Five-for-five isn't enough?

Move over Cubs fans, you've got company.

The battle cry of 'Wait till next year' rings loud and true on the Mariner Boulevard campus.

Alas a dream ending eluded F.W. Springstead.

This weekend, Springstead scored more points (156.5), secured more gold medals (5), had more state placers (7) than any previous Eagle mat squad in 30 years. In fact, for any previous Hernando County mat squad.

Yet in the final analysis, it wasn't enough late Saturday night to deny Oviedo its fifth state championship - its first in Class 2A - at the Jenkins Arena at The Lakeland Center in front of over 10,000 fans.

In the end, Head Coach J.D. Robbins' Lions were a tad deeper than the Spring Hill squad, outscoring the Hernando County team, 161.5-156.5, for its first state crown since 2007.

How close did the North Suncoast's most dominant program come to hoisting its first-ever state crown?

After almost 24½ hours of competition, the Class 2A tournament championship was in the balance heading into the second-to-last match of the grueling, two-day, 76-team 46th annual Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) event.

Lions rule (barely)

Oviedo led by one precious point, 153.5-152.5, until junior Jay Taylor edged Barron Collier's Josh DaSilveira at 189 pounds, 5-4.

That narrow decision gave the Seminole County-based Lions a critical five-point cushion heading into the 215-pound class.

Up to that point, Springstead was batting a 1.000 on its historic night, capturing four finals in four tries by juniors Richie Bliss at 103 pounds, Virgil Toms at 125, Nick Soto at 130 and sophomore Cody Ross at 135.

SHS' last hope for gold, however, rested with unbeaten and red-hot senior Kenny Cox.

As he has done all season, Cox (30-0 overall) delivered a clutch 11-6 decision over Boca Raton- Olympic Heights' Brian Blackwell.

Though Cox won the war and became the Eagles' unbelievable fifth state champion, SHS received four team points, clinching the state title for the Lions.

Oviedo's final competitor, sophomore Doug Vollaro, added an exclamation point to the Lions' title run with a 12-1 major decision over Dunedin's Luis Agramonte, 12-1. Vollaro's win was the Lions' fourth in the finals.

SHS' five-champion performance ranks second all-time at states tying Miami-Coral Park (1967), famed Brandon High (2005) and Fort Myers-Riverdale (2008).

The state record is six champions established by Brandon four times (2002, 2004, 2006, 2010).

Coaches' corner

"There's no doubt we battled right till the end," explained Springstead's assisant coach Sal Basile. "The way we finished shows the character of this team and our program. Tonight was bitter sweet. I'm so proud of these guys; I'm so devastated. Give Oviedo credit, they had more depth."

What about five champs?

"As a coach, I'm super proud," summed up Basile. "Bliss was legit sick before he got here and just battled every match to win...Toms has gone through so much adversity with the shoulder and then he beats a tough Oviedo kid for the second time in a week...Nick has been doing this (winning) all year. Nick is what we want every guy in the room to emulate. He deserved this (gold)...Cody's a great kid, period. He's a great student in the classroom and a tremendous wrestler. He also deserved this...Despite an up and down season, Kenny finished the season on top. That's what you want. His win says so much about the power of the mind. We preach over and over to keep the pressure on and force the other guy to break -- that's Kenny's world."

Any regrets?

"Our team goal all year was to win a state championship," reminded Coach Basile. "We weren't cocky about. It was our goal. We just fell a little short. Hats off to Oviedo, they've got a great team."
Sixth-year Head Coach Eric Swensen will have to take consolation on the Eagles' best-ever season featuring seven tournament titles and four runner-up trophies, including the last stop in Polk County.

"It was a great ride," said Swensen. "I've coached at Springstead for six years and this was my 12th year overall.

"This was my best team. This was crazy. We bring eight guys to states, seven place including five champs. How do you not win a state title with five champions?"

What was the difference?

"It seemed like every time Oviedo had a close match, they won," noted Swensen, whose team captured 29-of-35 (83 percent) matches against the state's elite competition featuring eight pins. "We didn't. We had some opportunities that we let slip through the cracks. To win a state championship, you've got to wrestle perfectly. We almost did."

What about batting 5-for-5 in the finals?

"Absolutely no one had jitters," explained Coach Swensen. "All we had was one-sided wins. There were no controversies."

Regrets?

"No. These are high school kids," Swensen said. "They wrestled the best state tournament anyone from our county has ever done. Not winning hurts, especially for the amount of time this group kids has put in. You think you have that magical feeling (of winning states) and then you lose by a close margin - that's tough.

"Oviedo has a tremendous program," noted Swensen. "They're at the same offseason tournaments we are."

Swensen wanted to publicly acknowledge his co-pilot assistant coach Basile.

