5-3.
285 - Josh Chattin (STC) dec. John Dreggors (SPG), 3-1 (OT).

Springstead Individual Results
WGT NAME W L PINS PL
103 Bliss, Richie 4 0 2 1st
112 Pavao, Stephen 0 2 0 -
119 Redman, Sean 3 2 1 -
125 Toms, Virgil 4 0 2 1st
130 Soto, Nick 4 0 2 1st
135 Ross, Cody 4 0 2 1st
140 Zimmermann, Colton 3 1 1 2nd
145 Colon, Sammy 2 2 0 -
152 Landgraff, Shawn 4 0 1 1st
160 Ellerbee, Thomas 3 2 1 -
171 Quinn, Casey 1 2 0 -
189 Gupton, Thomas 0 2 0 -
215 Cox, Ken 4 0 1 1st
285 Dreggors, John 4 2 2 4th
TOTALS 40 15 15 -

Central Individual Results
WGT NAME W L PINS PL
103 Marquez, Josh 0 2 0 -
112 Marquez, Anthony 2 2 2 -
119 Monsegur, Robbie 1 2 0 -
125 Supple, David 1 2 0 -
130 Cleveland, Josh 0 2 0 -
135 Walton, Luke 1 2 0 -
140 Merced, Daniel 0 2 0 -
145 Lane, Justin 0 2 0 -
152 Nieves, Puerto Rico 0 2 0 -
160 Gehrke, Zach 1 2 0 -
171 Martin, Zach 0 2 0 -
189 Lantigua, Luis 1 2 0 -
215 Scott, Patrick 0 2 0 -
285 Williamson, Bradley 1 2 1 -
TOTALS 8 28 3 -