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Knights Confident As Regionals Begin

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By ADAM ADKINS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 8, 2008

TAMPA - Robinson seniors Matt Willis and Joe Geerholt wanted so badly this season to give Knights wrestling coach Tommy Montero his first district title. So, understandably, Willis and Geerholt felt a relentless sting Saturday night.

The Knights weren't able to deliver the hardware at the Class 1A-District 10 tournament, finishing as the runner-up to Clearwater Central Catholic.

While they might have come up a bit short in attaining that goal, the Knights have found a new achievement to shoot for. And it's one Willis and Geerholt, two of only three seniors on the team, are aiming to spearhead.

With 13 wrestlers headed to Naples for the Class 1A-Region 3 tournament, which begins today and concludes Saturday, the Knights are hoping to send Montero to next week's state tournament in Lakeland with the biggest entourage during his tenure. That mark stands at four state qualifiers at each the 2005 and 2006 state tournaments.

An accomplishment like that can still send a strong message to the Knights' peers about the current state of their program and where it stands in Hillsborough County's pecking order, maybe even more so than a district title would have done.

"Nobody talks about how many district champs you have or how many regional qualifiers you have. Nobody talks about what you do at districts," Geerholt said. "They talk about state qualifiers and state placers. ... If we can show we can do that, then I think we'll be pretty far up there."

Should the Knights advance the five or six wrestlers to state that Montero believe have a shot to move on, it will be the next big step for a growing program. Robinson's body of work has gradually improved since Montero inherited a team six seasons ago that was struggling to find wrestlers.

"I've wanted to set goals and traditions and keep them going, and that's what we've been trying to do," Montero said. "Every year we turn people's heads a little bit more, especially around here."

Willis and Geerholt have been big reasons why the last couple of years. The seniors have been two of the Knights' top wrestlers since joining the program as sophomores.

Willis made his mark at the recent Hillsborough County Championships, when he won the 119-pound individual title to become Robinson's first county champion during Montero's tenure. Both are hoping to claim their first individual state tournament berths this weekend.

Montero thinks they each have a shot. Juniors Chris Rollins, Eric Williams and Zach Boyer and senior Ellis St. John are other Robinson wrestlers Montero believes have a good chance to punch their ticket to state, but the coach isn't counting out any of his 13 regional qualifiers.

The Knights will rely on the same philosophy that has helped the program grow the past six seasons. It's something Geerholt and Willis plan to relay to the team before the Knights hit the mat today.

"We've just got to go out there and be aggressive," Willis said. "We've just got to do what we do."

Reporter Adam Adkins can be reached at (813) 657-4533 or aadkins@tampatrib.com.

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