"None of this would be possible without Sal Basile," said Swensen with a serious tone. "What our kids do on their feet and on the mats is a picture of what Sal wants. I'm a teacher, he's not. He's a roofer, who comes in every day to work with these kids. No way do we have this kind of success without Sal."

All-Time Hernando County State Wrestling Champions (32):
Name School Year Class Wgt
Bliss, Richie SPG 2010 2A 103
Toms, Virgil SPG 2010 2A 125
Soto, Nick SPG 2010 2A 130
Ross, Cody SPG 2010 2A 135
Cox, Kenny SPG 2010 2A 215
Pritz, Daniel HER 2010 1A 145
Bliss, Richie SPG 2009 2A 103
Swanton, Schuyler SPG 2008 2A 112
Swanton, Schuyler SPG 2007 2A 103
Rotunda, Windham HER 2005 1A 275
Chipoletti, Addison HER 2005 1A 189
Chipoletti, Addison HER 2004 1A 171
Chipoletti, Addison HER 2003 1A 171
Booker, Matt SPG 2001 1A 130
DeCristofaro, Gerard SPG 2001 1A 140
Pritz, Robert HER 2000 1A 140
Stevenson, Jim SPG 2000 2A 125
Smith, John HER 1999 4A 152
Swanton, Dustin SPG 1999 5A 125
Swanton, Dustin SPG 1998 5A 119
Stevenson, John SPG 1998 5A 112
Gant, Richard HER 1997 4A 125
Hill, Corey SPG 1997 5A 145
Mallin, Mike CEN 1997 4A 189
Hill, Corey SPG 1996 5A 145
Gordon, Reppard HER 1995 4A 152
Sang, Omah CEN 1994 3A 171
Deason, Chuck HER 1993 3A 125
Kuhl, Brad HER 1992 3A 135
Lane, John SPG 1991 3A 145
Hudson, Genard HER 1987 3A UNL
Hamilton, Michael HER 1982 3A 185

Class 2A State Wrestling Results:

1st Round:
103 - Richie Bliss (SPG) pin Shamir Dominque (PB), 0:22.
125 - Virgil Toms (SPG) tech. fall Wayne Watson (CREEK), 16-0.
130 - Nick Soto (SPG) pin Elias Ramirez (MEN), 3:29.
135 - Cody Ross (SPG) pin Ian Jones (PACE), 5:02.
140 - Colton Zimmermann (SPG) dec. Dustin Waite (VIERA), 7-3.
152 - Shawn Landgraff (SPG) pin Donell Reed (PALM), 1:49.
215 - Ken Cox (SPG) pin Brian Leinhart (FTPC), 0:24.
285 - John Dreggors pin Darius Brooks (PALM), 1:22.

2nd Round:
No matches

3rd Round:
103 - Richie Bliss (SPG) major dec. Luis Garcia (PARD), 10-2.
125 - Virgil Toms (SPG) technical fall Mike Fleming (JENB), 16-0.
130 - Nick Soto (SPG) technical fall Ode Osbourne (DWY), 16-1.
135 - Cody Ross (SPG) dec. David Tanguma (PARD), 4-2 (OT).
140 - Jose Lopez (RVD) major dec. Colton Zimmermann (SPG), 16-4.
152 - Shawn Landgraff (SPG) dec. Andrew Viens (JENB), 2-1.
215 - Ken Cox (SPG) pin Garrett Alexander (MENE), 1:31.
285 - Jonathan Dixon (RIDV) dec. John Dreggors (SPG), 2-1.

4th Round:
140 - Colton Zimmermann (SPG) dec. Matthew Wagy (OLH), 10-7.
285 - John Dreggors (SPG) major dec. Alan Williams (MAC), 12-2.

5th Round:
140 - Colton Zimmermann (SPG) dec. Chris Grillo (HAR), 4-3.
285 - Davonta Williams (EAST) pin John Dreggors (SPG), 3:51.

6th Round (semifinals):
103 - Richie Bliss (SPG) dec. William Joyce (PLTC), 4-1.
125 - Virgil Toms (SPG) dec. Tegeon Worges (PAB), 3-0.
130 - Nick Soto (SPG) dec. Ben Willard (MIL), 7-4.
135 - Cody Ross (SPG) dec. David Jones (NICE), 9-3.
152 - Brock Lamb (NICE) dec. Shawn Landgraff (SPG), 4-3.
215 - Ken Cox (SPG) dec. Chris Herron (PAB), 3-2 (3OT).

7th Round:
140 - Anthony Mauro (PAB) dec. Colton Zimmermann (SPG), 7-4.

8th Round: (Consolation Finals)
140 - Jose Lopez (RVD) pin Colton Zimmermann (SPG), 2:54.
152 - Shawn Landgraff (SPG) dec. Jordan Lovelady (PAB) 5-2.

