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Tough Going For Hillsborough County

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By ADAM ADKINS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 7, 2008

PLANT CITY - The going was supposed to be tough this weekend at the 13th annual Cougar Invitational, which was billed as one of the state's toughest wrestling tournaments with perennial powerhouse programs and top-notch individual talent stacked throughout the 31-team field and 14 weight classes.

It ended up being extremely tough for Hillsborough County squads.

No county wrestler found his way to the top of the podium as an individual champion, while no county team was able to crack the top 10 in the overall standings.

The best individual finishes came from Durant 112-pounder Alex Hamm and Riverview 140-pounder Herman Hernandez, who each finished as the runner-up in their respective weight class. Hernandez's loss in the championship was in the line with the theme for the county - tough.

After getting an escape and a takedown in the final 30 seconds of the third period to force overtime against Lake Gibson's Brent Jorge, Hernandez watched his title hopes end on a takedown call in overtime while both wrestlers were falling out of bounds, a call deemed "controversial" by Sharks coach Wili Sargable.

"It's so disappointing, because a no-call there and no one gets hurt," said Sargable, who unsuccessfully contested the call with the referees. "There's still wrestling that can decide the victory as opposed to that. It's very disappointing, to say the least."

Homestead South Dade won the team title with 248.5 points. Tournament host Durant (85.5 points) was 12th, the top finish for a county team.

In addition to Hamm and Hernandez, six other county wrestlers placed in the top six. Riverview's Rafael Rivera (189) took third, Jesuit's Austin Boudreau (119) took fifth, and Sickles' Corey Sullivan (103), Riverview's Ryan Hight (135), Durant's T.J. Davis (145) and Jefferson's Devon Acosta (152) each placed sixth.

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