Going into the first-ever Ed Goodpaster Wrestling Tournament, held Friday and Saturday at Land O' Lakes High School, Nature Coast Technical junior wrestler David Simonson really had no reason to believe that this would be the tournament where he would get his first tourney win. ...more

December 28, 2007

LAND O' LAKES - In a way, this past weekend's Ed Goodpaster Invitational Wrestling Tournament at Land O' Lakes High School sort of resembled a Grapefruit League exhibition baseball game for first-year Hernando Head Coach Joe McLain. ...more

December 27, 2007

In the end, Springstead's wrestling coach may have summed the weekend the best when he was talking with his team right after his team fell in the finals of the fifth annual Gulf Duals Holiday Wrestling Tournament. ...more

December 20, 2007

It came down to the last bout in the last match of the round-robin tournament, but in the end, the Hernando Leopards just lost out on winning their pool and advancing to the semifinals of the 24-team Gulf Duals Holiday Wrestling Tournament. ...more

December 20, 2007

Before playing sports was about favorable draft positions, contract negotiations, media criticism and job instability, professional athletes enjoyed the purity of high school sports. ...more

December 9, 2007

It wasn't quite like finishing fifth at the state meet, it just had that feel about it. ...more

December 8, 2007

This week's Smackdown takes a step back to those wholesome days to determine which Tampa Bay player was the ''Best High School Athlete.'' The competition is between right guard Davin Joseph, one of the best wrestlers in state history, and cornerback Phillip Buchanon, one of the finest multiple sports athletes from Florida. ...more

December 7, 2007

In previous years, Nature Coast Technical's Head Coach Mike Lastra normally has had just six or seven wrestlers instead of the normal 14 most teams bring to most tournaments. But this year, things have finally started to improve for the Sharks and Saturday was a prime example of it. ...more

December 5, 2007

Normally in a prep wrestling tournament, the people who make the tournament finals in any given weight class are the guys who basically have made wrestling a priority. They generally have wrestled for five or six years, practiced all the time and go to wrestling camps during the dog days of summer. In fact, they usually live and breath the sport. ...more

December 5, 2007

This past Saturday, the fifth annual Bill Combs Junior Varsity Invitational Wrestling Tournament was held at Hernando High School. And the person whose name is on the top of each trophy, Hernando High assistant wrestling coach Bill Combs Sr., was up at 6:30 a.m. Saturday doing what he normally does, that is spend almost all of his spare time working at something that has to do with wrestling. ...more

November 28, 2007