Welcome to TBO.com. Skip directly to: our Keyword Search, Section Navigation, Content.

TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Sports

TBO > Sports

Tindell Hopes To Rebound

By EDDIE DANIELS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 11, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - Sitting inside River Ridge Presbyterian Church on Sunday morning, Hudson heavyweight Travis Tindell couldn't shake the thoughts of his regional tournament experience.

In the tournament's semifinals, he lost 5-4 in overtime to Harmony's Steven Rodriguez, which sent Tindell directly into the match for third place, where he beat Ocala Trinity Catholic's Josh Armstrong.

That overtime loss gnawed at the senior.

"I shot eight times and the kid didn't shoot once at all and he stalled the whole match," Tindell recalled. "And it was blatant stalling, too and the ref didn't even call it. So I lost by one point in overtime.

"My coach even went up to the table and goes 'how the heck does a kid that stalled the whole match, didn't shoot, didn't do anything the whole match win a match?'"

As much as the loss stings, which was his first loss of the season, Tindell will make his way to the Lakeland Center on Wednesday for his third consecutive state-tournament appearance. His best finish came last season, when he went 4-2, placing fifth.
Tindell is one of 17 Pasco County wrestlers hoping to win a state title.

River Ridge's Tyler Fleming (119), Gulf's R.J. O'Conner (103), Jordan Holding (130) and Pasco's Ray Perez (189) and Eric Stroud (215) each won regional championships.

Entering the regional tournament, popular thinking had Tindell sweeping the competition and earning his own regional title, but that didn't happen. Instead, he received an additional ember for his state-title quest.

"I'm glad it happened now instead of in states," said Tindell. "It was ridiculous, but that always happens. Little stuff happens and you've got to get over it. I think it was better now because he definitely brought me back down to where I should be instead of where I was, looking ahead and not worried about anybody else except for worrying about my state championship match. That was all that was going through my mind, but now I take it one step at a time."
STATE QUALIFIERS
CLASS 3A

171: Jessey Lorentsen (Mitchell)

CLASS 2A

112: Nick Hynes (Zephyrhills), Dean Stupar (Ridgewood), Anthony Biondo (River Ridge); 119: Tyler Fleming (River Ridge); 135: Allyn Williamson (Ridgewood)

CLASS 1A

103: R.J. O'Conner (Gulf), Vidal Jimenez (Pasco); 130: Jordan Holding (Gulf); 140: Robbie Kunkle (Zephyrhills); 160: Tony Germano (Hudson); 171: Devin Brown (Hudson), Martin Levinson (Gulf); 189: Ray Perez (Pasco), Jarrett Baker (Sunlake); 215: Eric Stroud (Pasco); 285: Travis Tindell (Hudson)