9th Round: (Championship)
103 - Richie Bliss (SPG) dec. Skyler Moody (LG), 6-0.
125 - Virgil Toms (SPG) dec. Ray Rowland (OVI), 2-1.
130 - Nick Soto (SPG) dec. Mike Hess (JEB), 5-1.
135 - Cody Ross (SPG) dec. James Jenkins (DWY), 5-1.
215 - Ken Cox (SPG) dec. Brian Blackwell (OLH), 3-2.

Class 1A State Wrestling Results

1st Round:
125 - Scott Cronin (NCT) major dec. vs. Edison Dohms (SE), 18-4.
140 - Scott Varner (WAK) pin Mitch Lambert (NCT), 0:29.
145 - Daniel Pritz (HER) major dec. Zane Turnispeed (ARN), 12-4.
152 - Zach Pritz (HER) dec. Jordan Kennett (LELY), 3-2.
285 - Greg Jarque (NCT) pin Danny Jackson (RAIN), 4:54.

2nd Round:
140 - Mitch Lambert (NCT) won by forfeit Leo Sosa (PACE).
285 - Greg Jarque (NCT) pin Andres Lezama (CSC), 4:54.

3rd Round:
125 - Josh Key (SUW) major dec. Scott Cronin (NCT), 14-2.
145 - Daniel Pritz (HER) dec. Jesse Stephanos (JUPC), 7-1.
152 - Daniel Igel (BOLL) dec. Zach Pritz (HER), 7-6.

4th Round:
125 - Scott Cronin (NCT) major dec. Dennis Nieves (MAT), 14-2.
140 - Dan Dunwald (SUW) major dec. Mitch Lambert (NCT), 19-7.
152 - Zach Pritz (HER) pin. Darian Maya (ROCK), 2:42.
285 - Robert Whittaker (CAG) pin Greg Jarque (NCT), 2:08.

5th Round:
125 - Scott Cronin (NCT) dec. Benson Bazilme, 2-1.
152 - Jason Pierce (MDT) dec. Zach Pritz (HER), 4-3

6th Round:
145 - Daniel Pritz (HER) dec. Justin Dunwald (SUW), 9-5.

7th Round:
125 - Shaquon Young (DUB) pin Scott Cronin (NCT), 2:23.

8th Round: (Consolation Finals)
125 - Scott Cronin (NCT) major dec. Josh Key (SUW), 10-2.

9th Round: (Championship)
145 - Daniel Pritz (HER) dec. Casey Soileau (CLY), 14-8

Springstead's Class 2A, State Individual Results @ Lakeland
WGT Name W L Pins PL
103 Bliss, Richie 4 0 1 1st
125 Toms, Virgil 4 0 0 1st
130 Soto, Nick 4 0 1 1st
135 Ross, Cody 4 0 1 1st
140 Zimmerman, Colton 3 3 0 6th
152 Landgraff, Shawn 4 1 2 3rd
215 Cox, Ken 4 0 2 1st
285 Dreggors, John 2 2 1 -
TOTALS 29 6 8 -

Hernando's Class 1A State Tourney Results @ Lakeland
Wgt Name W L Pins PL
145 Pritz, Daniel 4 0 0 1st
152 Pritz, Zach 2 2 1 -
TOTALS 6 2 1 -

Nature Coast's 1A-II Tourney Results @ Lakeland
Wgt Name W L Pins PL
125 Cronin, Scott 4 2 0 5th
140 Lambert, Mitch 1 2 0 -
285 Jarque, Greg 1 2 1 -
TOTALS 6 6 1 -

Final Class 2A State Championship Team Standings
PL Hometown-School Points
1. Oviedo (OV) 161.5
2. Spring Hill-Springstead (SPG) 156.5
3. Lakeland-Lake Gibson (LG) 113.5
4. Naples-Palmetto Ridge (PARD) 82.0
5. Fort Myers-Riverdale (RIVD) 78.5
6. Niceville (NICE) 63.5
7. Jensen Beach (JENB) 61.5
7. Melbourne-Palm Bay (PALMB) 61.5
9. Dunedin (DUN) 59.0
10. Palm Beach-Dwyer (DWY) 50.0

Final Class 1A State Championship Team Standings
PL Hometown-School Points
1. New Port Richey-Gulf (GF) 110.0
2. Live Oak-Suwannee (SUW) 100.5
3. St. Petersburg-Northside Christian (NSC)89.0
4. Green Cove Springs-Clay (CLY) 87.0
5. St. Augustine-Nease (NEAS) 53.5
6. Tampa-Jesuit (TJ) 52.0
7. Archbishop McCarthy (ARBM) 50.5
8. Orlando-Lake Highland Prep (OLHP) 50.0
9. Crawfordville-Wakulla (WAK) 48.5
10. Orlando-Bishop Moore (OBM) 48.0

Others:
23. Brooksville-Hernando (HER) 28.0
33.(tie)Nature Coast Technical (NCT) 18.0