Short-handed Sharks settle for second

In a way, Nature Coast Head Coach Mike Lastra admitted that he'd rather have his team finish second on Saturday.

Sure, he wanted to see his squad claim its third straight championship at The Villages' American Legion Post 347 Tournament, and win its third crown in as many weeks.

But as the old adage goes, sometimes more is found out from losing. To the Sharks' headman, that certainly applied on this day.

Considering that two key wrestlers (Luke McCarty and Jeff Gilbert) were held out for disciplinary reasons, finishing second out of eight teams to Clearwater Central Catholic, 159-136, could serve a greater purpose.

"We were short some kids," Lastra said. "Bottom line, if we had one of those kids, we'd have won the tournament. But I think it says a lot about where we're at as a program. We had a chance to go out on top or make it a lesson learned. It'll reach them more knowing they let one slip through their fingers.

"It's a little disappointing, but we've got to do what we've got to do. We've got to stand by what we believe as coaches."

Of course it wasn't all about discipline. Two other grapplers didn't compete because of physical ailments. Tyler Forand sat out because of a skin infection and Keith Dodson is out for the year with a knee injury.

Forand, McCarty and Gilbert are all expected back next week in time for next Saturday's Class 1A, District 8 Tournament at Hernando High.

Closing in on 100

Though 10-of-11 Sharks placed, only one toted home a gold medal. Senior Scott Cronin went 3-0 with three pins at 125 pounds.

He barely had to break a sweat. He needed 57 seconds to pin Trinity Catholic's John Frankie, 46 ticks to take down The Villages' Joey Trent and only 23 seconds to beat Crystal River's Tyler Walters in the final.

His combined match time of 2:06 earned him the meet's Most Pins, Fastest Time Award, and the three victories now put him at 92 for his career.

"This is a really big tournament for me even though there weren't a lot of teams," Cronin said. "I'm going for 100 wins. No one has ever done that at my school. All these bring me closer to my goal.

"...I'm pretty confident. I was the region and state runner-up last year. I want to be district and region champ this year.

"I'm running every day, working out after practice, everything. I'm just trying to go as hard as I can the rest of the season. I'm trying to make it big. It's my last year."

Four other Sharks also reached the championship finals, but ended up in second place. That included Sean Nguyen at 103 (2-1), Will Ruiz at 135 (1-1), Mitchell Lambert at 145 (1-1) and Brenton Nuby at 152 (1-1).

Robert Anthony at 119 (2-1, 2 pins), Carter Bolesta at 140 (2-1), Carlos Carasquillo at 160 (3-1) and Greg Jarque at 285 (1-1) came in third in their weight classes.

Peter Holloman added a fourth-place at 171, going 2-2 with two pins.

"We came in minus 87 wins. Our kids still came through, fought hard and got second place," Lastra said. "...Guys were willing to put it on the line and that's what's exciting about this team.

"This will bring us together as a team and help us for districts next week. We want to make a run."

Final American Legion Post 347 Tournament Team Standings
PL Team PTS
1. Clearwater Central Catholic (CCC) 159.0
2. Nature Coast (NCT) 136.0
3. Crystal River (CR) 100.0
4. Dunnellon (DUN) 99.5
5. North Marion (NM) 93.0
6. Lecanto (LEC) 83.0
7. Trinity Catholic (TC) 64.0
8. The Villages (VIL) 51.0

American Legion Post 347 Tournament Finals Results
103 - Howard (NM) pin Nguyen (NCT), 1:58
112 - Varqulish (CR) pin Milne (CCC), 5:11
119 - Christopher (CCC) pin Corneillia (CR), 4:51
125 - Cronin (NCT) pin Walters (CR), 0:23
130 - Hoppel (TC) dec. Arcadipane (LEC), 11-6
135 - Jiminez (TC) pin Ruiz (NCT), 3:18
140 - Queirroz (CCC) dec. Jackson (DUN), 8-5
145 - Lowe (DUN) pin Lambert (NCT), 5:03
152 - Hooper (LEC) dec. Nuby (NCT), 2-1
160 - Delgado (DUN) tech. fall Sblano (LEC), 4:58
171 - O'Connell (DUN) dec. Wulff (VIL), 9-2
189 - Brass (CR) pin Lewandowski (CCC), 1:21
215 - Vaughan (CCC) pin A. Pringle (NM), 1:03
285 - M. Pringle (NM) pin Shumate (LEC), 1:58

American Legion Post 347 Tournament Consolation Finals Results
103 - Hubble (CR) pin Shaw (TC), 2:39
112 - Degeorge (NM) pin Hoffner (TC), 0:15
119 - Anthony (NCT) pin Meister (VIL), 3:39
125 - Lopez (NM) pin Trent (VIL), 1:27
130 - Richardson (DUN) dec. Sepe (CCC), 6-4
135 - Burkholder (CCC) dec. Wolff (DUN), 3-2
140 - Bolesta (NCT) def. Jordan (LEC), 8-3
145 - Ryan (CCC) maj. dec. Manseau (TC), 12-0
152 - Bunn (CCC) dec. Seaman (TC), 6-0
160 - Carasquillo (NCT) dec. Carpenter (CR), 6-2
171 - Wiren (CCC) dec. Holloman (NCT), 9-3
189 - Hanson (NM) pin Chojnacky (TC), 0:37
215 - Bowers (VIL) pin Lamattina (LEC), 3:41
285 - Jarque (NCT) pin Tayler (VIL), 0:38

American Legion Post 347 Tournament Outstanding Lightweight Wrestler Award
Quincy Hoppel, Trinity Catholic

American Legion Post 347 Tournament Outstanding Heavyweight Wrestler Award
Matt Pringle, North Marion

American Legion Post 347 Most Pins, Fastest Time Award
Scott Cronin, Nature Coast (3 pins, 2:06)

Nature Coast at American Legion Post 347 Tourney Results
WGT Name W L Pins Pl
103 Nguyen, Sean 2 1 0 2nd
119 Anthony, Robert 2 1 2 3rd
125 Cronin, Scott 3 0 3 1st
130 Richardson, Steven 0 2 0 -
135 Ruiz, Will 1 1 0 2nd
140 Bolesta, Carter 2 1 1 3rd
145 Lambert, Mitchell 1 1 0 2nd
152 Nuby, Brenton 1 1 1 2nd
160 Carasquillo, Carlos 3 1 0 3rd
171 Holloman, Peter 2 2 2 4th
285 Jarque, Greg 1 1 1 3rd
TOTALS 18 12 10