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Reid, Kavouklis, Bruno Win At Regional

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By MATTHEW POSTINS, Tribune correspondent

Published: February 10, 2008

NAPLES - Jesuit's Ben Reid and Chris Kavouklis, along with Tampa Christian's Rossi Bruno, each won titles in their respective weight classes at the Class 1A-Region 3 wrestling championships at Golden Gate High on Saturday night.

Reid and Kavouklis each defeated Fort Myers Riverdale wrestlers to win their titles and pace Jesuit's second-place team finish. Jesuit scored 126.5 points to finish behind Riverdale's 282.5 points.
Jesuit advanced six wrestlers to the state meet next weekend at The Lakeland Center.

"This is two weeks in a row that our seniors and upperclassmen came through and wrestled really well," Jesuit coach Mike Scicchitano said.

Tampa Prep claimed a top-five finish, earning third place with 92 points. Robinson (79) and Tampa Christian (78.5) also finished in the top 10.

Tampa Prep advanced five wrestlers to state, while Tampa Christian and Robinson advanced four each. Clearwater Central Catholic advanced two to state, while St. Petersburg Catholic advanced one.

Reid made a comeback after a bad break last year in his regional semifinal match. Reid hyperextended his elbow and was forced to forfeit, ruining his chances for a regional title.

There were no such mishaps in Saturday's final against Riverdale's Nick Sanchez, as Reid won the 152-pound class on points, 5-1.

"Coach told me he's a good thrower," Reid said. "He just told me to watch the big throw. Don't make any big moves. I had everything else I needed to win the match."

Kavouklis, wresting in the 189-pound class, went to the state tournament last year but had not won a regional title until beating Riverdale's Trevor Dunn, 9-3.

Bruno, one of three Tampa Christian eighth-graders who advanced to Saturday's finals, won his match against Golden Gate's Kyle Morris on a technical fall, 16-0.

Four other area wrestlers advanced to the championship finals but fell short. Tampa Prep's Tyler Liberatore (112), Tampa Christian's Clark Glass (119), Jesuit's David Gonzalez (125) and Tampa Christian's Kyle Koziel (140) all finished as runners-up but advanced to state as top-four finishers.

Glass's defeat to Riverdale's Alex Paraschuk was by far the strangest of the night.

Glass appeared to have the match won 3-2 in the third period. After the officials had a short discussion, they removed one of Glass' points, tying the match and sending it into overtime.

Paraschuk won the match 4-2 in overtime.

The move caused several minutes of debate between the officials and assistant coach Mike Joyce, who was on the bench during Glass' match. It also prompted several more minutes of rulebook research.

The result stood, and Tampa Christian coach Darrell Tabor said he never received a clear explanation about what happened.

"No I didn't," Tabor said. "But you know what? I'd rather Clark lose this week than next week in Lakeland."

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