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11 Gulf Wrestlers Advance To 1A-Region 2 Meet

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By EDDIE DANIELS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 4, 2008

DADE CITY - Standing near the center of the championship mat inside the Dr. Donald McBath Activity Center, Travis DeWalt had a look of relief.

It also wasn't a bad place for him to be standing considering he had eight of his Gulf wrestlers in the Class 1A-District 6 finals.

By the time the final two rounds were set to start, Gulf's 45-point advantage gave DeWalt a good idea his squad would collect its second consecutive district title. The Bucs amassed 187.5 points and three individual district titles, while Pasco (132) was second, followed by Hudson (124.5) and Orlando Bishop Moore (108).

"We knew it would be tight here," DeWalt said. "We didn't know we'd put eight in the finals. When I looked at it on paper entering the tournament, I thought we'd get five or six, so a lot of young kids stepped up and got in."

The Bucs will have a total of 11 wrestlers heading to next week's 1A-Region 2 tournament in Avon Park at South Florida Community College.

Jordan Holding (130), Josh Przbysz (135) and Ladarious Jackson (145) finished first, while R.J. O'Conner (103), Jean Ayala (112), Jarod Carpenter (119), Martin Levinson (171) and Matt Gallagher (215) were second. Josh Isom (125), Mike Mesagno (140) and Jesse King (152) were third.

Pasco will send eight, including champions Vidal Jimenez (103), Matt Penix (125), Marcus Hicks (140), Ray Perez (189) and Eric Stroud (215). Sunlake will send seven, led by district champ Devon Johnson (152). Hudson's six advancers include champions Pat McArdle (119), Tony Germano (160), Devin Brown (171) and Travis Tindell (285). Wiregrass Ranch advanced five and Zephyrhills, led by Nick Hynes, one champion at 112 pounds.

"After Christmas break, we started two-a-days, that automatically changes attitudes, whether they are ready for it or not," DeWalt said of the watershed moment for the Bucs. "When you bleed and sweat on each other for six hours a day, you kind of look at each other differently. Suddenly the kids that had friction, they're leaning on each other instead of bending each other's ear."

Mitchell To Send 3 To 3A-Region 2 Meet

ST. PETERSBURG - Friday at East Lake High when the 3A-Region 2 regional tournament gets underway, Mitchell will have three wrestlers representing the school as a result of Saturday's 3A-District 6 tournament.

Only Jessee Lorensten was able to win his weight class (171). Ryan Cassidy (215) and Thomas Doman (285) each placed second. Vasili Kostakis (140) finished third.

Lorensten defeated Corey McDaniel of Sarasota with a pin at 1:38. He received a bye in the first round and then defeated Justin Barnhart of Pinellas Park with a pin at 2:15. Lorensten secured a region berth by pinning Jameel Bryant of St. Petersburg at 3:11.

Despite winning, Lorensten was disappointed for his teammates and thought both he and his teammates could, and will, wrestle better in the region tournament.

"We had a lot of close matches," Lorensten said. "We had three or four kids who had a chance of wrestling in the semifinals and secure a regional berth. We had a few guys who were just one move from getting to the semifinals.

"I wasn't doing good. I had a rough day until the finals match."

"I was a little disappointed in that we only got fourth place," Mitchell wrestling coach John Stanjeski said. "At our conference tournament we came out here with some confidence. We didn't wrestle to our potential and now we have to get back to our wrestle room and get ready for the regional."

Stanjeski suggested he thinks a little tinkering will take care of whatever problems cropped up.

"We are going to go over why we didn't finish our moves and work on the little things," Stanjeski said. "That's what we need to concentrate on. We'll get better. We'll come back.

"All you can hope for is to build on this and keep the boys upbeat."

Cassidy also had a bye in the first round. He then defeated Anthony Holliman of Sarasota with a pin at 22 seconds, pinned Adam Dorn of Largo at :51 to clinch a region berth. Cassidy was pinned by Palm Harbor's Grayson Savage at 1:22 in the championship.

Doman too had a bye in the first round and defeated Trey Butler of Pinellas Park with a pin at 2:37. Doman then pinned Largo's Joe Marlowe for a region berth. Doman lost to Alex Dinelli of East Lake in the championship by pin at 1:41.

Following a first-round bye, Kostakis defeated Drew Hyatt of Pinellas Park with a pin at 3:01. But he lost to Hugh Do of East Lake in a 14-11 decision. In the third-place match, Kostakis defeated Hunter Speake of St. Petersburg for his region final berth with a pin at 2:57. Kostakis captured third place with by a default injury against Christian Chang of Sarasota.

"I think all four of us will be excited to get into the region tournament and have a chance of getting farther," Lorensten said.

Lee Diekemper

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