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Pasco Wrestlers Eyeing Better SAC, District Results

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By EDDIE DANIELS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 26, 2007

LAND O' LAKES - February was a bittersweet month for Reyes Perez.

The Pasco 189-pounder reached the FHSAA wrestling tournament for the second time, but after winning his first match via a second-period pin, he lost his second and third matches, ending his season short of his goal of placing at the tournament.

That set off a turn of events, stoking an already blistering fire inside the senior.

"Really, I never even stopped training after state," Perez said. "I kept wrestling, kept running, did everything I needed to do."

That included wrestling in several tournaments and traveling to Minnesota to participate in the J. Robinson Wrestling Camp this summer with teammates senior Eric Stroud and junior Jarrod Carmody.

"It was probably the toughest thing I've ever done," Perez said. "But having all those kids there in the same situation, it was like, I can't just quit. It was really exciting to be up there with my teammates."

Those three along with senior Vidal Jimenez will form an integral core for the Pirates as they begin their quest to rebound from last season's second-place Sunshine Athletic Conference and second-place Class 1A-District 6 finish.

Many would say there isn't much to rebound from when a team finishes so high in the standings, but Pasco coach Mark DeAugustino isn't one for settling, plus the starting lineup includes six freshmen and three sophomores.

"To think, I'm disappointed in a district runner-up and third in the region and second in the conference," DeAugustino said. "I was disappointed and so were the kids, so you know what they're going for. Graduating six seniors, that's tough."

DeAugustino, who says he is having more fun in the wrestling room as a coach than ever before, has seen a major change in his four leaders.

"They're light years better. They're just that much tougher," he said. "If Rey were to wrestle Rey right now from last year, Rey would pin Rey in the first period. He would. That's how much better he got. Same with Eric, same with Jarrod, same with Vidal.

"Without a doubt, those four wrestlers right there, you'll see totally different wrestlers this year. It's really neat."

Topping things off, Jimenez and Stroud were also state qualifiers who did not place in the tournament. If their fire is anything like Perez's, expect those burning embers to flow throughout the Pirates' wrestling room.

"They're looking real tough," Perez said. "We got a lot of freshmen, but they're holding their own and working hard, too."

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